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Rating: 
Summary: BETTE MEETS AGATHA TO CATCH A KILLER!
Review: Bette Davis is having problems in Hollywood. Warner Brothers won't provide the juicy parts she needs to broaden her screen career, and she wants to renegotiate her contract. Also, her marriage seems to be on the rocks. So naturally, she decides to sail to England to get away from it all. On the ship she meets Nydia Tilson, a prominent medium. And since Bette is looking for a place to live while in London, Nydia suggests she rent the mansion of her former fiancé, the famous archaeologist, Virgil Wynn. Bette is more that willing to do so.Unfortunately, it appears as if someone is slowly murdering Virgil, who realizes this but with stiff British upper lip sits around fading away while planning to leave on his next (and probably last) archaeological dig. Bette moves in the day Virgil that moves out for journey to Egypt. She also meets her next door neighbor a certain Mrs. Mallowan, who just happens to be a writer with a passion for eating apples. The next morning Bette wakes to discover Virgil's dead body. Informing her neighbor of the situation Agatha Mallowan responds, "My specialité. A body in the library!" The rest of the novel unwinds in true Christie-style with loads of suspicious friends, relatives and hired help. (Unfortunately, there's no butler who could have done it.) As in all of his celebrity mysteries, Baxt has again thoroughly researched both the history of the era and the lives of Bette Davis and Agatha Christie. This results in a very believable and enjoyable work. This one set on my book shelf for a couple of years before I got around to reading it. So you might have a hard time finding a copy of it. If you do, grab it because it is a fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Satirical Mystery
Review: Like all Baxt's entries in the famous people murder mysteries, this one is a true satire. In it we see the incomparable Miss Bette Davis as she takes up residence in England while waiting for her contract court case with Warner Brothers. She is staying in an archeologist's house and while there the archeologist is found dead in his own study. Bette is thrown in with her neighbour, none other than Agatha Christie the famous mystery writer to and they're trying to solve a murder. Before the book is done another death occurs, and the story rushes to its conclusion. The setting of the book only takes place over a 12-hour stretch and a lot happens in that time frame. Bette gets a taste of what a truly disfunctional family is like. The book was OK and there are lots of twists and turns, but I didn't find that it showed the true Bette. It missed somehow. She was a multi-faceted woman and a wonderful actress, but this book falls short a bit in its depiction of her true character. The mystery is fun though, and if read in the context of a satire is well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: A Satirical Mystery
Review: Like all Baxt's entries in the famous people murder mysteries, this one is a true satire. In it we see the incomparable Miss Bette Davis as she takes up residence in England while waiting for her contract court case with Warner Brothers. She is staying in an archeologist's house and while there the archeologist is found dead in his own study. Bette is thrown in with her neighbour, none other than Agatha Christie the famous mystery writer to and they're trying to solve a murder. Before the book is done another death occurs, and the story rushes to its conclusion. The setting of the book only takes place over a 12-hour stretch and a lot happens in that time frame. Bette gets a taste of what a truly disfunctional family is like. The book was OK and there are lots of twists and turns, but I didn't find that it showed the true Bette. It missed somehow. She was a multi-faceted woman and a wonderful actress, but this book falls short a bit in its depiction of her true character. The mystery is fun though, and if read in the context of a satire is well worth it.
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