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Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (1977)
Stuart M. Kaminsky Book Review

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Plot Summary of Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (1977)
"The year is 1940. A Los Angeles-based private investigator, Toby Peters, is hired by M-G-M to investigate the murder of a little man on the set of "The Wizard of Oz". The star of the film, Judy Garland, feels threatened. Peters attempts with little success to enlist the aid of his antagonistic brother, a detective in the L.A. Police Department. Fortunately, superstar Clark Gable, director Victor Fleming and writer Raymond Chandler prove more helpful.

"

John Reid, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (1977)
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%




Tone of story - Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1930's-1950's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 90%
Special suspect? - chronically deranged person
Murder of certain profession? - actors/producers/directors
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - big city life
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - private investigator
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - artist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - jealousy
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - California
City? Yes
City: - Los Angeles

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 3-4
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (1977)
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler
The Barbarous Coast by Ross MacDonald
Perry Mason Solves the Case of the Buried Clock by Erle Stanley Gardner


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