Done to Death

Atkins’s middling third cozy featuring Lil Campbell and Ada Strauss (after 2012’s Best Place to Die) finds the Grenville, Conn., couple rushing headlong into the unreal world of reality TV. Producer Barry Stromstein is facing an ultimatum from his demanding boss, talk show host and media mogul Lenore Parks, to produce new ideas. Then, he has a brainstorm: “Antiques Roadshow meets The Hunger Games on the set of Gilmore Girls.” During a conference call with Lil in connection with her antique column, “Cash or Trash,” he is also charmed by Ada, whom he thinks has star potential. Chaos ensues at Lenore’s company after she’s shot to death in her dressing room, with Barry seeing professional salvation in getting Final Reckoning, which will feature Ada hosting estate sales of the recently departed, on the air. Ada and Lil, however, are more interested in finding Lenore’s killer. Atkins scores some good points off reality TV and celebrity-fueled empires in this otherwise tepid whodunit. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House. (July)