Muscatine showing to offer sneak peek of new Collins movie

On Nov. 1 and 2 at the Palm 10 Theater, “Death by Fruitcake,” the story of a mother and daughter amateur detective duo from the award-winning Trash ‘n’ Treasure mystery series, will premiere. The movie stars Emmy award winning broadcaster Paula Sands as antique store owner and theater diva Vivian Borne. Midwest pop star Alisabeth Von Presley, who has been featured on American Idol and American Song Contest, plays her daughter and reluctant assistant.

“We’ve been doing a series of novels – Barb and I – writing under the name Barbara Allan, for almost 20 years now,” Max Collins said. “It’s kind of a comic mystery series. It’s a murder mystery but its lighthearted.”

Set in picturesque Serenity, Iowa — based on their native Muscatine — the books deftly balance a puzzling whodunit with the travails of divorcee Brandy, her eccentric mother Vivian, and furry little shih tzu Sushi. The duo operate out of their Trash ‘n’ Treasures antique shop as they continually upstage local chief of police Tony Cassato, Brandy’s gruff love interest.

Death by Fruitcake adapts a novella of the series. Vivian invites a Hollywood star to perform in her play ‘The Fruitcake that Saved Christmas.” During the play, the unpleasant star is murdered. The star’s long history with the other members of the cast becomes the clues as the amateur sleuths work to find out whodunit.

The movie was shot in and around Muscatine at the end of August. While the movie isn’t scheduled to be widely marketed until Christmas 2025, the Collins’ wanted to have a special treat for the people of Muscatine with an advanced screening of the film. The movie begins at 7 p.m. both nights.

Max Collins said some of the background is in Wildcat Den State Park, but most of the movie was shot in the New Era Church in Muscatine.

“I hope they (the audience) have a very good time,” Barbara Collins said “It is very funny. Murder is never funny but this has lots of laughs in it. Paula is a wonderful comedian and so is Alisabeth and the writing is top notch. It was a real pleasure for us to shoot.”

Last year, the couple released “Blue Christmas,” a hard-boiled blend of “A Christmas Carol” and “The Maltese Falcon.”

Max Collins, a Muscatine native, was named a Mystery Writers of America “Grand Master” in 2017. His graphic novel Road to Perdition (1998) became the Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks. Max Collins has written and directed seven features, including the Lifetime movie Mommy; and he scripted The Expert, an HBO World Premiere. His Quarry novels were adapted as a 2016 TV series by Cinemax for which he wrote two scripts.

The latest novel in the Trash ‘n’ Treasures series, Antiques Slay Belles, will be published Nov. 5 by Severn House and is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com and other national booksellers.