Book Review: No Laughing Matter

Reviewed By: Cheryl - RAM

No Laughing Matter     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Peter Guttridge
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Nick Madrid

Nick Madrid, a freelance journalist, witnesses Cassie Parker, an aspiring actor and comedian, fall to her death at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival. The death is dismissed by the police as a suicide, but Nick and his friends are not convinced. Their investigation follows the entertainment scene from Montreal to Edinburgh to Los Angeles.

The rather hapless Nick and his friends are forced to deal with threats and violence as they untangle the threads of the complex plot. The entertainment industry and the chaotic lives of the small fry working in it are described with black humour. This is not a light-hearted farce in the Janet Evanovich style, but rather a satire on the lives of the former flower children, ex-addicts and religious converts populating the entertainment industry.

Overall, this well-constructed story is very readable, especially for those with an interest in the lower levels of the entertainment world.

Cheryl - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM