cover image The Brink of Fame

The Brink of Fame

Irene Fleming. Minotaur, $25.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-312-57544-1

Fleming (the pseudonym of Kate Gallison) stumbles in her second mystery featuring pioneering film actress Emily Daggett Weiss (after 2010's The Edge of Ruin). In the spring of 1914, Emily, the co-owner of Melpomene Moving Picture Studios, leaves Fort Lee, N.J., to join her husband and business partner, Adam Weiss, on location in Flagstaff, Ariz. On arrival, Emily finds Adam has run off with vapid actress Agnes Gelert and managed to lose their film company to his odious longtime adversary, Howie Kazanow. Fortunately, Emily encounters Holbert Bruns, an obliging private detective, who helps her land a job with movie mogul Carl Laemmle in Hollywood. Laemmle promises her a chance to direct a film if she can locate missing star Ross McHenry. A host of unsavory characters become suspects after McHenry's body turns up. Trite characters and a sketchy view of the early Hollywood movie industry limit this one's appeal. (Aug.)