Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Fun City Heist by Michael Kardos

 

Michael Kardos invokes visions of rock star wannabes in Fun City Heist, to be published in early December 2025 by Severn House. He dampens those dreams with a considerable dose of realism through stories of backstage concert prep, grueling travel, miserable sleeping accommodations, betrayals by booking agents and managers, and hopes that eventually fizzle.

Sunshine Apocalypse started with a few teenage friends who struggled through constant touring and taking every booking, looking for that one big break to strike gold. Their reality was a record contract, some radio air time, and one song that reached the national top 20. The contract evaporated and the group fractured under the strain.

Thirty years on and none of the band members are doing much more than scraping by. Lead singer John Clay appears from nowhere and wants to pull the band together for one last gig at Fun City, the New Jersey seaside amusement park where the band first played. Clay has wangled a place at the July Fourth celebration at the park, always the highlight of the summer tourist season.

Mo Melnick, the drummer with perfect pitch, hasn’t touched his drums for years, has painful memories of the group’s split, and is reluctant to even consider trying to re-create the past, but the other members are in and they pressure him to join. Then Clay explains his real motive: he intends to rob Fun City to pay his medical bills. The fact he based his plan on logistical information that is years old and not only might have changed but almost definitely has changed doesn’t stop him. He sweeps the rest of the group along with an offer of cash that they can all use.

Mo’s teenage daughter, raised solely by her mother, decided to spend the summer at the New Jersey beach with friends and then moves in with Mo uninvited when a squabble ends the friendship. Mo doesn’t know how he feels about suddenly becoming a guardian but he’s hesitantly intrigued by this human linked to him through genes. He is at first startled and then enchanted by the discovery she has inherited his musical talent.

Nothing about the gig or the robbery goes as planned, as might be expected.

A surprising story, by turns light-hearted and melancholy with overtones of midlife regrets, beautifully expressed. Great ending.

Fans of Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder and of Carl Hiassen will want to look at this book, as will rock afficionados who enjoyed One Last Hit by Nathan Walpow, the music industry references in the Harry McCoy series by Alan Parks, and the Vinyl Detective series by Andrew Cartmel.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Severn House

·         Publication date: ‎December 2, 2025

·         Print length: ‎208 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1448317231

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1448317233

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4p7NaP0

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.