Dead Crowd: A Mystery Starring Biff Kincaid

by Dan Barton

Book Overview

Stand-up comedian Biff Kincaid knows better than almost any other comic in Hollywood that the funny business is hardly all laughs. He knows that good material is difficult to come by and that gigs can... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312290349
• ISBN13: 9780312290344
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 261 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Good, but the Other Biff Kincaid Adventures Are a Lot Funnier.

Dead Crowd is the third novel in the sensational Biff Kincaid comedian who likes to dabble in the odd murder investigation adventures. Barton's Kincaid character is to the world of comedians what Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar is to the world of sports agents. In Dead Crowd Biff Kincaid is short changed by Bernie Coleman the manager of Flugelhorn's Comedy Cabaret so takes with him a video tape of a comedy performance at the Ojai Prison which resulted in a violent riot where two prisoners escaped. The tape is of extreme value to Bernie, which Kincaid will swap him for the rest of his money the next night. Only upon Kincaid's return he finds Bernie about to die with a knife sticking out of him and before he can ask him about it is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. Solving Bernie's murder has now become very personal for Biff who also wants to find out exactly what was on the full version of that tape, seeing as how the murderer took it with him. Dead Crowd is not as funny as Killer Instinct or Heckler, but is still a good read. You do wonder a little bit though what Biff's motivation is in this one to keep risking his life when the police are still investigating the case themselves but then we wouldn't have a story if he just left things to the homicide detectives.

One of my favorite quirky PI series

One of my favorite quirky PIs of recent years is stand up comic Biff Kincaid. Dan Barton, in his first novel, KILLER MATERIAL, introduced us to Biff. What made this book outstanding was the uniqueness of the character, as well as, the backstage information on the life and world of a comedian. The question I had when I originally reviewed this book in the spring of 2000 was whether Biff can remain a fresh and vital creation in subsequent volumes. The answer provided in this book is emphatically yes. After performing in a down on its heels comedy club, Flugelhorn's, Biff is underpaid $125 by the owner, Bernie Coleman. Bernie promises to pay him in two days and offers as collateral a tape he is selling to network TV about a comedy hour at a local prison which turned into a riot and a prison break. The tape exclusively reveals the start of the riot, as well as, a stabbing on the stage. However, when Biff shows up to collect his money, he finds Bernie dead in his office the victim of a stabbing. Biff is then hit in the head and when he awakens in the hospital finds a bandage on his head and the video tape gone. Biff is driven to solve the murder after finding himself among the suspects. There is, again much entertainment lore in this latest episode. At times, the pacing does flog a bit, as well as, too many characters being introduced. However, the story remains true to the formulaic PI novel and it is a very good example of how one should be written in the modern times. Strong sure writing and a unique first person character combine to make this another strong entry in this high quality series.

Best yet in Stand-up comedy series

When stand-up comic Biff Kincaid shows up to collect his pay, he finds the club manager stabbed and dying, and is then knocked unconscious. Yet the manager had hinted at real money and had told Biff about an secret video of a prison comedy routine that had lead to a prison riot and to two prisoners escaping. Biff isn't much of a detective but he is the best comic on the case--and his instincts tell him that only someone who understands the underworld of comedians will be able to get to the bottom of the murder--and make sure that Biff's next run-in with the killer doesn't end up as something worse than a lump on his head. Biff's investigations lead him through Los Angeles's comedy clubs, into its television studios, and into a world of voodoo and dangerous prisoners (one of whom really thinks he can do comedy). A Biff Kincaid mystery wouldn't be complete without a romantic entanglement and DEAD CROWD delivers on this requirement as well. Biff gradually learns the truth, but can he stay alive long enough to share what he learns with the police? Author Dan Barton has shown increasing maturity as the Biff Kincaid series progresses and DEAD CROWD is the best yet. Although it doesn't delve as deeply into the world of the stand-up comic as do some of the earlier novels in the series, DEAD CROWD develops a more sophisticated Biff Kincaid and a somewhat more convincing adventure line. As with the earlier novels, Barton's background as a stand-up comic shows through and enhances the reading experience. Best yet in an enjoyable series.

unlikely but entertaining yarn

Only five years ago Flugelhorn's Comedy Cabaret was the hottest ticket in Hollywood but then owner Mel Sikorsky retired. Now the place is quieter than a funeral hall with few patrons and no comedy superstars ever showing up like they once did. Biff Kincaid knows how far the place has fallen by the fact that he is the middle comedian at the joint similar to Richie Ashburn's comment about making baseball's Hall of Fame. A few years ago Biff could not have gotten in either as a performer or a patron. However, besides his own act receiving the silent treatment from the twenty or so morgue attendees AKA customers, owner Bernie Coleman cheats Biff out of his fee.Biff returns to collect his money only to find someone murdered Bernie. Realizing that the police place him on the suspect short list, Biff investigates Bernie's recent activities. He learns that Bernie helped set up amateur comedy contests at California prisons but the last one enabled two felons to escape. Could the prison gig have led to Bernie's death or was it a comic who died on his stage?Once readers accept the fact that Biff is investigating the homicide and after a beating or two continuing to make inquiries are not bad jokes, the audience will enjoy the latest Kincaid amateur sleuth tale (see HECKLER and KILLER MATERIAL). The story line is amusing even if fans will want to give Biff the hook as a detective for not ending the act before he gets himself killed. DEAD CROWD is light reading as comedian author Dan Barton furbishes an unlikely but entertaining yarn.Harriet Klausner