The Actor's Guide to Murder

Rick Copp surprised me. I picked up this book on a whim after I saw a friend of mind reading 'An Actor's Guide to Greed', he really liked it and recommended I start with the first book. Well, I couldn't have been happier, and I couldn't put the book down, I finally finished around 3am because I just had to know what was going to happen next. I love a good book, and a good mystery, and this certainly fit the bill. It's light hearted and easy to read, it will make you laugh certainly, but there's a few unexpected touching moments as well several heart pounding ones that had me on the edge. Best of all, it will keep you guessing until the end, there are some great plot twists in 'Murder'. Nicely done Rick! I can't wait to read the next two, and hopefully, many more to come!

... Author Rick Copp does a wonderful job portraying the Hollywood that lies under the glamour that we see on television and in the magazines. Stars sell themselves for a few bucks, let their egos be defined by today's role, and let the media define their relationships and their honesty. Copp's descriptions and dialogue are frequently laugh-out-loud funny and Jarrod makes a convincing and sympathetic character. Mystery readers are likely to guess the killer a long time before Jarrod does, but that doesn't keep this short mystery from being an enjoyable read.

The Actor's Guide to Murder by Rick Copp is a wonderfully entertaining read, and a pretty darn good who done it as well. This charming story of a once famous child star determined to get to the bottom of his friend's death kept me burning the midnight oil. The book is full of interesting characters, and manages to maintain a good but not overblown sense of humor throughout. I was particularly fond of the twins, but I don't want to say any more about them, as I don't want to give anything about the murder plot away. I found the narrator and main character, former child star Jarrod Jarvis, to be well rounded and totally believable, and I found his butch but sensitive boyfriend Charlie the cop to be every gay man's dream...well at least mine. I love a book that has a strong and loving gay relationship at its core. The Actor's Guide to Murder does not disappoint on this score. With many an unexpected twist and turn, I found this book to be a fun filled ride through the murderous hills of Hollywood. I could not put it down! I highly recommend it.

When 1980s teen icon Jarrod Jarvis is caught kissing another boy at the L.A. Gay Rodeo, "his star fades faster than a Kathie Lee Gifford CD" according to the dust jacket. That blurb alone convinced me to pick up the book and check out the first chapter. Boy, am I glad, too. Finally, a gay mystery that features characters who happen to be gay. The self-deprecating humor and vicious in-jokes made me chuckle aloud--a rare feat when I read. The story itself is standard cozy mystery fare, and I identified the killer halfway through, yet, unlike with other mysteries, once I thought I had the killer pegged, I still wanted to read to see how our hero figured it out.Well written, breezy, with memorable characters and a terrific sense of humor. Recommended for all but the homophobic right-wing uncle we all have....

If Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris got together with Sue Grafton and Agatha Christie, the result would probably be something very close to Rick Copp's fabulously entertaining debut novel, "The Actor's Guide To Murder".Every once in a while a new voice in fiction comes along and spins an old genre in an exciting new direction. Copp does this brilliantly: refracting the classic mystery franchise formula through prism of smart social satire that is so effective because it's never caught trying. The mystery is full of fun twists, the characters are quirky and real, the Hollywood setting vivid. Most of all, the book is knee-slappingly funny. What more could you ask for...? (Except, perhaps, his next book!)