From Publishers Weekly
In this delightful farce-and such an animal is a rarity these days-the famed talk-show host and the veteran mystery author bite with gusto into the Big Apple; what they reveal will have readers laughing and shaking their heads in amazement. Allison Vandameer, the pretty, conniving daughter of famed and wealthy liberal TV commentator Arthur Vandameer, wants to go to film school, which Arthur doesn't want. Her solution: to fake an elopement with her brain-dead Puerto Rican boyfriend, aka Goonie, to panic Arthur and inflame his paternal love for her sufficiently to pay for film school. But when Goonie, being Goonie, mixes up the spot where he's supposed to meet Allison, the girl hatches a new plan: to disappear by hiding out at the home of Roy Bumble-a hotel doorman who hates living in Queens and who's looking for a big score-whom she meets as she's waiting for Goonie. Meanwhile, Charlie Moon, an arch-conservative veteran reporter for a city tabloid, has been ordered by his boss to write what is for Moon a humiliating article about residences with Central Park views, including Vandameer's; at Vandameer's place, Moon, who despises the liberal commentator, learns about Allison's apparent elopement and sees in it a way to destroy Vandameer. Throw in a bevy of other richly caricatured New York types, a slew of classic city locales and enough spins to make a whirling dervish dizzy, and you have classic farce. Rarely has a novel captured with such zest, mirth and affection the madcap crowd of players and wannabes, heroes and hucksters that teems within America's premiere city. The Bronx may be up and the Battery down, but in a story that moves as wildly as a speeding A train, the authors embrace both and all points in between, with a riotous tale that should have not just Gotham but all of America singing, "New York, New York, what a wonderful town!" B&w illus. not see by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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From School Library Journal
Adult/High School--A contemporary satire with the feel of a dated screwball comedy. Mayhem is wreaked in a metropolitan setting as the narrator's urbane wit pops open a Pandora's box of psycho-melodrama. Character by conniving character, chapter after quirkily titled chapter, stereotypes emerge and gain exaggerated momentum. In part or sum, the cast is foppish, frivolous, feisty, grumpy, dopey, and flatulent. Dialogue is at the epicenter of the plot, which hinges on the elopement-turned-self-abduction of a left-wing talk-show host's debutante daughter. Lines blur between antagonists and protagonists like headlights during gridlock traffic. It's hard to decide if someone is oafish or endearing, overbearing or embraceable, but the dubiousness adds to the fun. Foul play is of the yellow flag, sporting variety. The only acts of violence come from provoked punches and uncontrollable dyspepsia, heightening the spoof effect and YA appeal. Readers will enjoy knowing "who dun it" as they follow the clueless ensemble around NYC, waiting for everyone to converge. The authors affectionately poke fun at the Big Apple and the detective genre. It's a welcome change from gritty to nutty that YAs seem to lap up in the movies and will in this case, too.--Karen Sokol, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
