Money in the bank and his dream girl on his arm – life was looking pretty sweet for Kirby Baxter.
Of course it couldn’t last. Where would the fun be in that? This is a sequel after all.
After solving the murder of a movie starlet the previous year, Kirby is doing his best to live down his burgeoning reputation as part-time Interpol agent and amateur sleuth.
Then reality TV comes knocking next door.
Million Dollar Madhouse is a reality TV show where a bunch of washed up celebrities are thrown together in a dilapidated mansion while their attempts to renovate the building are broadcast 24/7 for the viewers delight.
Kirby’s quiet town is thrown into chaos by the arrival of camera crews, remote control video drones and a cast of characters including disgraced actress Victoria Gorham, political shock-jock Bert Wayne and reality TV royalty Kassandra Kassabian.
When one of the cast members turns up dead the local police turn to the only celebrity detective in town for help and draft an unwilling Kirby into their investigation.
The first body is only the beginning of another rip-roaring adventure for Kirby Baxter and with Gustav his loyal driver/valet/bodyguard/gardener//chef/ass-kicker at his side, our hero plunges into the fray with his usual stunning displays of deductive reasoning and sheer bloody luck.
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK!
The door to the kitchen was unlocked.
Bert Wayne smiled and was just about to open the door when he stopped cold. There was a black shape on the left lens of his red framed glasses.
A bug?
Oh shit A BUG!
Wayne yanked off the glasses.
He sighed with relief.
Not a bug.
Just a fleck of crud, some kind of a seed off of god knows what from god knows where.
There was just too much nature in this place, and he pondered that he’d be glad to see the last of it. Then he’d be on Easy Street, with a brand new studio, and all the trimmings and trim he wanted.
He was going to show them.
But that was for later.
For now, he had to open that door and take care of some other business.
Bert Wayne’s mind was so much on that other business was he didn’t sense the movement behind him as he entered the mansion’s cavernous kitchen.
He did feel the prongs of the taser jamming into the back of his neck.
Then he didn’t feel much of anything at all.
***
Bert Wayne’s neck hurt.
The rest of him felt like a parade of pins and needles, but his neck hurt like eight kinds of bitch.
“Help!” was what he wanted to say, but his mouth, which felt like it was lined with sandpaper, would only let out a dry croak. There was something in the back of his mind, something he wanted to remember, but couldn’t. Something about talking. Confusion reigned beneath his dome of shaggy hair.
As Bert’s eyes focused and adjusted to the darkness he realized he was in the main hall. There was a faint flickering glow against the plastic sheeting that covered the ceiling, but he couldn’t quite make out where it was coming from because the room seemed to sway back and forth, almost like it was about to spin, but didn’t have enough energy.
Bert tried to get up.
He failed.
His limbs were wet rags and were deaf to his commands.
But Bert wasn’t deaf.
Bert could hear footsteps.
“Help,” he attempted to croak, but the sound he made was lost, drowned in the scream of metal giving way.
Bert’s eyes, staring heavenward, saw the faint glow shift position as the Bird’s Nest tilted into his line of sight. The glow was from the monitors, and it was joined by sparks as gravity wrenched cables apart.
Bert Wayne didn’t have the ability, or the chance, to scream.
Purchase Links:
Fahrenheit Press: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_video_killed_the_radio_star.html
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FYNWDPH/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_xxRSBb6KE31F4
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Duncan MacMaster is a writer, pop-culture blogger, and film school survivor from the untamed wilds of Eastern Canada.
When he’s not concocting plots for Kirby Baxter to unravel he’s posting rants and rages about the business behind pop-culture on his blog.
Social Media:
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