A Fatal Glass of Beer, Stuart M. Kaminsky
A Fatal Glass of Beer, Stuart M. Kaminsky
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

A Fatal Glass of Beer

Author: Stuart M. Kaminsky

Narrator: Stuart M. Kaminsky

Unabridged: 7 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/20/2021


Synopsis

This "enjoyable lark" is a road-trip mystery with an old Hollywood backdrop, starring PI Toby Peters and the great comic W. C. Fields (Library Journal).

Under names like Otis J. Raisincluster, Quigley E. Sneersight, and Cormorant Beecham III, W. C. Fields squirreled away nearly a million dollars in banks across the country during his vaudeville days—before he became one of the silver screen's most recognizable funnymen. But it's no laughing matter when a burglar has the audacity to rob him blind, stealing his bankbooks and cleaning out his accounts. Steaming, the comedian hires Hollywood private investigator Toby Peters to track down the missing dough and protect what remains of his nest egg.

On a cross-country road trip through small-town 1940s America, a frequently inebriated Fields and a frequently exasperated Peters encounter complications in the form of the Amish, John Barrymore, and the Ku Klux Klan. But can they catch their elusive quarry—Lester O. Hipnoodle?

About Stuart M. Kaminsky

Stuart M. Kaminsky (1934-2009) was one of the most prolific crime fiction authors of the last four decades. Born in Chicago, he spent his youth immersed in pulp fiction and classic cinema-two forms of popular entertainment which he would make his life's work. After college and a stint in the army, Kaminsky wrote film criticism and biographies of the great actors and directors of Hollywood's Golden Age. In 1977, when a planned biography of Charlton Heston fell through, Kaminsky wrote Bullet for a Star, his first Toby Peters novel, beginning a fiction career that would last the rest of his life.

Kaminsky penned twenty-four novels starring the detective, whom he described as "the anti-Philip Marlowe." In 1981's Death of a Dissident, Kaminsky debuted Moscow police detective Porfiry Rostnikov, whose stories were praised for their accurate depiction of Soviet life. His other two series starred Abe Lieberman, a hardened Chicago cop, and Lew Fonseca, a process server. In all, Kaminsky wrote more than sixty novels. He died in St. Louis in 2009.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Glen on May 09, 2020

Toby Peters and WC Fields go on a cross country trip. It seems that over the course of his long career, Fields put various sums of money in local banks all over the country. Somebody stole all of his bank books, and is now trying to withdraw all of his money. It's very good. WC Fields is a sad, isola......more

Goodreads review by Jeff on April 27, 2024

This was so much fun with both the craziness of W.C. Fields and a real mystery to solve. This is the first Toby Peters series I have read and won't be my last. The Audiobook with Fields voice was pitch-perfect.......more

Goodreads review by Johnny on July 06, 2021

Aspects of A Fatal Glass of Beer are racist, misogynistic, and pedophobic. But how could they be otherwise when reflecting the misanthropic, deliberately outrageous persona of W. C. Fields during a period of anti-Asian sentiment and anti-Nazi, Communist-suspicious anxiety? A Fatal Glass of Beer upho......more

Goodreads review by David on July 04, 2022

It's a Toby Peters mystery-- but as usual, the star of the novel is the guest star. In this case it is the often imitated W.C. Fields. Fields promptly takes center stage and begins to bull his way through this story in what quickly becomes a hilarious farce. By design, Peters is perfectly cast as th......more

Goodreads review by F.R. on November 27, 2023

So with this, the Toby Peters series is done. (Yes, there are some more after this, but for various reasons I skipped this one on the main readthrough and circled back to it.) I’ve enjoyed my trip across these 26 books, but I wouldn’t recommend them for everyone. It really does require you to be a fan......more