Keystone

By: Peter Lovesey

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Synopsis: In this witty standalone masterpiece set during the golden age of silent cinema, a British vaudeville performer turned movie cop finds himself in a real-life crime story.It&’s 1916, and Warwick Easton&’s traveling show has landed him in California. Out of money and about to return to England, Easton gets lucky when silent movie star and &“King of Comedy&” Mack Sennett offers him a job performing slapstick comedy stunts as a Keystone Cop.At Keystone Film Studios, he runs into silent-era comedy legends, including Mabel Normand and Roscoe &“Fatty&” Arbuckle, but the laughs turn sour as things quickly start to go awry. Known in his new role only as &“Keystone,&” Easton finds the line between cop and comedian starts to blur, especially when a series of tragedies strikes the studio. The gory death of a stunt actor on a roller coaster seems like an accident, but then a bludgeoned body is discovered in a bungalow and Amber Honeybee, the beautiful but troubled actress Easton has befriended, vanishes. Easton has no choice but to step into the role of a real detective. Does he have what it takes to unravel the mystery in time and save the girl?