Wilde City Wednesday | Release day Review, Buck Baxter and the Disappearing Divas {Wilde City Press}

Buck Baxter and the Disappearing Divas

Tales from Wilde City book #2

Geoffrey Knight

Wilde City Press (June 10^th 2015)

***** Tams 5 Star review *****

Something sinister is happening at the Maharaja Majestic Theater on Broadville Boulevard. The domineering actress, Dominique Darlington, has vanished without a trace, the opening night of the theater’s new production of The Snake Charmer’s Slave is now in jeopardy, and six suspects are about to have the pleasure of meeting Buck Baxter, Private Detective, as he investigates whether there’s a killer on the loose… or a phantom at the opera?

Could it be the handsome leading man, Errol Hemingway, who’s responsible for the disappearance of his leading lady… or perhaps it’s that sweet, doe-eyed understudy Olivia Overton? Is it the theater owner himself, the tall and mysterious Raja Khan who has committed the crime… or the show’s investor, the autocratic aristocrat Serafina Somerset? Or is it possible that the meek and mild stage manager Stanley Small, or the flamboyant and frustrated director Barnabas Blake, are guilty?

And what of Buck’s romance with playboy millionaire Holden "Harry" Hart? Will Buck get a backstage pass to access all areas of his one true love… or will this be the final curtain for Buck and Harry?

Follow the clues, and you might just solve… the mystery of the disappearing divas!

Grab your copy of Disappearing Divas today from Wilde City Press!

Picture this…

High above Wilde City, Howard Hart flies one of his airships through the bright, morning sky. Only to find his son, heir to the Hart fortune, butt ass naked on his balcony with his lover, Buck Baxter Private Investigator extraordinaire, just as naked. Holding his spent lover in his arms. The tension is palpable. As if Buck needed another headache today. First he’s very rudely woke by his assistant Stella who can best be described as a foul mouthed dame that likes to “borrow” her bosses pipe and smoke all his pot! Then there is the new case at the theater where the leading lady disappeared into a puff of fog and black feathers. Yes, I said feathers.

From the start, something is amiss, but Buck has a hard timing putting his finger on the miss since he’s having to play good cop to Stella’s slightly hysterical bad cop. The theater seems to be alive with malcontent and mysteries. The playbill for the show is a substitute suspect list as Buck and Stella try to navigate their way through costumes, cranky actors, a pretentious backer and a very cranky snake. It doesn’t help that Buck’s focus is divided between the case and his now uncertain relationship with Harry.

This was just a fast, fun read. I love this 1920’s era world Knight has created as the backdrop, with these theatrical characters that breathe life into the story. I think Stella is my favorite, I just love the way she talks, like a twenties harlot. I picture a young Mae West while I’m reading her and I can just see her at the juke joint with her feather boa, glittery flapper dress, that long cigarette holder, or in Stella’s case, Buck’s pipe! I picture her wearing a way too long string of fake pearls that she could wrap around someone’s neck and choke the living shit out of them if they pissed her off.

Then there is the dual mystery of the story that kept it a little intense for the reader. There were little clues dropped throughout the dialogue if you were paying attention while reading, that made the suspects identity clearly obvious, but I didn’t realize that until the identity was revealed. That was very enjoyable. Then there is the strain on the relationship between Buck and Harry unfolding in the background. The story flowed well and steady from start to nearly the finish, with a big finale that literally had me sitting up straight, freaking out just a little bit.

All’s well that ends well, that’s all I’m going to say. If you are a fan of slapstick mystery, Columba, the roaring twenties… grab yourself a copy of this little ditty, I think you’ll approve. I caution that you read the first book if you haven’t yet, otherwise you won’t understand or appreciate some important events and characters within this story.

Grab your pipes, pour yourself a glass of gin and sit back and enjoy Buck’s current comical caper, as he tries to solve the mystery of the Disappearing Divas! And try hard not to get caught with his pants down by his boyfriends dad again either.

From palace-hopping across the Rajasthan Desert to sleeping in train stations in Bulgaria, from spinning prayer-wheels in Kathmandu to exploring the skull-gated graveyards of the indigenous Balinese tribes, Geoffrey Knight has been a traveller ever since he could scrape together enough money to buy a plane ticket. Born in Melbourne but raised and educated in countless cities and towns across Australia, Geoffrey was a nomadic boy who grew into a nomadic gay writer. When he’s not travelling the world, Geoffrey is travelling the world of his imagination—where the adventures, thrills and romance are limitless. 

He currently owns his own advertising and design agency in Sydney, Australia, and can't wait to buy his next plane ticket—whether it’s real or imaginary.

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