Collins’ Nathan Heller series is a walk through twentieth century American history through the eyes of a fictional character, private detective Nathan Heller, who Collins seamlessly inserts into all kinds of historical events. In fact, the transition is so seamless that it is hard to tell if Heller ever really existed or not. Collins thoroughly explored the JFK assassination in earlier novels in this series. This time he turns his attention to the Robert Kennedy assassination at the Ambassador Hotel by Arab terrorist Sirhan Sirhan.
The various inconsistencies and conspiracy theories that swirled around JFK’s killing are well known to the point that nearly everyone knows about the magic bullet, the book depository, the grassy knoll, and the cast of odd CIA-linked characters who were around Oswald and Ruby. The same could not be said so much for his brother Robert Kennedy’s killing. Almost all know that Sirhan Sirhan was at the security-deficient Ambassador Hotel and got close enough to Kennedy to shoot him several times, wounding several bystanders. He was not killed before he could spill the beans (aka Oswald), but questions remain and Too Many Bullets, a title that references the fact that it is difficult to account for all the bullet wounds and the number of bullets Sirhan could have fired with his gun. Thus, despite the fact that the killing went down with dozens of eyewitnesses, many of whom were quickly swept up in pandemonium, there is a strain of thought out there that Sirhan was another patsy, that there were others involved, in particular a young woman in a polka dot dress, and, for some, there is just too much similarity to his brother’s killing to be ignored.
Here, Heller reluctantly agrees to bodyguard Robert Kennedy at the election day (primary day in California) celebration although pointedly Kennedy did not want any guns. Heller is right there, but he couldn’t stop history. Some time later, though, he is asked to look into it and see if there was anyone else involved. Reluctantly, he dabbles a bit only to find his curiousity piqued. Along the way, he meets a cast of characters and locales reminiscent of 1968 on the Sunset Strip and along the Strip in Las Vegas, including the reclusive Howard Hughes. It is a compelling read and a walk through some of the questions history leaves open. Another terrific selection in the Nathan Heller saga.
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