We’ve had murder sleuths come in all shapes, sizes and persuasions – from Sherlock Holmes to Jessica Fletcher, from Jane Marple to Adrien English. Over the past year, I’ve followed P.I’s who are special agents or surfer cops, book shop owners or mystery writers, insurance investigators, TV reporters, criminal defence lawyers etc … so for something different for a change, send out a casting for call for the following main characters:
• Thirty-something former child TV star now current C-grade actor enjoying a comfortable living (his parents invested his early earning very well) with a penchant for having his fortunes read (Jarrod) • Thirty-something well built, tall, formerly married cop, boyfriend of three years to the aforementioned actor (Charlie) • Cute Pekinese trained to respond to the name Snickers • Middle aged, fast talking, no-nonsense, take-no-hostage female talent agent who can double as BFF to the actor (Laurette)
Setting ingredients: Hollywood Hills, WeHo cafes and wine bars, TV serial casting call-backs, lecherous acting coaches, gyms and saunas, Mexican pool-boys, plus-plus sized Reiki reading fortune tellers, twenty something tattooed massage therapists who offer added extras, psychotherapists with dubious qualifications, wealthy cougar mamas who’d been under the knife too many times.
Sprinkle liberally with TV shows references (e.g. Smallville, Dynasty, Touched By An Angel, Hart to Hart, Charlie’s Angels, West Wing, Jerry Springer, Oprah) and tabloid drawcard names (former child stars, current stars infamous for some public indiscretion).
Cue on Jarrod discovering his close buddy’s murdered body in a pool (they were once child stars together) with ensuing mayhem, barely gay-tolerant police investigators and flashing tabloid press.
And faster than you can say "Jumping Jack Flash" – we have several attempts on Jarrod’s life and those of his loved ones, ominous psychic fore-tellings of death and impending doom, trouble in home-front paradise with territorial power struggles between said actor and his cop-boyfriend as to who should be the qualified person conducting the investigating work, official coronial findings of accidental death, no-one taking Jarrod’s suspicions seriously as he comes across several suspicious characters associated with the now deceased former child-star best buddy. The red-herrings kept me suitably distracted and I wasn’t able to predict either motive or culprit for the murder(s).
As a character, Jarrod reads somewhat like Jack McFarlane blended with Ricky Schroeder and Jason Stuart. And for the Charlie the patient boyfriend cop – think Bobby Canavale in Will and Grace. The plot pace is fast and tight, the chapter settings changeover as frequently as Kylie Minogue stage ensembles, the cast of suspects are suitably wacky and weird.
I had a very enjoyable tongue-in-cheek, semi-satirical reading experience overall – it was nice change to read a gay-whodunnit suffused with a decided Entertainment News flavour. Author Rick Copp has written two more titles in this series which promises more rollicking-good-fun reading for me.
• Thirty-something former child TV star now current C-grade actor enjoying a comfortable living (his parents invested his early earning very well) with a penchant for having his fortunes read (Jarrod)
• Thirty-something well built, tall, formerly married cop, boyfriend of three years to the aforementioned actor (Charlie)
• Cute Pekinese trained to respond to the name Snickers
• Middle aged, fast talking, no-nonsense, take-no-hostage female talent agent who can double as BFF to the actor (Laurette)
Setting ingredients: Hollywood Hills, WeHo cafes and wine bars, TV serial casting call-backs, lecherous acting coaches, gyms and saunas, Mexican pool-boys, plus-plus sized Reiki reading fortune tellers, twenty something tattooed massage therapists who offer added extras, psychotherapists with dubious qualifications, wealthy cougar mamas who’d been under the knife too many times.
Sprinkle liberally with TV shows references (e.g. Smallville, Dynasty, Touched By An Angel, Hart to Hart, Charlie’s Angels, West Wing, Jerry Springer, Oprah) and tabloid drawcard names (former child stars, current stars infamous for some public indiscretion).
Cue on Jarrod discovering his close buddy’s murdered body in a pool (they were once child stars together) with ensuing mayhem, barely gay-tolerant police investigators and flashing tabloid press.
And faster than you can say "Jumping Jack Flash" – we have several attempts on Jarrod’s life and those of his loved ones, ominous psychic fore-tellings of death and impending doom, trouble in home-front paradise with territorial power struggles between said actor and his cop-boyfriend as to who should be the qualified person conducting the investigating work, official coronial findings of accidental death, no-one taking Jarrod’s suspicions seriously as he comes across several suspicious characters associated with the now deceased former child-star best buddy. The red-herrings kept me suitably distracted and I wasn’t able to predict either motive or culprit for the murder(s).
As a character, Jarrod reads somewhat like Jack McFarlane blended with Ricky Schroeder and Jason Stuart. And for the Charlie the patient boyfriend cop – think Bobby Canavale in Will and Grace. The plot pace is fast and tight, the chapter settings changeover as frequently as Kylie Minogue stage ensembles, the cast of suspects are suitably wacky and weird.
I had a very enjoyable tongue-in-cheek, semi-satirical reading experience overall – it was nice change to read a gay-whodunnit suffused with a decided Entertainment News flavour. Author Rick Copp has written two more titles in this series which promises more rollicking-good-fun reading for me.