Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery

(Hardback)

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Description

Fred Van Lente's brilliant debut is both an homage to the Golden Age of Mystery and a thoroughly contemporary show-business satire. As the story opens, nine comedians of various acclaim are summoned to the island retreat of legendary Hollywood funnyman Dustin Walker. The group includes a former late-night TV host, a washed-up improv instructor, a ridiculously wealthy "blue collar" comic, and a past-her-prime Vegas icon. All nine arrive via boat to find that every building on the island is completely deserted. Marooned without cell phone service or wifi signals, they soon find themselves being murdered one by one. But who is doing the killing, and why A darkly clever take on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and other classics of the genre, Ten Dead Comedians is a marvel of literary ventriloquism, with hilarious comic monologues in the voice of every suspect. It's also an ingeniously plotted puzzler with a twist you'll never see coming!

Reviews

Original, funny, and - like all great comedians - Van Lente slays the audienceDavid Quantick, Emmy award-winning writer ofVeep, The Thick of It, Brass Eye,andHarry Hill's TV Burp

Fresh, funny, and entertaining.Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine

Van Lentes strength is in his narrative ability [...] and his sharp, acerbic humor. The mystery is pretty fun too!BookRiot

Van Lentes look at the selfishness and misery of show business is sure to be a hit with mystery lovers who savor unusual setups; the side of snark provided by the bitter islanders adds to the atmosphere.Booklist

This book is like if Agatha Christie was funny, which is to say that it is infinitely better than Agatha Christie. If you're in the comedy world you'll feel that you know some of the characters firsthand. Hell, if you're a 21st century human you'll feel you know some of the characters firsthand.Jennifer Wright, author ofIt Ended BadlyandGet Well Soon

Ten Dead Comediansis a funny and nail-biting front row seat to the bloodthirsty world of professional comedy ... and that's BEFORE the murders start.DanielKibblesmith, writerforTheLate ShowWithStephen Colbert

An homage not only to stand-up comedians everywhere but to Agatha Christies original mystery, Van Lentes novel is hilarious and suspensefulall at once.BookTrib

Fred Van Lente takes an old idea and drags it kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.So assured, so fresh and so inventive, it's hard to believe this is his first novel.Kevin Wignall, best-selling author ofA Death in SwedenandThe Hunters Prayer

Spinal Tapmeets Agatha Christie. I loved it.Martyn Waites, best-selling author ofBorn Under Punchesand the Tania Carver series

Fred Van Lente delivers an Agatha Christie twisty mystery filled with all the cruel, horrible, and violent deaths that only stand-up comedians truly deserve.Grady Hendrix, author ofHorrorstr,My Best Friend's Exorcism, andPaperbacks from Hell

[This] debut fiction could possibly become, in its own way, as much of a classic as the novel it honors.New York Journal of Books

Ten Dead Comediansis an ingeniously plotted puzzler with classically unanticipated twist ending.Midwest Book Review

I flew through this book, anxious to uncover the identity of the killer, and that is perhaps the highest recommendationI can give. I couldn't put it down.Geeks of Doom

Its a bit guiltily we admit that watching a handful or two of hack comedians be slowly picked off is a delight.Cool Material

Tense, startling and relentlessly hilarious.HiLowBrow

A fantastic debut and a fun ode to Agatha Christie'sAnd Then There Were Nonethat provides plenty of comedy to go along with the rampant murder.Four Letter Nerd

This book [is] oddly mesmerizing.Mystery Playground

Written with savage wit and skewed humor,Ten Dead Comediansis an uproarious treat.Midwest Book Review

Author Bio

Fred Van Lenteis the #1 New York Times best-selling writer of the comics Odd Is on Our Side, Archer & Armstrong, and Action Philosophers! He also cowrote the graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens, which was made into a film starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig.