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Overview
From the infamous mind of a comic madman—and the author of the sardonic The Big Question—comes a mind-numbingly hilarious parody of cop dramas, police procedurals, and America’s upper crust.
• Comic legend: Chuck Barris is the creator and former producer of The Gong Show, The Newlywed Game, and The Dating Game, among many others. His memoir, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, sparked a worldwide debate as to the validity of his professed identity when he claimed to have worked as an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency during the 1960s and the 1970s. As a storyteller, Barris is the blackest comedian there is. As a satirist, he may be one of the best writers around today.
• A masterful spoof: Art Deco Jr. is heir to a vast fortune, scion of one of America’s most powerful men—but he is also the black sheep of the family. When he is found murdered in his Manhattan apartment, everyone wonders who could have killed him. Was it Art’s recently spurned lover, Eddie Cotton, the failed actor and gigolo? Was it one of Art’s own relatives, all of whom seem ready to disown him for tarnishing the family name? As the investigation unfolds, it becomes apparent to the novice detective Jimmy Netts that without an actual license, it’s tough to investigate anything resembling a crime scene. Full of uproarious investigative snafus, Who Killed Art Deco? is a dark and delightfully funny book from an equally troubled mind.
Synopsis
Art Deco Jr. is heir to a vast fortune, scion of one of America's most powerful men — Art Deco Sr. — though by the time we meet him in these pages, Art has fallen into a life of depravity: booze, drugs, you name it. The Deco family is almost too embarrassed to acknowledge him as their own. And by the time Art is found shot dead in his elegant Manhattan apartment, there is a long list of friends and family who may have wanted to kill him — so the police have their work cut out for them.
NYPD detectives Eddie Roach and Jackie Hallerhan are up against a wall when private investigator Jimmy Netts is called on the case by Art Deco Sr. His first case, no less! Netts teams with the NYPD (mostly because he's not exactly sure how to go about solving crimes, much less understands the procedure, and doesn't have a detective's license) to find out who killed poor Art Jr. It could be just about anyone.
As a storyteller, the infamous Chuck Barris is the blackest comedian there is. As a satirist, his is a wickedly razor-sharp voice. The deadpan dialogue, investigative snafus, crime drama parody, and cast of hilarious characters in Who Killed Art Deco? bring to mind an unholy combination of Agatha Christie and the Pink Panther, with just a dash of Homicide. This is a dark and delightfully funny book from an equally, delightfully, troubled mind.
Publishers Weekly
Barris (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) misses the mark with this grating attempt at whodunit parody. Heir to millions, Arthur "Art" Deco Jr. wants nothing to do with his father's mammoth company, Kentucky-based Deco Industries, preferring to hobnob in Manhattan. So when he falls in love with wannabe actor Eddie Cotton and gleefully announces to his father, Arthur Deco Sr., that he's gay, it doesn't sit well with Deco Sr. or the rest of Art's Southern family. When Art is discovered shot in his apartment, the police are quick to call it a suicide and avoid a high-profile investigation. But then Jimmy Netts, a former podiatrist-turned-unlicensed-PI from Philadelphia, recently relocated to Bowling Green, Ky., hits the scene, hired by Deco Sr. to look into Art's death and prove it was murder. Netts gets most of his investigative techniques from old episodes of Homicide, but manages to bumble along, thanks to the help of two unbelievably cooperative NYPD detectives, finally stumbling upon the underwhelming truth. Unfortunately, Barris's characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, and the sophomoric humor is, well, very sophomoric. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
From the Publisher
"The latest novel by the author of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (1982) and The Big Question (2007) is a three-in-one literary satire, lampooning simultaneously the murder mystery, the private-eye novel, and the family drama. Barris, who gained early fame as the creator of such television fare as The Gong Show, is a wildly inventive writer whose imagination takes him, and us, to some very strange and entertaining places." — David Pitt, Booklist"Once he kicks into gear, Barris is as antic in mystery mode as in any other. Like a more linear Tim Dorsey, the former Gong Show host (The Big Question, 2007, etc.) deadpans his way through his detection debut, delivered shotgun style." — Kirkus
"I thoroughly enjoyed Who Killed Art Deco?! And I was fascinated once the various characters began to unfold. All in all a fun read." — Dick Clark
Publishers Weekly
Barris (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) misses the mark with this grating attempt at whodunit parody. Heir to millions, Arthur "Art" Deco Jr. wants nothing to do with his father's mammoth company, Kentucky-based Deco Industries, preferring to hobnob in Manhattan. So when he falls in love with wannabe actor Eddie Cotton and gleefully announces to his father, Arthur Deco Sr., that he's gay, it doesn't sit well with Deco Sr. or the rest of Art's Southern family. When Art is discovered shot in his apartment, the police are quick to call it a suicide and avoid a high-profile investigation. But then Jimmy Netts, a former podiatrist-turned-unlicensed-PI from Philadelphia, recently relocated to Bowling Green, Ky., hits the scene, hired by Deco Sr. to look into Art's death and prove it was murder. Netts gets most of his investigative techniques from old episodes of Homicide, but manages to bumble along, thanks to the help of two unbelievably cooperative NYPD detectives, finally stumbling upon the underwhelming truth. Unfortunately, Barris's characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, and the sophomoric humor is, well, very sophomoric. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
Before American Idol and the Dr. Phil Show, there were The Gong Show and The Dating Game, two wildly successful 1960s TV game shows that emphasized straight-ahead entertainment blissfully free of glitz, angst, or, indeed, substance. Both were creations of Barris, who has since gone in for writing (The Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) and who hasn't lost his touch. In his latest novel, arriving just in time for vacation season, the protagonist, Arthur Deco Jr., realizes that he's gay, an insight that comes to him when he's passionately kissing Eddie Cotton, the spitting image of a young Dean Martin. Art's lifestyle is looked on unfavorably, though, by members of his wealthy Kentucky family, and before too long Art and Eddie have a messy breakup. When Art turns up murdered, the private detective (and former podiatrist) hired to track down the culprit doesn't have to look far afield to find a couple of prime suspects. It's fair to say that nobody picking up a book with this title and authored by the legendary producer will likely be disappointed. Recommended summer reading, especially for those who remember the young Dean Martin. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ2/1/09.]
—Bob Lunn