Alone: 2 (Valentino Mysteries 2)

Alone the second wacky comedic murder romp for Hollywood film detective Valentino from award-winning author Loren D. Estleman. Valentino wants to keep The Oracle his beloved run-down movie palace from being condemned before it even reopens but murder keeps intruding into his otherwise quiet life. At a gala party held in memory of screen legend Greta Garbo hes having fun until the host a hotshot developer named Matthew Rankin tells Valentino about a certain letter from Garbo to his late wife. She and Garbo had been…close.. Such a letter is of great interest to a film archivist like Valentino but the the plot thickens when Rankin tells Val that his assistant Akers is using this letter to blackmail him. Val is appalled by the thought of blackmail…but that letter sounds juicier all the time. Returning to Rankins mansion after the party Val finds Rankin sitting at his desk with a pistol in his hand looking at Akerss dead body on the floor.. Valentinos in a quandary. Hed love to see that letter but he cant. Hes gotten his girlfriend―who works for the police―in trouble so his love life is pardon the expression shot to hell. Worse yet the building inspector has kicked him out of his unfinished living space in the Oracle so he takes his life in his hands and moves in with his eccentric mentor the elderly insomniac Professor Broadhead. No love no sleep no letter―life isnt fair!