Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery

Praise for Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery

“Original, funny, and - like all great comedians - Van Lente slays the audience”—David Quantick, Emmy award-winning writer of Veep, The Thick of It, Brass Eye, and Harry Hill's TV Burp

“Fresh, funny, and entertaining.”—Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

“Van Lente’s strength is in his narrative ability [...] and his sharp, acerbic humor. The mystery is pretty fun too!”—BookRiot

“Van Lente’s look at the selfishness and misery of show business is sure to be a hit with mystery lovers who savor unusual setups; the side of snark provided by the bitter islanders adds to the atmosphere.”—Booklist

“This book is like if Agatha Christie was funny, which is to say that it is infinitely better than Agatha Christie. If you're in the comedy world you'll feel that you know some of the characters firsthand. Hell, if you're a 21st century human you'll feel you know some of the characters firsthand.”—Jennifer Wright, author of It Ended Badly and Get Well Soon

“Ten Dead Comedians is a funny and nail-biting front row seat to the bloodthirsty world of professional comedy ... and that's BEFORE the murders start.”—Daniel Kibblesmith, writer for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

“An homage not only to stand-up comedians everywhere but to Agatha Christie’s original mystery, Van Lente’s novel is hilarious and suspenseful—all at once.”—BookTrib

“Fred Van Lente takes an old idea and drags it kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. So assured, so fresh and so inventive, it's hard to believe this is his first novel.”—Kevin Wignall, best-selling author of A Death in Sweden and The Hunter’s Prayer

“Spinal Tap meets Agatha Christie. I loved it.”—Martyn Waites, best-selling author of Born Under Punches and the Tania Carver series

“Fred Van Lente delivers an Agatha Christie twisty mystery filled with all the cruel, horrible, and violent deaths that only stand-up comedians truly deserve.”—Grady Hendrix, author of Horrorstör, My Best Friend's Exorcism, and Paperbacks from Hell

“[This] debut fiction could possibly become, in its own way, as much of a classic as the novel it honors.”—New York Journal of Books

“Ten Dead Comedians is an ingeniously plotted puzzler with classically unanticipated twist ending.”—Midwest Book Review

“I flew through this book, anxious to uncover the identity of the killer, and that is perhaps the highest recommendation I can give. I couldn't put it down.”—Geeks of Doom

“It’s a bit guiltily we admit that watching a handful or two of hack comedians be slowly picked off is a delight.”—Cool Material

“Tense, startling and relentlessly hilarious.”—HiLowBrow
 
“A fantastic debut and a fun ode to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None that provides plenty of comedy to go along with the rampant murder.”—Four Letter Nerd

“This book [is] oddly mesmerizing.”—Mystery Playground

“Written with savage wit and skewed humor, Ten Dead Comedians is an uproarious treat.”—Midwest Book Review