Book Review: It Happened One Knife by Jeffrey Cohen (Double Feature Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Characters, humor, and plot

Cons: Climax a little over theatrical, but it does fit the book.

The Bottom Line:

Humor, mystery

Both stronger than the first book

Enjoyable read

It Happened at the Comedy Theater

When the first Double Feature Mystery was released, I was disappointed. I knew Jeffrey Cohen could write better (and funnier) mysteries than that one. That's why I didn't hesitate to give the second one, It Happened One Knife, a chance. And my faith was rewarded.

This series is set at Comedy Tonight, the only comedy theater in New Jersey. Owner Elliot Freed features one classic comedy and one current comedy as a double feature every week. The business doesn't make that much money (okay, so it makes no money at all), but Elliot is quite ready to give it up yet.

Elliot has long been a fan of the comedy team Lillis & Townes. When he finds out that Harry Lillis lives in a retirement center near his New Jersey home, he can't resist going for a visit and asking the comic to appear at a special screening of his classic Cracked Ice. Things get even better when Les Townes also shows up.

Elliot's soaring spirits are short lived, however, when Lillis mentions in passing that Townes killed his own wife in a fire 50 years before and got away with it. Despite the fact that all the evidence is long gone (not to mention on the other side of the country), Elliot begins poking around to see what he can find. And the response he gets makes him think that there is something to Lillis' claims.

As if that weren't enough, a student film also has disappeared from his theater. Can Elliot figure out either crime?

While the two plots never converge, the student film maintains its place as a sub-plot most of the time. Both story lines progress well, with plenty of twists and turns to keep us guessing as to who done it. And both endings surprised me. The climax is a bit theatrical, but it fits Elliot's character and the tone of the book.

The characters are absolutely great. Elliot is a very human leading character. I really felt for him at quite a few places in the book. And I like his ex-wife Sharon. They have a complicated relationship I enjoy watching unfold. Speaking of relationships, Elliot and Police Chief Dutton have some verbal sparring matches that are great. The staff at Comedy Tonight expands by one, and Anthony, Sophie, and Jonathan are all fun characters as well. Even the new characters are full fleshed out, especially Lillis and Townes.

In the first book, I felt the humor was forced. Here, that wasn't the case at all. The sarcasm, quips, and wit were as much a part of the characters and situation as anything else. And I was laughing my entire way through the book. While Dutton got the best line, all the characters made me laugh at one point or another, even poor Sophie who is in the middle of some teenage induced hatred of men.

Of course, the first person narration helps with that. Being a classic comedy fan, Elliot has a quick wit, and we get that in his narration as well. That just makes the writing that much faster a read.

All told, this is the kind of book I expect from Jeffrey Cohen. If you enjoy funny mysteries, you need to check out It Happened One Knife.