Book Review #57: Video Killed the Radio Star by Duncan MacMaster

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Title: Video Killed The Radio Star

Author: Duncan MacMaster

Genre: Murder Mystery, Amateur Sleuth sub-genre

Format: Ebook

Date of Publication: 26th July 2018

Publisher: Fahrenheit Press

ASIN: B07FYNWDPH



Money in the bank and his dream girl on his arm – life was looking pretty sweet for Kirby Baxter. 

Of course it couldn’t last. Where would the fun be in that? This is a sequel after all.

After solving the murder of a movie starlet the previous year, Kirby is doing his best to live down his burgeoning reputation as part-time Interpol agent and amateur sleuth.

Then reality TV comes knocking next door.

Million Dollar Madhouse is a reality TV show where a bunch of washed up celebrities are thrown together in a dilapidated mansion while their attempts to renovate the building are broadcast 24/7 for the viewers delight.

Kirby’s quiet town is thrown into chaos by the arrival of camera crews, remote control video drones and a cast of characters including disgraced actress Victoria Gorham, political shock-jock Bert Wayne and reality TV royalty Kassandra Kassabian.

When one of the cast members turns up dead the local police turn to the only celebrity detective in town for help and draft an unwilling Kirby into their investigation.

The first body is only the beginning of another rip-roaring adventure for Kirby Baxter and with Gustav his loyal driver/valet/bodyguard/gardener//chef/ass-kicker at his side, our hero plunges into the fray with his usual stunning displays of deductive reasoning and sheer bloody luck.



This book had its positive and negative points. Let’s start with the positive. This book is a fun read. It’s been a long time since I read an amateur sleuth story and this was the perfect book for my comeback to this sub-genre. Another aspect I loved about this book was that, even though this was a murder mystery, this was a light-hearted read with a good sprinkling of playful banter. The chemistry between our sleuth Kirby, his girlfriend Molly and his friend Gustav was the best part of this novel. Now the other part of the novel. The actual murder case started at one point and took a long route to reach the conclusion. The case going deeper than what seems is not the problem but I felt that it went a bit wayward, and even though it tied up in a bow-tie, I didn’t feel satisfied with the answers provided. It was only the protagonist who kept me interested enough to see this story till the last page. The murder case, for me, missed the mark by a tiny margin but that didn’t stop me from completing the book.


Final Verdict:
Video Killed The Radio Star by Duncan MacMaster gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.


About the author:
Author Picture- Duncan MacMaster

Duncan MacMaster is a writer, pop-culture blogger, and film school survivor from the untamed wilds of Eastern Canada.

When he’s not concocting plots for Kirby Baxter to unravel he’s posting rants and rages about the business behind pop-culture on his blog.

 

Social Media:

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Thank you to Fahrenheit Press for providing me with the e-book, and to DampPebbles Blog Tours for including me in this blog tour.

Don’t forget to check out the other blogs who are taking part in this blog tour!

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