Here's elmore's wonderful review from amazon:
A very good person involved with the Hollywood Historical Society has been found dead, and teenage journalist/sleuth Adriana Hoffstetter refuses to accept the coroner's ruling on the cause of death. Luckily, it's Christmas vacation and she has time on her hands. This is Bruce Kimmel's third mystery featuring the delightfully eccentric Adriana Hofstetter, and, while the book will appeal to young readers, like the first two in the series, a major part of the book's success is that it's really written for the eccentric teenager in many adult readers: she loves old movies, historic aspects of her hometown, period fashion, her cat, her mother, and her gay best friend Billy Feldman. While she can be an aggressive interrogator working on her case, she's a model of good breeding and politeness, something a major suspect in this book severely lacks. Wise beyond her years, she suffers fools with a sense of humor and tolerance.
The first two Hofstetter mysteries were fun, but Mr Kimmel finds his stride here and makes a great success of his material, his heroine, and his supporting cast. I find his portraits of retired directors, film scholars, hangers-on, and letches the best and most amusing list of suspects in all three novels. For film buffs there is the added interest of the possible inspirations for these colorful characters, and i have my thoughts on the matter.
If you have a teenage daughter, niece, granddaughter, godchild, or friend, introduce her to Adriana Hofstetter. And buy a copy for yourself. And, Kimmel, I'm waiting for No. 4!
