Best Murder of the Year

Publishers Weekly

This may not be the best mystery of the year, but this debut is a clever, witty, campy and amusing Hollywood mystery, as gay gossip columnist Rick Domino becomes the prime suspect in an Oscar night murder. Bloch sets a fast pace with his on-target Oscar nominations: "Kevin Spacey played to perfection a priest with an obsession for flashing himself at nuns in the Coen Brothers' newest quirky comedy, Saint Thang." And he sends up the awards show, where Jewel is to be joined by Meat Loaf and Placido Domingo to perform "I Can't Find Me Anywhere" from the animated feature Where's Waldo. When a famous star is murdered backstage at the Oscars, there are plenty of suspects, but Domino is the one found holding the gun. Despite the assurances of his high-priced lawyer, Rick figures using his own skill at ferreting out secrets is his best bet. Naturally, the sexual proclivities of the various suspects and their personal and professional entanglements tend to complicate matters as every suspect had reason to want the victim dead. The actors, producers and other Hollywood types who populate Bloch's zany tale are wonderfully outrageous and may obscure the fact that underneath the craziness is a serious mystery. The comic whodunit is a difficult feat to pull off, particularly when the author goes for broke as Bloch often does. This debut mystery won't win an Oscar, but it deserves consideration for best first mystery. Agent, Jane Clark at the Peter Rubie Literary Agency. (May 20) Forecast: Originally scheduled to appear during Oscar season, this should still attract plenty of interest in Hollywood. Bloch is also the author of a well-received dating handbook, Finding Your Leading Man: How to Create Male-to-Male Intimacy and Make Your Relationship a Blockbuster (2000). Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

It's Oscar night, and catty entertainment reporter Rick Domino is so busy watching pretty-boy actor Shane Kirk that he barely remembers to chat up the celebrities, let alone dish their outfits. Rick's interest in Shane, a surprise Best Actor nominee, isn't purely professional. The ambitious, pansexual Shane slept with Rick to advance his own career, and returns disingenuously whenever he needs a favor. He requests a tryst with Rick later in the evening, then wins the award. The Best Actress Oscar goes to sexually voracious Tara Perez, who's also bedded Shane and helped him in his rise to superstardom. Arriving at the rendezvous, Rick finds Tara's corpse and a pistol he unwisely picks up. Shane suddenly appears, protesting his innocence, police sirens blare, and before you can say "Surrender, Dorothy!," Rick finds himself under arrest for Tara's murder. Luckily, one of the investigating officers, the strapping, straight Terry Zane, believes in Rick's innocence. They team up to question a galaxy of star suspects: boozy old glamour queen Francine Quick, closeted action star Jeep Andrews, jaded Hollywood teenager Zeke Rafkowitz, and party-girl Connee Kellogg. Shane is nowhere to be found, but a lookalike claiming to be his twin brother Dennis—a Jesuit priest, no less—shadows their probe. First-timer Bloch (the nonfiction Finding Your Leading Man, 2000) gets maximum comic mileage out of his sleuthing odd couple, and his over-the-top Perry Mason finale is completely consistent with the sublime cheek that precedes it. Are more droll adventures on the horizon for Rick Domino?