Crescendo by Robert J Harris - Reviews

Reviews of Crescendo

Publishers Weekly (US)

In this charming Hollywood mystery from Harris (A Study in Crimson), struggling crime author Bobby Burgoyne gets the job of a lifetime when Alfred Hitchcock hires him to write the script for his latest film. Crescendo is an adaptation of the out-of-print dime novel Close to the Edge, which tells the story of an American heiress who goes missing and is found months later, amnesia-stricken and suicidal. Bobby is eager to work on the project, but strange occurrences plague the set, including a crew member being crushed to death by a falling light and a fire on the studio lot. When a stranger breaks into Bobby's office and rips up his copy of Close to the Edge, Bobby is convinced someone is sabotaging the production. He turns to Tess Donovan, his ex-flame and a star reporter at L.A. paper the Clarion, for help, and the two are joined in their investigation by Philip Trimble, the playwright who was working on the Crescendo script before Hitchcock fired him. Harris brings 1950s Tinseltown to life with sparkling dialogue and Easter eggs galore, and the core mystery is gloriously unpredictable. For film buffs, this is a sure thing.

Historical Novels Society

Harris is adept at smart guy interior monologues in the spirit of Raymond Chandler. Hitchcock aficionados will enjoy spending time with the big man and fans of Chandler will enjoy the wise guy exchanges as Burgoyne and Tess track the villain across Tinseltown and into a climactic resolution worthy of any noir thriller.

The Scotsman Insider News – Scottish Books to Look Out For

Robert J Harris clearly had a great time writing his latest mystery, Crescendo. The novel pays tribute to the films of Alfred Hitchcock and sees the legendary director employ a fledgling writer, Bobby Burgoyne, to help him with his latest screenplay, telling the story of an icy blonde driven to madness by amnesia following a brief disappearance. When deadly accidents start to derail filming, Hitchcock asks Burgoyne to investigate who could want to stop the film from being released. What follows is an entertaining romp through noir's most recognisable tropes, from femme fatales to wise-cracking dames, as well as hard drinking, car chases, gangster goons, family secrets and lucky escapes.

Library Journal (US)

With witty yet perceptive dialog, Harris captures Hollywood's brassy soul and Hitchcock's magnetic mastery. This slam-dunk novel is sure to make Harris, alongside Hitchcock, a household name for mystery fans of all ages.

The Times

Crescendo is a pitch perfect pastiche that will delight fans of Raymond Chandler as well as those of Hitchcock. Robert J Harris employs the wit of the former — “He poured himself a tumbler of Scotch so cheap you could have used it to clean out your drains” — and captures the comic creepiness of the latter. This thriller comes to a fittingly swoony climax when revelation upon revelation leads to romance. Now all we need is someone to film it.

The Critic

Robert J. Harris's Crescendo follows the pattern of his earlier works, not least on Hannay and Holmes, with iconic characters ably captured in tales of derring-do. The narrator, Bobby Burgoyne, his dreams of “the Great American Novel” going awry, is hired by Alfred Hitchcock as the scriptwriter for Crescendo, only to discover that the novel on which it is based is a true mystery and that he is plunged into a Hitchcock-type plot with murders to move the story along. Set in 1959, there are echoes also of Chinatown and of Marlowe. Well-paced, ably-plotted and with characterisation, dialogue and writing all working. Deserves much attention and, to take the spiral further, a film. Whets my appetite for more by this author.

LoveReading

This swaggering stylish historical thriller set in Hitchcock's Hollywood merges fact and fiction as writer Bobby Burgoyne is hired by Alfred Hitchcock to solve some issues on the set of his new film. Author Robert J. Harris is adept at bringing history to vibrant life, as with his A Study in Crimson which moves Sherlock Holmes into the setting of the Second World War. Here, in Crescendo, the author has found the perfect location in history in which to insert this fictional tale, when in 1959 Hitchcock abandoned a film project. He has obviously thoroughly researched Hitchcock who appears throughout this story. The story really takes off from about halfway through as Bobby and his reporter girlfriend Tess investigate. This is an atmospheric tale with the mood created by the descriptions of the fascinating film sets and snappy dialogue. The intolerance and prejudice of the time also makes itself known. Tension mounts, and the storyline crackles with energy as it draws to its conclusion. Crescendo pays homage to 1950s crime noir and Alfred Hitchcock, and should appeal to those who enjoy the heady mix of fact within a fictional setting.