Mystery and murder abound in this latest Bradbury noir tale--the story of an aging movie queen marked for death, and the unnamed screenwriter and h...
read full description
reviews
Jan 03, 2011
Jason (FNORDinc)
rated it: 
I have never been one who fancied Ray Bradbury’s mystery novels. Reading “Let’s all kill Constance”, third in this particular series, I was kind of lost.
Essentially, an unnamed protagonist is pulled to his front door on a dark and stormy night by Constance, a wayward movie star who lives just down the beach. She is distraught, pushed over the edge by two “books of the dead”. The dead and nearly dead in these books are all know by her and seem to be harbingers of her own impending doom. More...
Essentially, an unnamed protagonist is pulled to his front door on a dark and stormy night by Constance, a wayward movie star who lives just down the beach. She is distraught, pushed over the edge by two “books of the dead”. The dead and nearly dead in these books are all know by her and seem to be harbingers of her own impending doom. More...
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Feb 04, 2009
Chantelle
rated it: 
I bought a signed copy of this book at the LA Times book fair at UCLA in 2008 because, after reading Fahrenheit 451, I was inspired to read another of Bradbury's books. It was not what I had expected of Bradbury. But don't get me wrong, I don't mean that in a bad way. All I mean to say is that, being used to Bradbury's usual sci-fi futuristic theme, I was surprised to find this one a mystery. But, nevertheless, I loved every second of it. There were two things about this book I will never forget
More...
Jun 25, 2010
Casey
rated it: 
Perhaps what you should know before you attempt to digest this book is that Bradbury appears to have a slightly eccentric, stream of consciousness writing style where most sentences have no point of reference. Only if you're literary enough, or are familiar with Bradbury's other work, can you pick up on the sources. I myself only clued into a few. However, I only say this because I'm a newcomer to the author, and haven't read the first two books in this not-so-mysterious mystery series. So
More...
May 30, 2009
Sheila
rated it:
A few things troubled me about this book. Constance is sent her old phone book with the names of people who are still living circled in red and marked with an ominous crucifix (although I rather suspect Bradbury doesn't mean "crucifix" because that would imply that there's a little stick-man Jesus drawn on each of these crosses). She is also clutching a Los Angeles phone book from 1900--which she and the protagonist (Bradbury himself it seems) both find as ominous as the other book. I
More...
Oct 28, 2011
Bev
rated it:
Well....you might find Ray Bradbury's Let's All Kill Constance shelved at your local library or bookstore under "mystery" but let me tell you, this ain't your usual detective novel. This is Bradbury channeling Faulkner or some other stream-of-consciousness writer and throwing all his lovely language and metaphors into a mixer and spewing out craziness. Seriously.
As if it's not crazy enough that our unnamed hero has an aging, has-been Hollywood star, Constance Rattigan (Is tha More...
As if it's not crazy enough that our unnamed hero has an aging, has-been Hollywood star, Constance Rattigan (Is tha More...
Dec 17, 2009
Vicky
rated it:
This was rather disappointing because the story was all over the place. I kept on reading in the hopes that it would get better and something would make the plot worthwhile. The identity crisis theme could have been better developed. But there were definitely some interesting scenes.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 13, 2010
Tom
rated it:
The characters in Bradbury's book speak in over-the-top dialogue so immense it is vaudevillian in scop (no doubt intentional by the author, but off-putting nonetheless). Costance, an aging actress, suddenly appears at the protagonist's door with two "books of the dead," a phone book and personal address book in which most of the entries are deceased (something which shouldn't be surprising, since Constance is old). In addition, there are several entries which are circled and annotated
More...
Oct 06, 2010
Susan
rated it:
If Poe had lived long enough to immerse himself in popular culture, he might have written a thriller like this one. Or maybe not: there's some verbiage that sounds like Poe, but much of the rest is pure Bradbury. Our writer/narrator is confronted one dark and stormy night by a desperate neighbor, a fading film star, who feels threatened. The next morning she's gone, and the writer, along with his three friends (D'Artagnan and the three musketeers, perhaps?) follow the trail of her past, looki
More...
Apr 20, 2008
Greg
rated it:
This is a cute satisfying book by Ray Bradbury. It is a recent book and has some of the same characteristics of his writing since he produced Quicker than the Eye. That is, his writing is very spare. There is very little description, the dialog is similar to the dialog that Leigh Brackett used to write for Howard Hawks films, very short and punchy with characters completing each other's sentences. The sparseness of the writing may be a reflection of the fact that Ray has to write via dictati
More...
Dec 17, 2009
Brandy
rated it:
I love how "the Crazy" somehow ends up the detective in a murder mystery every time his wife goes out of town. (I mean, I really do. I giggle.)
This is a novel for Bradbury fans. It is to be read after Death is a Lonely Business, and Graveyard for Lunatics - anyone coming to this novel without a previously established appreciation for Bradbury, and without fore-knowledge of the characters and events of the two previous books, just won't get this. (says me.)
This is a novel for Bradbury fans. It is to be read after Death is a Lonely Business, and Graveyard for Lunatics - anyone coming to this novel without a previously established appreciation for Bradbury, and without fore-knowledge of the characters and events of the two previous books, just won't get this. (says me.)
Sep 17, 2011
Susan
rated it: 
9/2011 Written when Bradbury was in his early 80’s, this book would have been better as a short story. Unhinged and unlikable characters; weak plot; disjointed, often uncreative dialogue; listed as a mystery but not mysterious. This book was probably fun to write (visiting old Hollywood sites) but not very fun to read. The only redeeming part was the inclusion of a few literary references.
Feb 17, 2009
Ben
rated it:
Like much Bradbury, the writing is fantastic--it's magical, lyrical and poetic, while the dialogue is beautiful and completely unrealistic. However, the story itself doesn't hold up--it's a little confusing and hard to follow. Which is too bad, because it's wonderful to read--it's just hard to figure out the point.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Gregory
rated it:
I loved Death is a Lonely Business and Graveyard for Lunatics, the precursors to this book, but I just feel like Bradbury completely betrayed the characters of the series with Let's All Kill Constance. When was Constance so openly a coward previous to this? Yes, she had that side to her in the previous books, but she also always had the intimidating, gregarious exterior that made her such a compelling character. Not here. And what about Crumley's portrayal? Don't even get me started. Bradbury's
More...
Jun 26, 2008
Kirstie
rated it:
The best strengths of the book lie within its ability to be satirical and completely outlandish while looking for all kinds of clues regarding who Constance really is and the mysterious deaths that have been taken place (a book with names and addresses, some of which are crossed out, appears in the beginning of the book, setting forth the remaining plot.) At it's height, it provides an excellent argument for the idea of escaping into various forms of people and characters, ultimately to escape
More...
Jun 01, 2010
Judy
rated it:
This book disappointed. It seemed like a book written because one was due to fill the writing contract. It was hard to follow with much needless banter. There seemed to be little distinction in characters.
Feb 19, 2011
Raeofdarkness
rated it:
I think that Crumley may be Ray Harryhausen as he was the best man at Bradbury's wedding . It is more of his cronies fictionalized while he was in Hollywood.
Aug 23, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
He's trying to be playful and funny, using mystery book tropes and bouncing along...but the book is about as satisfying as a marshmallow.
Jul 22, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
This was a very quick read. Strange, novel, and entertaining. Character descriptions are very interesting.
Mar 11, 2009
David
rated it:
The slightest of his three slight mystery novels. It has its charms, but it's one for the diehards.
Sep 01, 2011
Lili
rated it: 
perhaps, the 1st 2 parts of this trilogy were better. however, things change :)
Jun 19, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
This book was OK. The story was intense, but a little overwhelming. In the end, I'd probably not read it again. Definitely different coming from the author of Farenehit 451.
Dec 17, 2009
Jessi
rated it:
This is my least favorite book by Bradbury. Maybe that's because I don't know that much about old Hollywood, but I just didn't care much for the story. It didn't have the same sinister mood and fascinating events that characterize his older works.
