- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Prime Crime (MM) (Oct 2 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 042521799X
- ISBN-13: 978-0425217993
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.4 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,231,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Introducing Elliot Freed, rescuer and proprietor of an abandoned New Jersey movie theater, Cohen fires up the gag reel for a new tongue-in-cheek mystery series sure to please fans of his Aaron Tucker mysteries (As Dog Is My Witness). After selling his novel to Hollywood, movie-obsessed Freed sinks the windfall into a beloved single-screen relic. When the lights go up after a showing of YoungFrankenstein, it appears customer Vincent Ansella has had his last laugh-what at first looks like a fatal heart attack is soon revealed to be murder-by-popcorn. After the police shut down his theater, Freed decides to help investigate (if only to quicken the reopening), getting some help from his amicable, alimony-paying ex-wife and an alluring police detective. When Freed's projectionist, a young film student, suddenly goes missing, he's billed suspect number one by the police, but Freed has other suspicions. Ruffling feathers and getting violent warnings, Freed solves the mystery and earns his amateur sleuth credentials, promising more comic adventures to come. Cohen develops his lively characters almost as effortlessly as he delivers the jokes-and the occasional guffaw-and manages to sneak in some suspenseful twists besides. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky humorous mystery,
By
This review is from: Some Like It Hot Buttered (Paperback)
The first few pages of the book I was a little hesitant. There were quite a few references to movies I have never heard of or seen before - then again I'm not a movie buff at all. I barely watch them (as I prefer reading) and only will do so once in a while to take a break from reading. However I decided to stick with the book. I have to make my 100 page limit to see if I'm still interested. I was interested sooner than that. It actually got me hooked. Elliot is quirky, sarcastic and witty without being overly silly. The comedy in this mystery is well written and well done. The mystery and intrigue is also well done so there's a good striking balance between the two. I have to say there were at least two or three parts of the book where I found myself bursting out in giggles because of Elliot's wit and actions. I'd have to say I greatly enjoyed reading this book. I thought I had the mystery solved in my head - yet I was surprised. It was nothing like I had pictured and it's good! I didn't want a predictable outcome of the mystery. I believe I was close to the answer, but not quite as I had thought.The characters in the book are all right, although the ones that have something to do with Elliot's personal life weren't really that outstanding - although I have to say, I liked Elliot's father (he reminded me a bit of a mix between Seinfeld's dad and George's dad from the Seinfeld show) and added more to the comedy, I'd like to see more of him in the next future books. When it comes to Elliot's love life, it's funny too as he doesn't seem to be headed in the right direction with any of the ones he meets except his ex-wife (which for some reason, I didn't really like her in the book she just didn't seem to be a great character in my opinion). They both seem to have a very different sort of relationship you wouldn't find in most divorced couples but perhaps that adds more to the quirkiness of this book. The criticism I find in this book is the references to movies which I have never seen before and therefore can't really understand. Yet I'm sure if there's movie buffs out there that love reading about movies and who know their movie trivia would probably enjoy this book ten times more than I did (not to say I didn't enjoy reading this! I truly did!). If I knew the movies and understood the references, I would probably be chuckling a lot more than I did while reading. Other than that, there really is nothing else I dislike about this book. Overall, a wonderful light story with an equal amount of mystery and comedy that makes it a delightful read. This is definitely a series to look into if you're a cozy mystery fan. If you're a movie buff, give this book a try as well. Perhaps you'll be able to identify some of the movies mentioned in this book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews) 13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I DARE YOU TO GUESS THE ENDING!,
By Linda Ellerbee "Recovering Journalist" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Some Like It Hot Buttered (Paperback)
SOME LIKE IT HOT-BUTTERED is the first in a new mystery series starring Elliot Freed, a man who wrote a book, sold it to Hollywood, then took that money -- plus the alimony he gets from his ex-wife, with whom he has a most ambiguous relationship -- bought an old movie palace, and converted it into Comedy Tonight, a theatre dedicated to showing classic comedies. The Only All-Comedy Theatre in New Jersey. Which brings us to the only murder mystery I've ever read where Milk Duds play a significant role.Jeff Cohen is not only funny, funny, funny, he's great at deflection. I'm not talking red herring; I'm talking about that giant red elephant in the middle of the room, the one that was there all the time, only we didn't see it. No matter how many mysteries I've read, I never guess the end of a Jeff Cohen mystery. I was surprised about six separate times at the conclusion of this book. I want more. What about that ex-wife? What about Sophie, the sixteen-year-old Goth wannabe with iPod buds glued into her ears? I need another dose of Sophie, plus more Leo, the only regular customer at Comedy Tonight. Also, it seems obvious to this reporter that Elliot Freed and Chief Dutton are naturals for a classic Buddy/Comedy/Mystery movie. Ernst Lubitsch, of whom Elliot is a fan, said that nobody should try to play comedy unless they have a circus going on inside. While I suspect the same is true of writing comedy, I cannot begin to imagine the circus inside Jeff Cohen's head, but I'm always happy to go there. You will be too. 10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Roll in the Hay,
By Cindy Chow - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Some Like It Hot Buttered (Paperback)
When Elliot Freed noticed that the man seated in the audience wasn't laughing during a screening of Young Frankenstein, the Comedy Tonight theatre owner knew something was wrong. What Elliot didn't expect was to be told that Vincent Ansella was dead, poisoned by popcorn. The sudden disappearance of the Comedy Tonight's projectionist/usher/etc. Anthony, combined with the discovery of boxes of pirated DVDs (of a Rob Schneider "comedy," no less) has the police focusing on the Rutgers student despite Elliot's belief that Anthony had little interest in making money. Encouraged by his father and attracted to the lovely police detective, Elliot decides to track down his missing employee and protect his beloved theatre from ever again becoming a crime scene despite someone's attempts to sabotage it.Cohen's extensive background in the entertainment business as well as his love of comedy films shine through in this vastly entertaining and humorous mystery. Elliot, still tied to the ex-wife who pays him alimony, proves to be an extremely complex character who immediately engages the reader with his wit and intelligence. Half of the fun of this new series is learning movie trivia, with the other half being Cohen's delightful characters, primarily a wannabe goth girl and a savvy police chief. Elliot proves to be a surprisingly adept investigator yet it's no shock that it's his knowledge of comedy films that helps him to uncover the guilty. This is a very enjoyable new series that creates its own niche in the mystery genre. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hot Buttered Fun,
By S. Fillmore - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Some Like It Hot Buttered (Paperback)
Jeff Cohen's sense of humor is priceless.His characters, luckily for all of us, share that humor and all we can do is smile and/or laugh and keep reading. Cohen's also one of the few mystery authors who sets his books in New Jersey - a recognizable suburban New Jersey filled with the usual misfits: people just trying to get along, get a life and get a few dollars put away. Elliot Freed is a typically Cohen-like main character. He's funny, self depracating, humble, smart and given to social discomfort. He's bought a small theater in Midland Heights, dubbed it 'Comedy Tonight' and is betting that showing old classic comedies will appeal to the general movie-going public fed up to the teeth on current movie junk. When one of his patrons dies in the middle of a show, from eating doctored popcorn, the cops suspect murder most foul. Of course, it is then up to Elliot to solve the puzzle before his theater is done in by bad publicity. (Little does he know that, on the contrary, there's nothing like murder to bring in the curious public.) A movie-goer drops dead while watching YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. An insult not only to Mel Brooks, but to Elliot as well. He can't help but take it personally. It is his favorite movie, after all. This book has the usual cast of fun characters that Jeff Cohen is known for. The 'goth'-wannabe ticket taker, the film student projectionist who mysteriously disappears as soon as a stache of counterfeit films is found in the theater's basement, the ex-wife Elliot meets once a week for lunch and from whom he is happy to take alimony checks. You gotta' love a man who's not too proud to take a check or two all in a good cause. I also like the fact that even in the car-mad state of NJ, Elliot rides a bike to work - his own small way of contributing to the 'greening' of his corner of the world. As usual, the main thing that attracts me to Jeff Cohen's books is his crisp writing ability and his knack of making it seem as if I'm visiting with friends, hanging around sharing a few laughs and oh, by the way, solving a murder or two. A fun way to spend a few hours. |
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