What do you think?
Rate this book
Jeri Howard Mystery #10
Bit Player
Old movies, old memories, old crimes ― and present-day murder. Oakland PI Jeri Howard finds all of these when a chance encounter in a movie memorabilia shop sets her on an investigation into her grandmother's past life in Hollywood. Before marrying Jeri's grandfather during World War II, Jerusha Layne worked as a bit player, an actress who spoke a few lines in movie backgrounds.
Her dreams of stardom never came true. But did she play another role, that of suspect in the unsolved 1942 murder of an actor? And Jeri must also solve a current mystery: Are old movie posters so valuable that someone would kill for them?
Her dreams of stardom never came true. But did she play another role, that of suspect in the unsolved 1942 murder of an actor? And Jeri must also solve a current mystery: Are old movie posters so valuable that someone would kill for them?
275 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
43 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Janet Dawson
65 books71 followersJanet Dawson is the author of The Sacrificial Daughter, first in a new series featuring geriatric care manager. She has also written thirteen novels featuring Oakland private investigator Jeri Howard. Her first, Kindred Crimes, won the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America contest for best first private eye novel. The most recent book in the series is The Devil Close Behind.
Her Jill McLeod historical mystery series features a Zephyrette sleuthing aboard the long-distance train called the California Zephyr in the early 1950s. The first in that series is Death Rides the Zephyr.
In the past, Dawson was a newspaper reporter and a Navy journalist. She has worked in the legal field and on the staff of the University of California Berkeley. She is a long-time member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Her Jill McLeod historical mystery series features a Zephyrette sleuthing aboard the long-distance train called the California Zephyr in the early 1950s. The first in that series is Death Rides the Zephyr.
In the past, Dawson was a newspaper reporter and a Navy journalist. She has worked in the legal field and on the staff of the University of California Berkeley. She is a long-time member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 26, 2018
One of the series' best
I've read all the previous books in this series, and I think it's one of the best. A plot like a jigsaw puzzle, interesting new characters, dialogue that rings true, and historical and geographical detail that supplement the story without overwhelming it. Recommend for anyone who enjoys books featuring smart women PIs!
I've read all the previous books in this series, and I think it's one of the best. A plot like a jigsaw puzzle, interesting new characters, dialogue that rings true, and historical and geographical detail that supplement the story without overwhelming it. Recommend for anyone who enjoys books featuring smart women PIs!
May 16, 2011
Browsing in a Hollywood memorabilia shop, PI Jeri Howard comes across a poster that reminds her of her paternal grandmother, Jerusha Layne Howard who had been a bit player in the movies before her marriage.
The elderly man behind the counter of a Hollywood memorabilia shop tells PI Jeri Howard that her paternal grandmother and namesake Jerusha Layne Howard, once a bit player in the movies, had been involved in the investigation of the murder of a British actor named Ralph Tarrant. He didn't specify what Jerusha's role was, but the comment is enough to pique Jeri's curiosity.
She contacts her elderly Aunt Dulcie, in the hope that Jerusha's sister might remember something, and is thrilled to learn that Dulcie has saved the letters she received from Jerusha during those years. Reading them, Jeri finds out that her grandmother had shared a house with three other young actresses, and that one of them had dated Tarrant.
While searching for background information about the old man in the memorabilia store, Jeri stumbles onto the murder of a woman who collected Hollywood memorabilia, who had refused to sell any of her items to the store. When another collector is killed a few weeks later, Jeri begins to wonder if the present-day murders might be related to the decades-old case involving Jerusha. As Jeri investigates, the reader learns along with her many real details about the early days of the movie industry.
Dawson's first Jeri Howard novel since A Killing at the Track(2000), is a riveting mystery, at once historical and contemporary, for which she has obviously done deep and thorough research into the Golden Age of Hollywood.
*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.
The elderly man behind the counter of a Hollywood memorabilia shop tells PI Jeri Howard that her paternal grandmother and namesake Jerusha Layne Howard, once a bit player in the movies, had been involved in the investigation of the murder of a British actor named Ralph Tarrant. He didn't specify what Jerusha's role was, but the comment is enough to pique Jeri's curiosity.
She contacts her elderly Aunt Dulcie, in the hope that Jerusha's sister might remember something, and is thrilled to learn that Dulcie has saved the letters she received from Jerusha during those years. Reading them, Jeri finds out that her grandmother had shared a house with three other young actresses, and that one of them had dated Tarrant.
While searching for background information about the old man in the memorabilia store, Jeri stumbles onto the murder of a woman who collected Hollywood memorabilia, who had refused to sell any of her items to the store. When another collector is killed a few weeks later, Jeri begins to wonder if the present-day murders might be related to the decades-old case involving Jerusha. As Jeri investigates, the reader learns along with her many real details about the early days of the movie industry.
Dawson's first Jeri Howard novel since A Killing at the Track(2000), is a riveting mystery, at once historical and contemporary, for which she has obviously done deep and thorough research into the Golden Age of Hollywood.
*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.
July 18, 2020
This is about as straight forward a detective novel as you can find. Jeri Howard is a P.I. in Oakland. She is shopping in a movie memorabilia store when the clerk makes an off hand remark about her Grandma being involved in a Hollywood murder mystery. That sets Jeri on a path into the past; Hollywood in the 1940's. As she learns more about her Grandma's career as a bit player she picks up the trail of what just may be a sociopathic serial killer. Not a compulsive or sexually driven psychopath, but someone who kills for gain or when threatened. It is a matter of following the leads, talking to witnesses, and fitting the pieces together to make a case. No fancy leaps of deduction, no obscure knowledge of cigar ash, it's 'Just the Facts'. Jeri is not as well known as Kinsey Millhone, V.I. Warshawski, or Stephanie Plum but she is just as engaging and readable as her more famous peers. If you haven't tried a Jeri Howard book by Janet Dawson, I strongly encourage you to do so. I doubt you will regret it.
May 24, 2022
The Jeri Howard series keeps getting better as the private investigator delves into an investigation that’s both close to home and further back in time than she’s gone before. The murder of actor, Ralph Tarrant, in Hollywood in 1942 takes centre stage when Jeri’s grandmother is implicated by an elderly film buff in a memorabilia store. While Jeri doesn’t believe her grandmother even knew the actor concerned, she has to investigate.
It’s a difficult investigation as many of the players and witnesses have died. But a few remain, along with letters that begin to paint an intriguing picture of a house occupied by four bit players, all determined to become actresses in the movie industry.
As piece by piece, Jeri’s persistence begins to uncover what really happened in 1942, more murders occur in the present as memorabilia collectors start dying. Is there a connection with the murder in the past? Is Jeri in danger as she closes in on the truth?
It’s a vivid and fascinating investigation that kept me turning the pages from start to finish in one of my favourite novels in the series.
If you haven’t tried this series, you should go back to the first book and enjoy the absorbing and often unique investigations that make Jeri Howard such a compelling read.
It’s a difficult investigation as many of the players and witnesses have died. But a few remain, along with letters that begin to paint an intriguing picture of a house occupied by four bit players, all determined to become actresses in the movie industry.
As piece by piece, Jeri’s persistence begins to uncover what really happened in 1942, more murders occur in the present as memorabilia collectors start dying. Is there a connection with the murder in the past? Is Jeri in danger as she closes in on the truth?
It’s a vivid and fascinating investigation that kept me turning the pages from start to finish in one of my favourite novels in the series.
If you haven’t tried this series, you should go back to the first book and enjoy the absorbing and often unique investigations that make Jeri Howard such a compelling read.
April 14, 2024
free ebooks 10-13 of series i really like
female pi living in her house with 2 cats and renter girl
she was in a old movie store and the old man remembered her grandma and said she had been questioned in the murder of a actor
so she started working on the very old case and found out the people that owned that store are doing something very shady and people who own collections they want end up dead and the relatives, not knowing their worth, sell it to them for almost nothing
she got in contact with her grandmas friends to ask what they remember about that time and read old letters of her grandma. she met the grandson of one of the women and like him. he writes nature hike books. he met her dad at a birding. she later started dating him
she figured out the brother of the girl the roommates of her grandma didnt like is the one that murdered 6 people, 2 recently. she cleared those cases as well as some old ones and told a sister that her brother didnt desert the army, he was killed and that man took his identity. he was arrested
female pi living in her house with 2 cats and renter girl
she was in a old movie store and the old man remembered her grandma and said she had been questioned in the murder of a actor
so she started working on the very old case and found out the people that owned that store are doing something very shady and people who own collections they want end up dead and the relatives, not knowing their worth, sell it to them for almost nothing
she got in contact with her grandmas friends to ask what they remember about that time and read old letters of her grandma. she met the grandson of one of the women and like him. he writes nature hike books. he met her dad at a birding. she later started dating him
she figured out the brother of the girl the roommates of her grandma didnt like is the one that murdered 6 people, 2 recently. she cleared those cases as well as some old ones and told a sister that her brother didnt desert the army, he was killed and that man took his identity. he was arrested
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2022
Another Triumph in the Jeri Howard Series
Bit Player is a fascinating look into the mind and intuition of a private investigator. We become one with Jeri as she tackles a decades' old murder of a man who made his living as a bit player during the golden age of Hollywood. From the beginning, it is a personal investigation for Jeri, as her grandmother, now passed, is accused of the murder. We inch through clues with Jeri and meet people from that bygone era, their children, and their children's children. All are connected, and some have truths they need revealed. When Jeri pieces together the facts, the hard-won truth is as rewarding for her as everyone else. This well-written story by master storyteller, Janet Dawson, blends method, history, and suspense beautifully. A wonderful read.
Bit Player is a fascinating look into the mind and intuition of a private investigator. We become one with Jeri as she tackles a decades' old murder of a man who made his living as a bit player during the golden age of Hollywood. From the beginning, it is a personal investigation for Jeri, as her grandmother, now passed, is accused of the murder. We inch through clues with Jeri and meet people from that bygone era, their children, and their children's children. All are connected, and some have truths they need revealed. When Jeri pieces together the facts, the hard-won truth is as rewarding for her as everyone else. This well-written story by master storyteller, Janet Dawson, blends method, history, and suspense beautifully. A wonderful read.
July 4, 2022
Past and Present Collide
A seriously psycho serial killer takes a final jab at Jeri Howard's beloved Grandmother & namesake. Big mistake. Through dogged research and interviews with people from the 40's into the 90's the mystery is unraveled. And six or more past & present murders are solved with the killer finally brought to justice. A truly fascinating look into Hollywood & Word War Two history.
A seriously psycho serial killer takes a final jab at Jeri Howard's beloved Grandmother & namesake. Big mistake. Through dogged research and interviews with people from the 40's into the 90's the mystery is unraveled. And six or more past & present murders are solved with the killer finally brought to justice. A truly fascinating look into Hollywood & Word War Two history.
July 18, 2022
The Bit Player
I enjoyed this read. I’m a big fan of old movies, history, and murder mysteries so this combination was a big hit for me. Even though I knew who the bad guy was early on the writer did a great job of piecing the clues in with the many characters, keeping everything coherent while moving back and forth. Quite an enjoyable read.
I enjoyed this read. I’m a big fan of old movies, history, and murder mysteries so this combination was a big hit for me. Even though I knew who the bad guy was early on the writer did a great job of piecing the clues in with the many characters, keeping everything coherent while moving back and forth. Quite an enjoyable read.
June 1, 2021
Another Good Mystery
Jeri is sent on the trail of a murder of a actor from the 1940’is. This quest involves digging into her grandmother’s time in Hollywood as a actor a Bit player.
Jeri is sent on the trail of a murder of a actor from the 1940’is. This quest involves digging into her grandmother’s time in Hollywood as a actor a Bit player.
August 24, 2022
Who cares about a murder in Tinsletown in 1942? This plodded along until I could not stand it anymore.
February 21, 2023
Bit lYer
Too much descriptions of the scenery and country sides.
Otherwise, interesting plot.lines.and characters .
Don't know if I would read anymore or hers
Too much descriptions of the scenery and country sides.
Otherwise, interesting plot.lines.and characters .
Don't know if I would read anymore or hers
September 4, 2023
She always has such interesting settings. This one revolved around Hollywood bit actors from the 20s-30s. I am enjoying also getting to know more about her family.
Read
August 6, 2024Read 8/24
June 19, 2025
Love all her books. Learned a lot about the old movies and people in them. I find all her books quite interesting
June 23, 2022
I loved this book. It was such a great mix of history and current events. I loved dipping into the 40's.
March 19, 2023
Jeri Howard, California PI, makes her return after a ten year absence. Her fans, too long denied their girl, will be delighted to see her back in action.
In BIT PLAYER, Jeri gets quite the shock when a dapper old man in a movie memorabilia shop in present-day Alameda, California, maliciously suggests Jeri’s grandmother was connected to an old Hollywood murder. She might even have committed the crime. Spurred by the veiled accusation, Jeri combs through evidence of a startling cold case--a murder from Hollywood’s Golden Age that might have involved her grandmother. In 1942, somebody set a fire to cover the murder of a charming ex-pat British actor. While the murder was quickly discovered, the killer never was--despite the fact the cops questioned Jerusha Layne, Jeri Howard’s grandmother and Hollywood bit player, in connection with that murder.
Having her dander up and being a PI, Jeri decides to find out why the old man would make such a terrible claim and to find the killer if she can. To find out more about her grandmother’s life--Jerusha is now dead--Jeri goes to her family for all the information they possess, which include letters, stories, and names of old friends and roommates. Here, Jeri shows that being a PI is rather like being a historian, in that one has to troll through all sorts of old, primary sources. She even consults old newspapers for evidence of wartime Camp Roberts. Her sleuthing produces still living witnesses who provide further information about the dead actor and his connections to Hollywood and Jeri’s grandmother. The past and the present come together in more murders as Jeri pushes her investigation into the sometimes sordid word of buying, selling, and collecting movie memorabilia.
Jeri Howard is a feisty, determined, and independent woman for whom family is enormously important. In this, BIT PLAYER has something important to say, something beyond the ordinary PI novel. History matters; personal history, most of all. Furthermore, it demonstrates that one of the repositories for history, the memories of old people, is not to be shunned. The aid Pearl Bishop--and her family--give Jeri is invaluable.
Historical flashbacks, deftly done as Jeri reads and takes notes from her grandmother’s letters or as eyewitness testimony, introduce readers to early wartime California and the Hollywood studio system. These scenes are taut and authentic; for some readers, they might be too few. With the flashback scenes few, but crisp, the story remains lively and focused on the contemporary.
Some readers will be bothered by the level of coincidence in this novel. While it is convenient, it is also realistic. How often are we, in real life, surprised when we meet with someone from our small home town and remark on what a small world it is? We also remember important things when casually triggered days, weeks, or even years, later. It is the way life works. There is a literary school of thought that holds all life is nothing but a series of coincidences. Perhaps Janet Dawson draws her use of coincidence from her background in journalism, but her use of it as a literary device calls attention to itself.
Some of the characterization, especially motivation, is thin, and there are some spots of sloppy, repetitive writing--Pearl Bishop’s “Model A Ford, called the Gasper” is the most annoying. These are minor distractions from a good, competently told story. Fans of old movies will appreciate the attention to detail. Those of us without a clue about the memorabilia of Hollywood’s Golden Age will get an education. Overall, this Jeri Howard outing marks a solid return.
Received from the publisher.
In BIT PLAYER, Jeri gets quite the shock when a dapper old man in a movie memorabilia shop in present-day Alameda, California, maliciously suggests Jeri’s grandmother was connected to an old Hollywood murder. She might even have committed the crime. Spurred by the veiled accusation, Jeri combs through evidence of a startling cold case--a murder from Hollywood’s Golden Age that might have involved her grandmother. In 1942, somebody set a fire to cover the murder of a charming ex-pat British actor. While the murder was quickly discovered, the killer never was--despite the fact the cops questioned Jerusha Layne, Jeri Howard’s grandmother and Hollywood bit player, in connection with that murder.
Having her dander up and being a PI, Jeri decides to find out why the old man would make such a terrible claim and to find the killer if she can. To find out more about her grandmother’s life--Jerusha is now dead--Jeri goes to her family for all the information they possess, which include letters, stories, and names of old friends and roommates. Here, Jeri shows that being a PI is rather like being a historian, in that one has to troll through all sorts of old, primary sources. She even consults old newspapers for evidence of wartime Camp Roberts. Her sleuthing produces still living witnesses who provide further information about the dead actor and his connections to Hollywood and Jeri’s grandmother. The past and the present come together in more murders as Jeri pushes her investigation into the sometimes sordid word of buying, selling, and collecting movie memorabilia.
Jeri Howard is a feisty, determined, and independent woman for whom family is enormously important. In this, BIT PLAYER has something important to say, something beyond the ordinary PI novel. History matters; personal history, most of all. Furthermore, it demonstrates that one of the repositories for history, the memories of old people, is not to be shunned. The aid Pearl Bishop--and her family--give Jeri is invaluable.
Historical flashbacks, deftly done as Jeri reads and takes notes from her grandmother’s letters or as eyewitness testimony, introduce readers to early wartime California and the Hollywood studio system. These scenes are taut and authentic; for some readers, they might be too few. With the flashback scenes few, but crisp, the story remains lively and focused on the contemporary.
Some readers will be bothered by the level of coincidence in this novel. While it is convenient, it is also realistic. How often are we, in real life, surprised when we meet with someone from our small home town and remark on what a small world it is? We also remember important things when casually triggered days, weeks, or even years, later. It is the way life works. There is a literary school of thought that holds all life is nothing but a series of coincidences. Perhaps Janet Dawson draws her use of coincidence from her background in journalism, but her use of it as a literary device calls attention to itself.
Some of the characterization, especially motivation, is thin, and there are some spots of sloppy, repetitive writing--Pearl Bishop’s “Model A Ford, called the Gasper” is the most annoying. These are minor distractions from a good, competently told story. Fans of old movies will appreciate the attention to detail. Those of us without a clue about the memorabilia of Hollywood’s Golden Age will get an education. Overall, this Jeri Howard outing marks a solid return.
Received from the publisher.
October 12, 2011
When a stranger implies the Grandmother she was named after may have had something to do with Ralph Tarrant’s murder, PI Jeri Howard’s interest is piqued. Jeri’s grandmother was a ‘bit player’ in the 1940’s. She had small parts in a lot of major films and the thought of her having anything to do with an unknown actor’s murder was preposterous and Jeri had to prove it.
Calling in favors, she starts investigating a mystery that started years before she was born. First things first, Jeri needed to figure out who the old man at the shop counter was and how he came about this ‘information’. As she digs into his and the shop owner’s backgrounds, she has more questions than answers. Greatly suspicious, Jeri follows her second lead, her grandmother’s old letters. Visiting family, Jeri is transported back into the world her grandmother lived in through her words and gets some interesting insights.
Flashbacks show what Jerusha Layne’s life was like back then and what was going on, but it also adds more mysteries to Jeri’s plate. Another murder, this one closer to her grandmother presents itself and since both it and Tarrant’s murders are unsolved, Jeri knows there has to be a connection. Throughout, she knows there is something fishy with the old man and the shop owners, but how does it all tie together?
This is an interesting addition to the Jeri Howard Mysteries. When you read the ‘flashbacks’ you actually feel like you are in the 1940’s.
Reviewed by Ashley Wintters for Suspense Magazine
Calling in favors, she starts investigating a mystery that started years before she was born. First things first, Jeri needed to figure out who the old man at the shop counter was and how he came about this ‘information’. As she digs into his and the shop owner’s backgrounds, she has more questions than answers. Greatly suspicious, Jeri follows her second lead, her grandmother’s old letters. Visiting family, Jeri is transported back into the world her grandmother lived in through her words and gets some interesting insights.
Flashbacks show what Jerusha Layne’s life was like back then and what was going on, but it also adds more mysteries to Jeri’s plate. Another murder, this one closer to her grandmother presents itself and since both it and Tarrant’s murders are unsolved, Jeri knows there has to be a connection. Throughout, she knows there is something fishy with the old man and the shop owners, but how does it all tie together?
This is an interesting addition to the Jeri Howard Mysteries. When you read the ‘flashbacks’ you actually feel like you are in the 1940’s.
Reviewed by Ashley Wintters for Suspense Magazine
August 31, 2011
Private investigator Jeri Howard loved to hear her late grandmother Jerusha's stories of life as a bit player in Hollywood in the early 1940's. When a clerk at a movie memorabilia store mentions that Jerusha was implicated in a long-ago murder, Jeri is incensed, and uses some of her spare time to look into the crime. She's able to use her grandmother's letters to family members to trace some of her old roommates, who know the truth about the story. (Occasional flashbacks help the reader, who hasn't grown up on Jerusha's stories.) She also comes upon several murders that are linked to the long-ago crime. This is not a series I follow; I picked this up because the plot sounded interesting. For my taste, there is a lot of description of California scenery and roads--at one point, about twenty pages with just a paragraph or so of plot in it. Many people must like this style, because I've seen it in other books; if you're one of them, you will probably enjoy this.
October 31, 2011
Enjoyed it quite a bit, from the history surrounding movie-making in the 1940s, to the early wartime impact, to the present-day SF Bay area. The PI Jeri Howard doesn't exactly leap off the page as dynamic, but her procedures and daily life make sense and give the story verisimilitude (love that word!).
May 12, 2015
When a PI hears a rumor that her grandmother might have been involved in an unsolved murder in Hollywood back in the 30s, she investigates.
It's incredibly improbable, slow moving, and obvious who the killer is. However, if you like old movie trivia, this might work better for you than it did for me.
It's incredibly improbable, slow moving, and obvious who the killer is. However, if you like old movie trivia, this might work better for you than it did for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2011
Fascinating characters, intriguing mystery and although the culprit was obvious it did not detract from the story or the enjoyment of putting all the pieces together.
Looking forward to another Jeri Howard mystery!
Looking forward to another Jeri Howard mystery!
November 6, 2012
Enjoyed Hollywood trivia. Mystery was interesting twisting of vintage murder with present day. Found authors style easy to follow.
November 6, 2012
Some interesting information about early Hollywood movie studios & actors. PI solving old murder moved along slowly.
February 12, 2016
I liked the book alot, it held my interest and want to read more of Janet Dawson books.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews