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Talent for Murder by R. T. Jordan β€” book cover

Talent for Murder

by R. T. Jordan
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Overview

Polly Pepper's been hired to be the "nice" judge on "I'll Do Anything to Become Famous," the latest reality T.V. show to hit the airwaves, in which contestants have to prove that they'll go for another's jugular in order to get their names in the headlines. But someone takes the show's theme literally when Thane Cornwall, the relentlessly critical and universally hated British judge on the panel, is found dead with a ten-inch knife in his back. . .

If there's one thing Polly's learned over the years, it's that nothing in Hollywood is ever as it seems. Now she'll have to get to the bottom of this mystery before her star on the Walk of Fame may soon be put out by a cunning killer. . .

"Bubbly. . . Fans of comic whodunits will be rewarded." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author, R. T. Jordan

R. T. Jordan is the author of two other Polly Pepper mysteries, Remains to be Scene and Final Curtain. He is a senior publicist with the Walt Disney Studios. He lives in Los Angeles.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

At the start of Jordan's bubbly third sleuth-a-thon to feature Hollywood actress Polly Pepper (after 2008's Final Curtain), Polly becomes a judge on a cheesy reality TV show, I'll Do Anything to Become Famous. When someone plunges a knife into a fellow judge, nasty Brit Thane Cornwall, Polly flips into Miss Marple mode. The prime suspect? Thane's ex-lover, Lisa Marrs, the producer's secretary, found at the crime scene with the murder weapon. Aided by housekeeper Placenta, gay son Tim and her current amour, Beverly Hills detective Randal Archer, Polly uncovers some surprises involving such show contestants as rapper Ped-Xing and Miley Cyrus clone Amy Stout. Dotted with delicious observations on America's obsession with celebrity, this entry should win new fans for Polly, who, as the body count rises, tells the exasperated Archer that she's "a death magnet. And there's nothing you can do about it." Fans of comic whodunits will be rewarded. (June)

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Kirkus Reviews

A TV legend delves into yet another murder. Never one to ride off quietly into the sunset, Emmy-winning actress Polly Pepper has landed a gig as a judge on an appalling reality show, I'll Do Anything to Become Famous. Her fellow judges are Brian Smith, a little-known back-up dancer, and Thane Cornwall, a Brit who makes Simon Cowell sound like Mother Theresa. The mostly untalented contestants do indeed seem willing to do anything to win, and it's quite a surprise that when Thane is murdered, the police pass them by and arrest Lisa Marrs, handsome network president Richard Dartmouth's secretary. As usual, Polly ignores her lover detective Randy Archer's pleas to mind her own business and enlists her gay son Tim and her faithful maid Placenta to help her hunt down the killer. She's piqued into still further efforts when one of the contestants turns up dead at her own lush mansion, the Pepper Plantation. Polly snoops to her heart's content; visits Lisa in jail; and invites everyone from the show to dinner parties, all the while downing copious amounts of her favorite bubbly. Whether readers will have an equally fine old time is open to question. Polly's third jocular adventure (Final Curtain, 2008, etc.) will appeal to only the most diehard fans of Tinseltown trivia. Agent: Joelle Delbourgo/Joelle Delbourgo Associates

Book Details

Published
May 1, 2010
Publisher
Kensington Publishing Corporation
Pages
320
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780758267214

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