The Con Artist Paperback | Kindle
Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Tom Fowler
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release date: July 10, 2018
Mike Mason lives at conventions… literally. He loves the feeling of creating something from nothing, at the behest of fans of his art. When he arrives at the biggest con of the year, San Diego Comic-Con, he has to face his ex-wife and the man she cheated on him with, plus he’s hit with the news that his mentor, Ben K, has died. If only that was the worst of it! Spontaneous actions coupled with alcohol leaves Mike with little recollection of the night before. If only Danny hadn’t gone and died during that time! Now a suspect, Mike is on his own case, tracking down his alibi and sketching the clues. Can he elude the fuzz and various enemies long enough to solve the crime before he is arrested?
Earlier this month, Book Con 2018 arrived at the Javits Center in NYC. This book lover’s dream convention was not only filled with thousands of books from pretty much every publisher ever, but authors were present for panels, signings, photos, and my favorite… interviews.
Fred Van Lente, author of Ten Dead Comedians was there for Quirk Books, signing for his latest, The Con Artist. The Con Artist is set at a convention (of all places) where the lead character, Mike Mason, is suspect number 1 for his rival’s murder.
Check out my interview with the author here below.
Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is probably the most famous fictional murder-mystery, and has launched countless inspired tales since its 1939 publication that use the “locked room” setting. Even if you’ve never read the novel, you know how this type of whodunit goes — a group of people are lured to an isolated location and are killed off one by one, leaving everyone a suspect. Now what if the people being murdered were comedians? That’s what we get in Fred Van Lente‘s Ten Dead Comedians, which gets a paperback release from Quirk Books this week.
The nerds and geeks descended upon the Jacob Javits Center in NYC for BookExpo Thursday and Friday and BookCon Saturday and Sunday. Publishers, large and small, displayed their books for media outlets, educators, librarians, writers, and more… with freebies galore. One of GoD’s very favorite publishers, Quirk Books, were busy beavers with several book signings and a display of delights.
See below for a spotlight on Quirk Books and their upcoming titles.
Nine comedians of varying levels of talent and success are summoned by the great Dustin Walker, legendary improv master and star of the “Help! I Married a Cat” franchise. None can resist for both personal and professional reasons, and when his comic intern reaches out with the invite, they all come to his island where they discover isolation and death, and a video message from their host, accusing them of crimes against comedy. Soon, they begin to get killed off one by one, and still cannot stop the jokes as they rush to find the killer or their own demise.
More below on Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
