Book Review: The Sinister Sitcom Caper by Sally Carpenter (Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mysteries #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Mystery, Sandy, and fun

Cons: I would like to see more of how Sandy figured out the solution

The Bottom Line:

Guesting on sitcom

Must solve cast member’s murder

Fun second entry

Murder is No Laughing Matter

Since I really enjoyed the first Sandy Fairfax book when I read it, I was quite happy when I received more in the series for Christmas, and I wasted no time in jumping in to see what would happen to him in The Sinister Sitcom Caper, the second in the series.

If you haven’t met Sandy yet, he was a teen idol in the 1970’s.  Between his singing career and his starring role on Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth, he was quite busy.  However, he’s fallen out of favor in the fifteen or so years since then, thanks in part of his alcoholism.  But he’s trying to put that behind him now as he mounts a comeback.

He’s been back in LA for a few weeks from his disastrous appearance at a Beatles fan festival (aka the first book in the series), when his agent lands him a guest starring part on a sitcom.  No, it’s not one of the top new comedies of 1993, but Off-Kelter, a struggling show that hardly anyone is watching.  But a job is a job.  And for Sandy, it has a nostalgia factor since the sitcom shoots on the soundstage where they used to shoot his show.

But working on this sitcom isn’t going to be all fun and laughs.  The tension between the various cast members is so thick that you’d have to be completely oblivious to not notice it.  So, it’s hardly surprising (to us, anyway), when one of the actresses drops dead at Sandy’s feet.  Since no one else seems to be taking the death seriously, Sandy starts investigating.  Can he figure out what happened?

Being the entertainment junky that I am, I loved the idea of a book set behind the scenes of a sitcom.  Since author Sally Carpenter used to work for a studio, I’m sure we got some accuracy from the book.  Obviously, some details were changed to make for a better mystery.  While we might not have as many laughs as you’d get on a sitcom (this is a bad sitcom, after all), there are still some smiles and laughs to enjoy along the way.

And the mystery itself?  It did stall out a bit in the middle, but it was still solid with many viable suspects and surprises along the way to the climax.  While the solution was logical, it was a bit abrupt, and I would like to have seen how Sandy reached it.

Speaking of Sandy, we really got to know him better in this book.  Since he lives in LA and the first book wasn’t set there, we got more of a sense of his life here, including interactions with his ex and his son, which I loved.  It’s hard not to root for Sandy as we get to know him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast were also good.  There’s really only one returning character, and we don’t see that much of her, but I enjoyed the bits that we did get.  Sandy has a new sidekick here, and that relationship is fun.  The suspects do a good job of keeping us guessing as we watch Sandy try to figure everything out.

Sandy Fairfax makes for a fun sleuth, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with him.  If you haven’t met him yet, you’ll be glad you picked up The Sinister Sitcom Caper.