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KILLER MATERIAL
by Dan Barton
Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin's Press, April 2000
304 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0312252226


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I love mysteries with a different kind of sleuth. I sure found one in Killer Material by Dan Barton. I found a standup comic. You read that right. A comedian who is also a sleuth. Not only can Irishman Biff Kincaid make an audience laugh at the comedy clubs, he can make love to the ladies (friend and foe alike), take a punch, win a barroom brawl and solve a murder.

Fellow comedian Art Westcott calls Biff asking for a favor. Art needs Biff to cover for him that night at Chortles Comedy Club as headliner. While waiting his turn at Chortles, Biff watches the opener, Ned Lando. Lando is horrible and what's more he's a lifter. He steals material from other comics and uses it in his act. Things heat up when Biff's material is taped and Biff discovers Art Westcott's body ... his head blown off. Biff gets some surprise help from a gun toting comedy club owner.

Dan Barton is a stand up comedian so he knows what he's writing about. It's an interesting look at the comedy scene with a little theft and murder thrown in. The book is funny at the right times and suspenseful when it should be. Barton is what I call a scene writer. He writes smoothly moving scenes that are easy to imagine using description of place and sharp, snappy dialog. While I think everyone will know who the murderer is, there is a great twist at the end that I think will happily surprise the reader. While there is no mention of a sequel to Killer Material, I'd like to see Biff back again ... soon.

Reviewed by Lane Wright, August 2001

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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