From Publishers Weekly Film director Alfred Hitchcock is famous for presenting mysteries, both on TV and in print. Now he solves one in this clever hard-boiled caper, authorized by the Hitchcock estate and Universal Studios. Having been mailed a severed woman's ear in a Pond's cold cream jar, Hitchcock is curious to discover what's behind this macabre warning. Of course, since he's busy with his day job (it's the fall of '57 and he's directing Vertigo), he has to hire an ex-cop, Chester "Chess" Slattery, who's just been kicked off the force for punching out an insolent cowboy movie star, to do his footwork. Chess learns that the ear once belonged to Baby Lowen, a two-bit actress, whose butchered body turns up in a back alley. Chess pursues a variety of lowlifes and Hollywood hangers-on, any one of whom might kill to locate Baby's missing, reputedly dirt-filled diary. Davis (Red Knight) winds things up with a climax at Hitchcock's Bel Air home worthy of the Master of Suspense himself. Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak appear in cameo roles that have little to do with the plot but add to the fun. With its tough-guy dialogue and minimal exposition, the text at times reads more like a novelization of a screenplay than a proper novel, but the slick execution and novelty of Hitchcock as sleuth will keep readers turning the pages. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the
