Ceepak and Boyle's seventh caper (Rolling Thunder, 2010, etc.) moves like lightning as it puts its cartoonish cast through...
How low can reality TV go? Think murder.
After beat cops are unable to keep a lid on a perpetually volatile situation, macho New Jersey police detective John Ceepak and his partner, cheeky narrator Danny Boyle, draw the short straw and are assigned to monitor the personnel involved in the hit reality television show Fun House (think Big Brother crossed with Jersey Shore, with a dash of American Chopper), currently filming at the resort town of Sea Haven. The carnival of dysfunction is overseen by slick, sleazy producer Marty Mandrake. Unfortunately, both clueless Mayor Sinclair and Chief Baines think the detectives' involvement is a great way to minimize danger while bringing helpful publicity to Sea Haven. Set at the "Coin Castle," Fun House features a predictably twisted collection of hard-partying troublemakers like Paulie "The Thing," Soozy K and Paulie's nemesis, steroid-addicted Vinnie, known as Skeletor because of his muscle-and-bone physique. As it happens, Skeletor is a wanted fugitive, part of a biker gang sought by New Jersey police for two years. Ceepak's plans to arrest him cause all kinds of trouble with higher-ups. The issue gets a new dimension when Paulie turns up brutally murdered and Skeletor is tagged as the prime suspect. Predictably, Mandrake wants the production to keep rolling. He has the mayor's ear, which means a tumultuous investigation and more killings before the case is solved.
Ceepak and Boyle's seventh caper (Rolling Thunder, 2010, etc.) moves like lightning as it puts its cartoonish cast through their paces.Pub Date: May 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60598-336-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Pegasus Crime
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
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