I was very surprised by this book. Initially I didn’t think the pace was right for me and I could connect with Craine, but stuck with it and really glad I did. ( )

This was a surprising book. It took me a long time to read, mostly because of things happening in my life. But I also didn't like how it started, not because of the writing or anything, but because Detective Craine is a police officer who abuses his power for the powerful. One of my biggest pet peeves.

So as we get to know Craine, we see he is very flawed but as the story goes on I quit hating him and start to feel sorry for him, and by the end I was rooting for him. This is what I found surprising. It was a good story and it took me a little bit to get into it, but I am very glad I made it through. It was worth it. ( )

The Pictures is a solid debut offering from author Guy Bolton, and a throwback to some of my favorite Noir crime authors from the 1930s and 40s. It takes about half the book to get going (and for the main character to turn from an infuriating louse into something resembling the hero of a novel), but it's well worth the work to get there. ( )

4.5 stars
This is a debut book by the author who acknowledges his debt to Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The book takes place in 1939 Hollywood. The book starts with a woman tortured and murdered. Detective Jonathan Craine, imbued with the culture of a police department obsessed with crime clearance rates, frames an innocent black man for the murder. But then things happen and he is drawn into an investigation against his will. He is known as a "fixer." The LAPD and the movie studios use him to cover up crimes/scandals involving their stars.
Craine is paired with Patrick O'Neill, a new detective, honest and determined to find the truth. If you like Hollywood noir fiction, you will enjoy this book. It has sex, cover-ups, prostitution and blackmail.
Two quotes: "This is a city of contradictions, Craine thought, a metropolis where sepia and Technicolor play side by side."
"Yes,Craine was reliable; reliable to the end. Relied upon to cover up his own wife's suicide."
Thanks to the publisher, Point Blank, for sending me this book through LibraryThing. ( )

Thank you to LIbraryThing Early Reader and the publisher for a copy of this book. I actually love reading about old Hollywood and this book by Guy Bolton did not disappoint. I felt like I was transported in time to Hollywood in 1939. The story was well paced and keep me interested with its twists. Definitely would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers or noir style stories. ( )