Some Like It Hot-Buttered (A Double Feature Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeffrey Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 2, 2007 | Series: A Double Feature Mystery (Book 1)

Elliot Freed, a recovering writer and husband, socked all his savings-and the alimony from his ex-wife-into the Comedy Tonight movie theater, never suspecting it would become a crime scene...

Poisoned popcorn killed the dead guy in Row S, Seat 18, and to the chagrin of the local police, Elliot starts his own investigation, one that may put the theater-and Elliot-on the cutting room floor.

Editorial Reviews

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.)
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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Complete Numbers Starting with 1, 1st Ed edition (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042521799X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425217993
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffrey Cohen started life as poor street urchin, orphaned and taken in by a gang of pickpockets led by an older man named Fagin. No, wait. That's someone else, entirely.

In reality, Cohen was born in Newark, NJ during a certain year, and grew (more or less) up in Irvington, NJ, otherwise known as the Garden Spot of the Western Hemisphere.

After a childhood of normal duration, Cohen attended Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, so as to maintain a record of never having left the Garden State for more than two weeks at a time, something which has never been equaled (or attempted, by anyone else). He studied English (when actually attending classes and not lounging at the student newspaper office), but decided to work as a journalist anyway.

Finding work (after a fashion) at the Passaic Herald-News, he served as a municipal reporter for well over six months, establishing new lows in news gathering, but managing, in his final work for the newspaper, to quote Chico Marx.

Following a hideous foray into public relations, Cohen eventually became a trade journalist, covering the consumer electronics business until someone told him to stop.

Since 1985, he has been a freelance reporter and writer, writing for such publications as The New York Times, TV Guide, USA Weekend, Premiere, American Baby and The Newark Star-Ledger, among many others.

He is also the author of more than 20 feature-length screenplays, some of which are actually good. His work has been developed by Jim Henson Productions, CBS, Gross-Weston Productions, Ken Walz Productions and others.

Cohen lives in New Jersey (big surprise!) with his wife and two children, who have been sworn to secrecy.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I DARE YOU TO GUESS THE ENDING! October 29, 2007

By Linda Ellerbee

Format:Mass Market 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.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Roll in the Hay October 22, 2007

By Cindy Chow

Format:Mass Market 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 October 24, 2007

By S. Fillmore

Format:Mass Market 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. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Who wouldn't like Elliott Freed? May 3, 2009

By sharon benic-houchin

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Jeff Cohn has written a fresh approach to the traditional cozy mystery. Yes, it contains all the required elements: a likable protagonist, a small community, good interaction with the police, but no cat. Maybe Mr Cohen is saving the cat for a future book. The theatre, Comedy Tonight, probably needs a cat to keep down the mice that may have taken up residence in the basement. Mr Freed has a gentle, self-deprecating humor that appeals to me. His characters are strong and quirky, especially the Goth popcorn girl, Sophie. I am 3/4 through this book and looking forward to reading It Happened One Knife. I have no idea what the ending might be; there seem to be many twists and turns which keep me guessing. This is a series I will follow!