The Noel Coward Murder Case
"Fame is so exhausting," laments this mystery's eponymous hero--but not as as enervating, unfortunately, as reading this latest offering from Baxt ( A Queer Kind of Death ). From the discovery of a corpse in a Shanghai river to a (surprisingly tame) conflagration in a New York City boite, the book's not-very-mysterious elements are rudimentarily handled. "A murder has been committed and I intend to conduct a very thorough investigation," announces Det. Jacob Singer. Characters evidence little individuality, while dialogue and exposition alike are lined out with no trace of subtlety. Everything is told rather than shown ("Noel looked world-weary as usual") and corny one-liners are plopped into scenes regardless of suitability. Moreover, Baxt should consider joining Namedroppers Anonymous: his scattershot celebrity mentions--in an apparent attempt to imbue his narrative with a behind-the-scenes period atmosphere--quickly prove tedious. The unkindest cut of all, however, is Baxt's depiction of Coward himself: this justly celebrated bon vivant, master of the witty riposte, is here reduced to a fatuous, insipid boor. Readers would be better entertained curling up with a cozy British whodunit while listening to a Coward recording.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.