THE SHOOTING SCRIPT

THE CUTTING ROOM, Laurence Klavan's first adventure of film-freak turned investigator Roy Milano, was a fresh twist on the detective drama in which Milano tracked down the world's most valuable lost film. Klavan's latest work has an unkempt plot, heavy on atmosphere and light on logic. In it, Milano becomes embroiled in a series of murders while trying to track down the second most valuable lost film, Jerry Lewis's 1972 dark drama THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED. Sensing a pattern? The work is performed beautifully, but reader Nick Sullivan does not have a lot to work with. His delivery is flawless, but even his skills cannot rescue this illogical saga from mediocrity. M.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 06]