Star Light, Star Bright

Stanley Ellin

Mar 2017 · The John Milano Mysteries Book 1 · Open Road Media

About this eBook

From a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master: A Manhattan PI heads to Florida to deal with movie stars, a mysterious guru, and murder.

New York City private eye John Milano’s new client is an old flame—and the fire is still burning in Miami Beach. It wasn’t too many years ago that superstar Sharon Bauer dumped John for an aged and infirm billionaire at the instruction of her very persuasive yogi, Kalos, renowned master of “The Path.” Following Kalos’s advice was practically a guarantee of enlightenment for his receptive disciple. But now, the only thing Sharon is feeling is terror.

It’s not until John arrives at Sharon’s lavish Florida compound that he realizes her fears aren’t just another performance. A fun weekend house party with Hollywood friends has turned into an intimate mystery: Kalos has received a series of unnerving and anonymous notes threatening his life. Though John can’t bear the sight of the influential mystic, he’s agreed to protect him, for Sharon’s sake. But he soon learns that Kalos isn’t the only target. Nor is he the only guest to harbor buried secrets and mortal enemies. In fact, Sharon’s past is littered with them. And when a sudden death shakes the well-guarded estate, John and Sharon know they’re about to follow a path that’s a lot more permanent than spiritual nirvana.

Star Light, Star Bright is a “richly entertaining” crime novel from an Edgar Award–winning master of suspense (Miami Herald).

Ratings and reviews

John Milano is private eye in New York City. He has a new client ... an old flame now married to a very, very rich man. Someone has threatened to kill her personal guru .. a man that Milano knows all too well. He flies to Florida where Sharon, his old flame, and her husband are hosting some Hollywood types. All of them have motive, but who has been sending the threatening notes? Milano finds out that everyone is suspect and trying to stay out of the clutches of Sharon while working for husband is more troublesome than you would expect. The threatened guru refuses to leave and seems to welcome whatever is coming his way. Is he sending notes to himself? All the guests seem to have secrets and sorting out all the lies is leading him all over the place. This one is a little outdated .. written in 1979, for example ... the use of private eye rather than private investigator. No cell phones, no pagers, even. But it was well-written, story premise was good. Characters are fully defined. I like Milano... he has a sense of humor, as well as a sense of honor. The Hollywood people were well typed to the beautiful people years ago. There are lots of suspects .. and it was fun watching Milano catch them all in their lies. Many thanks to Open Road Integrated Media / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

Stanley Ellin (1916–1986) was an American mystery writer known primarily for his short stories. After working a series of odd jobs including dairy farmer, salesman, steel worker, and teacher, and serving in the US Army, Ellin began writing full time in 1946. Two years later, his story “The Specialty of the House” won the Ellery Queen Award for Best First Story. He went on to win three Edgar Awards—two for short stories and one for his novel The Eighth Circle. In 1981, Ellin was honored with the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award. He died of a heart attack in Brooklyn in 1986.