The last thing police officers Danny Boyle and his
partner wanted to be were some kind of celebrity jokes. However, thanks to the
alcoholic fueled antics of contestants in a The
Jersey Shore type reality show that is what they have become. Thanks to a
recent widely publicized incident Ceepak and Boyle have not only been on
television, but now also have the T-shirts to prove it.
It has also brought them to the attention of the
show’s producer Marty Mandrake. Seeking to make his version of good TV while keeping
his stars out of trouble, he wants Ceepak and Boyle to head up the security
detail. Not only are the contestants clearly a danger to themselves and others
as the court charges that will be filed after the show is over make clear, they
are also in danger from an outside threat. At least one of the contestants
apparently is taking anabolic steroids and is getting them from a very bad guy
nicknamed “Skeletor.”
For roughly the last two years Ceepak and the Sea
Haven Police Department, as well as a joint federal and state task force have
been trying to capture Skeletor. So far he has proved elusive as well almost
killing Ceepak and Boyle last summer. Skeletor is a much bigger deal than some
punks on a stupid television show so Ceepak and Boyle agree to do what the TV producer
Mandrake
wants. That also keeps the Mayor and others happy. Ratings will soar, tourism
will increase, and dollars will flow into city coffers.
Nobody expected that a couple of murders would
happen too.
This is the seventh novel in a good series that is stylistically
a bit different from the earlier books.
Officer Danny Boyle is older now and the books, told from his point of
view, reflect that older adult viewpoint. Boyle has lost loved ones, seen others
die, and isn’t the happy part time summer cop that he was when the series
started. As a result, there is far less humor in this book though there are
some very funny parts regarding the reality TV show industry and those
involved.
Unlike earlier books in the series, foul and very
graphic language is highly prevalent here. Not just among the reality show
contestants but also with numerous other characters. Just like some folks in
real life, many characters in FUN HOUSE seem to have no ability to
say anything without graphic and coarse language. The use of the language
really stands out in this novel as it hasn’t reached anywhere close to this
level before.
Despite the issue with the language FUN
HOUSE: A JOHN CEEPAK MYSTERY is another solidly good read. It deals with some strong themes in both the
main storyline and the secondary one and deals with them well. While the young
fun loving Danny Boyle of the series is long gone, this Danny Boyle is still
pretty good though not quite nearly as laugh out loud fun. You can’t undo the
march of time as Danny Boyle knows very well.
FUN
HOUSE: A JOHN CEEPAK MYSTERY
Chris
Grabenstein
Pegasus
Crime
May
2012
ISBN#
978-1-60598-336-3
Hardback
296
Pages
$25.00
Material
supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System. Again this
year the summer reading challenge for adults and kids is now underway. For more
information go to
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2012
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