FUNNY AS A DEAD COMIC

Cooper, author of a well-regarded series featuring Oklahoma Sheriff Milt Kovak (Other People's Houses, etc.), introduces Kimmy Kruse, a pint-sized stand-up comic from Texas, playing this week at Chicago's Kaiser Komedy Klub. On the same bill are Joey Scarlotti; Babe Marsh, who's grossly obese and does fat jokes; Bobby Rivers; M.C. Mickey Reynolds, and rising star Cab Nausberg. Cab and Kimmy are hotly at work renewing their old affair when Cab dies—in an instant—poisoned. For a while Kimmy is Detective Pucci's #1 suspect, until Reynolds is found with his neck broken, an impossible feat for petite Kimmy, and Pucci's investigations turn up more dead comedians—all connected to an Atlanta gig months before. Kimmy, once an insurance investigator, throws some good tips Pucci's way—and by the time the case is solved, with Kimmy's life on the line, they're sharing more than clues. A rambling plot with unconvincing motivation is helped some by perky, if plentifully profane, narration, a more-than-casual take on a popular entertainment phenomenon, and a heroine who could grow on you.