KILLED IN PARADISE

by William L. DeAndrea ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 1988

TV-network trouble-shooter Matt Cobb (Killed with a Passion, etc.) here chaperones Jan Cullen--winner of station deejay Joe Jenkins' mystery contest--and her pretty, leggy friend Kenni on an eight-day, all-expenses-paid mystery-theme boat cruise to the Caribbean island of St. David. Aboard are: a husband and wife duo who make a living scripting shenanigans at sea; about a hundred would, be detectives trying to solve the case of the corpse on the cruise; and several noted mystery writers, including recovering alcoholic Mike Ryerson and obnoxious, macho Lee H. Schaeffer, who takes an instant dislike to the chaperoning Matt. When Schaeffer disappears, the chef's knives are stolen, and Matt looks worried, the ""sleuths"" assume it's all part of the staged plot. But it's not--and neither is the disappearance of haughty dining-room manager Burkehardt. Soon word reaches Matt that deejay Jenkins has been murdered; that St. David's most infamous resident is Martin Gardero, who moved to the island to establish a virtually impregnable drug-distribution set-up; that Gardero's nephew was duped out of five-million dollars' worth of gems by Robert Joseph Janski, a.k.a. Joe Jenkins. While mulling over these facts, Matt is attacked and almost thrown overboard, and as his life passes in front of his eyes, so, too, does the solution--which he explains to the murderer/schemer/gem-thief once the ship docks back in New York. DeAndrea can't quite float this one; Matt's romance with Kenni seems forced, as do his attempts at humor; and few readers will believe the use to which the chef's knives are put, or what gets dumped out the porthole. Fathoms below, alas, the fine Killed in the Ratings.

Pub Date: July 19, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Mysterious Press--dist. by Ballantine

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION