false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170366252m/50015.jpg 50015 16 The image of drowned circus cages in the trash-filled canals of Venice, California, both haunts and illuminates famed fantasy and science fiction author Ray Bradbury's rare venture into the mystery field. Like filmmaker Federico Fellini, Bradbury is fascinated by the seedy splendor of cheap carnivals and circuses--"a long time before, in the early Twenties, these cages had probably rolled by like bright summer storms with animals prowling them, lions opening their mouths to exhale hot meat breaths. Teams of white horses had dragged their pomp through Venice and across the fields."<p> But now it's the early 1950s, and foggy, shabby Venice is the last stop on the circus train for scores of old silent-movie stars and young writers trying to keep their art and their bodies alive. As Bradbury's autobiographical hero, a young writer, pounds out his short stories, someone is killing off the older denizens of the tacky city. The writer joins forces with a quirky detective called Elmo Crumley and a faded screen star to investigates the deaths. Their search begins and ends in one of those iconic, waterlogged cages.<p> Blending hard-boiled detective fiction with beautiful descriptions of this strange Californian town, <I>Death Is a Lonely Business</I> is well worth investigating. <I>--Dick Adler</I> 74264 1985 Death Is a Lonely Business total:437|5:107|4:163|3:131|2:27|1:9| 437 1643 649 27 4 1 false false Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 16 19:01:13 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 16 19:07:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Mar 16 11:38:18 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 16 11:42:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 01 19:01:24 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 01 19:02:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Feb 12 18:10:13 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 18:10:47 -0800 2008
One thing, though – I tried to read...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 12:05:37 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 12:42:58 -0800 2009
Craftsmanship indeed.




Scott Joplin 1907



]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 26 18:08:16 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 18:11:10 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 09 13:55:25 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 13:55:25 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 21:04:12 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 21:04:12 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 09:29:29 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 12:26:41 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1990 Fri Aug 17 06:32:13 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 10:54:41 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Sep 13 14:55:51 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 24 16:30:30 -0700 2007 Raymond Chandler. However, there is some great dialog and interesting characters, altogether 'fun' is the most appropriate description.more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Mar 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 08:14:18 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 08:17:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Aug 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 07 12:26:55 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 25 21:05:01 -0700 2009
What I learned: Not to read this book while home alone on a stormy night with family away in the LA area of California. At least I wasn't listening to Tosca.]]> 3 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 28 12:38:55 -0700 2007 Wed Nov 07 21:33:03 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 13:30:42 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 13:32:10 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Wed Nov 07 14:49:14 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 11 16:02:06 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Sat Jun 02 22:56:14 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 26 17:07:37 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 16 12:18:05 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 26 08:07:17 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Mon Jun 09 09:23:28 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 09:25:52 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Tue Aug 19 16:10:02 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 16:13:55 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=50015