In screenwriter Copp's wickedly amusing second whodunit (after 2003's The Actor's Guide to Murder
) to feature former child star Jarrod Jarvis, the irrepressible detective—whose voice crackles like a gay Sam Spade's as played by David Spade—is hot on the comeback trail as an actor when his insane childhood stalker, Wendell Butterworth, is granted parole. In addition, Jarvis is floored when Laurette Taylor, his manager and best friend, plunges into marriage with the promiscuous Juan Carlos Barrancos, a TV soap opera actor. Jarvis and Charlie Peters, LAPD (his "partner in life, not crime"), attend the whirlwind ceremony at Hearst Castle and witness the ultimate reception faux pas—an uninvited guest falling into the wedding cake, done in by poisoned champagne. Jarvis is immediately suspicious, since the groom's former girlfriend was ejected from the proceedings and the victim was seen arguing with the groom. Even though it means taking a supporting role in a horror film starring Barrancos, Jarvis plunges into the investigation while dealing with an upstaging brat, Florida mobsters and the fiendish Butterworth, who yearns to kill his "long-lost soul mate." This light confection is certain to tickle readers who appreciate Copp's flair in mixing mystery with a Hollywood Confidential
wackiness and won't mind romance between members of the same sex. Agent, William Morris. (Nov. 2)
