The Body in the Bed

By: Stewart Sterling

Narrated by: Michael Vasicek

Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

"A suspenseful, gripping yarn." (The New York Times)

It was just another busy day at the Plaza Royale - until a pretty hotel manicurist, white with terror, suddenly fled through the lobby and disappeared into the crowded Manhattan streets. Her unexplained flight, and the discovery of some bloodstained pillowslips, gave Gil Vine, the hotel's detective, the tipoff that trouble was brewing. Its source turned out to be the suite of a secretive South American mogul and his entourage including a beautiful señorita, a vicious monkey, a muscular valet, and an elusive character known as Miguel. When Gil investigated, he walked into one of the most explosive situations in his career. For the Latin was really an ousted dictator, loaded with stolen money and jewels, and with a host of assassins pledged to kill him!

The Body in the Bed is one of the most exciting of the classic 1950s Gil Vine mystery novels.

"Plenty of action . . . never fails to be interesting." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Stewart Sterling is credited by leading reviewers with having been one of the originators of the "specialized" or modus operandi school of detective story writers as opposed to the private investigator who has no background in any particular field of criminal activity. His Special Squad stories in Black Mask were the first to make use of inside techniques as used by the Loft Squad, the Bomb and Forgery Squad, the Criminal Identification Bureau, and the Stolen Property Bureau of the New York Police Department. His Fire Marshal Pedley stories were acclaimed by Thomas Brophy, New York City's most celebrated Fire Marshal, as being true to the modern methods employed in the detection of arsonists. His hotel detective tales, with Gil Vine as Chief Security Officer of a swank Fifth Avenue hotel, have been published in many foreign countries - and Sterling received letters from all over the world, with the Oliver Twist request for "more."

©1959 Deerstalker Editions (P)2019 Deerstalker Editions

Enjoyable noir detective story

The Body in the Bed by Stewart Sterling is an engaging mystery set in a 1950’s luxury NY hotel. Gil Vines, the hotel detective, has his hands full when a rich South American and his entourage books into the hotel. Then, the bodies start falling. Its dated, but its fun to listen to. The performance by Michael Vasicek is great. I received a free copy of the audiobook for my honest review.

Intriguing murder

This is an older style crime story. The concept is good with murder and mayhem of course. It is a mystery and takes place mostly in a hotel with the head of security. The narrator fit the story. Overall it wasn’t my cup of tea.

This 1950s hotel detective gets things done!

This 1950s hotel detective gets things done!

5 stars overall, 5 stars story, 5 stars narration

 

   The whole story took place in less than 24 hours and is told from a single first-person perspective.  The novel includes some graphic violence but it is not gratuitous.  It took about a chapter for me to get hooked on the story.  It turned into a really cool mystery that still seems fresh and vibrant.  One of the twists near the end went over my head because it involved remembering a bunch of names, but that was okay.  I enjoyed the other twists.  I highly recommend this procedural mystery that is a fun blast from the past.  I am excited to listen to the other Gil Vine audiobook next.

 

   Gil Vine is the resident head detective at the ritzy Plaza Hotel in New York City.  I love how Gil Vine has compassion for all the fellow employees whom he protects, and I love his no-nonsense attitude and great efficiency.  There are a few memorable minor characters as well, such as Gil’s secretary and his assistant detective.

 

   At first I wasn’t sure about the narration, but after a chapter or two Michael Vasicek settled into the story and I got used to his style.  I came to love his gravelly Midwestern voice for Gil.  He is marvelous at pacing and action scenes and is effective at women’s voices.  Soon I loved his performance and thought he perfectly captured Gil Vine and the people around him.  I am not an expert on South American accents, but I think he did a very good job with all the South American characters.

I requested and received a free review copy from the publisher, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

interesting

This one was very interesting to follow. So many twists and turns. Poor Coral and her hubby.😢😢 I was tense and entertained at the same time. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job bringing it to life.

Noir Detective intrigue

If you enjoy the old 1940's-1950's film noir detective stories, this book would be a good read for you. Gil Vines is the head of security at the Plaza Royale Hotel in NYC. When a young manicurist flees the hotel after visiting a dignitary staying on the 17th floor, things start to heat up. Gil and his team try to find out what might have caused her to leave in such a hurry and the plot thickens as they begin to discover a tale with international implications.

This book is full of action and full of characters. It is a little hard to keep track of all the names, especially in the audiobook version. But, the story is well-written, the plot unfolds as Gil follows the leads and the whole thing is finally wrapped up (after a few dead bodies pop up along the way). I loved the addition of the spider monkey, who becomes an important part of the whole tale as the story progresses.

The narrator, Michael Vasicek, is the perfect fit for this story told from the POV of Gil Vines. His performance definitely added a lot to this book.

If you are looking for a book with a good story line set in the days before the Internet and cell phones, give this one a try. I appreciate the fact that Wordwooze Publishing is keeping the older books and magazine stories alive in the age of audiobooks. My only complaint about this book is the cover of the audiobook. It really doesn't have anything to do with the book IMHO. I think that a more vintage cover which fit the story better would have been an improvement.

I was given the opportunity to listen to this book by the publisher and chose to review it.

The body in the bed

very interesting story and the gentleman who was talking made it more enjoyable. I would really recommend it.