Terrence Faherty, Kill Me Again

Terrence Faherty, Kill Me Again
The Mystery Company/The Crum Creek Press, 2003
Originally published by Simon & Schuster, 1996(
© Terrence Faherty 1996
ISBN1-932325-02-6

Kill Me Again introduces us to Scott Elliott, in 1947, working for Paddy Maguire’s Hollywood Security Agency.  Maguire, a former actor (and his wife Peggy, also a dropout from performing, founded the agency to help the studios deal with “issues” that might affect the box office success of movies.  Elliott, an Indiana boy, was also an actor pre-World War II; on his return to civilian life he found something to do that kept him in California.

In this case, it’s an anonymous note, sent to Jack Warner, alleging that Bert Kramer, who has written the screenplay for a sequel to 1942 movie, Passage To Lisbon [1], in which many of the principals (actors and their characters) are involved with the early days of the UN and some hangovers from the original.  This movie is Love Me Again.  The lead actor in both movies, Tory Beaumont, has established his own production company, and this its first production.  And with the House Committee on Un-American Activities gearing up for hearings in Hollywood, both Warner Bros. and Beaumont would very much like to see the allegations about Kramer go away.

The plot is fairly complex (with a quite large cast of well-realized characters), and, while the political motives predominate, it’s also the case that Kramer is in a disastrous marriage and that the producer of the movie, Vincent Mediate, also has some issues.  A recurring theme is the effect that the war has had, and is still having, on the people who had to fight it (including Elliott and Mediate—who, while in the Army, made a film—Sunrise At Normandy—with live footage of the landing, and followed that with another documentary, which made him famous—Death Camp.

Maguire and Elliott more or less pursue separate lines, trying as much as possible to avoid the police; Elliott (unsurprisingly) is smitten with Eloise Englehart (better known as Pidgin), so there’s also a serious romantic sub-plot.  Elliott’s part of the investigation takes him to New York (to acquire more information about the background of Mediate in particular).  The historical aspects of the book seem to me to be very well done, with both the LA and NYC settings seeming to be very accurate. 

Faherty has, at this point, written three other Scott Elliott novels (most recently Play a Cold Hand, 2017), one fairly long novella (or very short novel), and a collection of short stories.  (http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/F_Authors/Faherty_Terence.html)  (I have, read all but the most recent novel.)  Elliott is an engaging character (as are all the continuing characters) and the books show a great deal of development.  All are worth seeking out. 

[1] If the general outline of the movie reminds you of something…well, that just proves you are still alive.