Review: Play Him Again (A Matt Hudson Novel) by Jeffrey Stone
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 11, 2012
The novel Play Him Again by Jeffrey Stone, is essentially two novels in one. It tells two broadly different stories and brings them together via one protagonist, Hud, a criminal with a heart of gold who wants to change his life by bringing talking pictures to the silver screen.Having lived in Southern California from my mid-teens through most of my adult life I am very familiar with the film industry. It dominates the business community much as the ubiquitous palm trees dominate the landscape. Hearing stories as I grew up about my paternal grandfather who ran moonshine through the grapevine (when it really did resemble the plant) from L.A. to the San Jacquine Valley I was pleased when the author asked me to review the book. I enjoy stories with familiar locales and characters who are bigger than life. Just the type of people who dominated both businesses in the 1920's.Mr. Stone did not disappoint. He did his research and gives both area's his full attention. But that is also what goes a tad astray in this novel. Too much of a good thing. In this case, way too much information about both. The information sometimes gets in the way of the story, which is too bad. Because the story is good.The characters are vivid, electric and believable. The locations and settings are drawn well without a heavy hand giving us just enough to be able to place the protagonists within them. The narration is well written, the plot plausible and develops with good flow. There is an underlying tension that moves the story forward at a steady pace keeping the pages turning. The larger-than-life characters are appropriate to both the times, the businesses they run and the settings they are in. All in all, it is a very good novel with enough mystery, romance and just plain good fun.I am looking forward to reading more from this author and will put him on my watch list for more exciting books in future.Karen Bryant Doering,Parents' Little Black BookMistBlueEeyore@gmail.com