Cameron McCabe (1915–1995)

In her first film, Estella Lamarre was one of two women in a love triangle. It was her big chance and she played her part well, so McCabe, the number two cutter, is shocked when he's told to cut Estella out of the picture. Later Estella ends up dead in the cutting room, and McCabe joins up with Smith, a Scotland Yard detective, to investigate her death.

This book was first published in 1937 and it's an oddity. McCabe is author, narrator, detective, and it's possible that he might be a murderer. At first the story just doesn't make sense, but that's because McCabe has left things out. Smith fills in some of the gaps, then other characters fill in some more. There are diversions into existentialism and politics; characters come and go for reasons that don't become clear until near the end.

The last quarter of the book is a big surprise, unlike anything that came before. Can't say more in case I ruin it.… (more)