Death in the Fifth Position

Name: Death in the Fifth Position
Brand: Brilliance Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Gore Vidal
ISBN: 9781543696929

Author: Gore Vidal, Edgar Box

Series: An Edgar Box Mystery

Narrator: Mikael Naramore

Unabridged: 5 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Published: 08/27/2019

Categories: Fiction, Mystery & Detective

Synopsis

In Death in the Fifth Position, dashing P.R. man Peter Sargent is hired by a ballet company on the eve of a major upcoming performance. Handling the press seems to be no problem, but when a rising star in the company is killed during the performance—dropped from thirty feet above the stage, crashing to her death in a perfect fifth position—Sargent has a real case on his hands. As he ingratiates himself with the players behind the scenes (especially one lovely young ballerina), he finds that this seemingly graceful ballet company is performing their most dramatic acts behind the curtain. There are sharp rivalries, sordid affairs, and shady characters. Sargent, though, has no trouble staying on point and proving that the ballerina killer is no match for his keen eye and raffish charm.

About Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal (1925–2012) was born at the United States Military Academy at West Point. His first novel, Williwaw, written when he was 19 years old and serving in the army, appeared in the spring of 1946. He wrote 23 novels, five plays, many screenplays, short stories, well over 200 essays, and a memoir.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on September 01, 2024

Maybe it's the pulp dialogue. Maybe nearly everything comes down to my love of pulp dialogue. This deeply satisfying murder mystery fairly drips with it. So naturally I'm thrilled to have fallen into the path of 'Edgar Box'. ~ which I only did because, in his memoir 'Palimpsest', Gore Vidal explains......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on September 12, 2021

A witty mystery solved by the dashing hero Peter. Who isn't afraid to get his kit off, drink. in dive bars or use his charm to solve the crime! Not a great read but a fun read never the less. Vidal's wit shines through in the writing style and the setting also give you a glimpse into the bitchy world......more

Goodreads review by David on January 22, 2017

This was Radio 4's Book at Bedtime a couple of months ago*. I only caught one episode but it was very funny. The book didn't really live up to my expectations. I thought the writing - and the dialogue in particular - would (to steal from Mary McCarthy) "click like bright billiard balls". It didn't. *......more

Goodreads review by Nooilforpacifists on January 21, 2016

A young Gore Vidal, behind the pen name "Edgar Box", tries his hand at hard-boiled detective fiction--and does better than many of his later more serious novels. (If you can tolerate his over-compensating sneering about "fags" throughout.) Vidal wrote two other "Edgar Box" books, which are worth rea......more