Murder Makes an Entrance

"Intricate plotting kept at a boil by skillful pacing. A smoothie." —The Criminal Record in Saturday Review. In this classic of murder in the media, Clarence Budington Kelland adroitly mixes heartless crime with zany, unforgettable characters. In Murder Makes an Entrance, readers will meet: In the turbulent early days of television, when I Love Lucy is the hot new show, John Miller arrives in Hollywood with nothing but hope in his heart and a pilot script in his pocket. The odds are a million to one against him—until a faded screen star and an up-and-coming PR flack see something better than average in his script. The two call in every favor they are owed and soon Miller has a cast, rehearsal space, and a producer with ice in her veins who answers only in clipped monotones. John suspects she has a secret but before he can begin to puzzle it out, he has to lambaste a king of crime. The crime king wants to destroy Miller's pilot—and Miller, in any order. But soon a rich femme fatale, a jockey with a shady reputation, and race horse mix things up. The one thing Miller wants to know is how is how a woman who never changes her expression or voice and considers a sentence a long reply can get him, more excited than your average Hollywood bombshell. Filled with fascinating characters and glimpses of early TV "Murder mystery about TV and the lethal adventuring in making a pilot film. John Miller finds willing helpers in spite of lack of necessary financing but nasty Humphrey Salmon tries to thwart his venture. John is helped by terse Quality Piper, intent on finding the murderer of her father. No idling here." —Kirkus "Lively." —The New York Times