Who Killed Art Deco?: A Novel [Paperback]

Chuck Barris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2009

From the infamous mind of a comic madman—and the author of the sardonic The Big Question—comes a mind-numbingly hilarious parody of cop dramas, police procedurals, and America’s upper crust.

• Comic legend: Chuck Barris is the creator and former producer of The Gong Show, The Newlywed Game, and The Dating Game, among many others. His memoir, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, sparked a worldwide debate as to the validity of his professed identity when he claimed to have worked as an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency during the 1960s and the 1970s. As a storyteller, Barris is the blackest comedian there is. As a satirist, he may be one of the best writers around today.

• A masterful spoof: Art Deco Jr. is heir to a vast fortune, scion of one of America’s most powerful men—but he is also the black sheep of the family. When he is found murdered in his Manhattan apartment, everyone wonders who could have killed him. Was it Art’s recently spurned lover, Eddie Cotton, the failed actor and gigolo? Was it one of Art’s own relatives, all of whom seem ready to disown him for tarnishing the family name? As the investigation unfolds, it becomes apparent to the novice detective Jimmy Netts that without an actual license, it’s tough to investigate anything resembling a crime scene. Full of uproarious investigative snafus, Who Killed Art Deco? is a dark and delightfully funny book from an equally troubled mind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Barris (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) misses the mark with this grating attempt at whodunit parody. Heir to millions, Arthur Art Deco Jr. wants nothing to do with his father's mammoth company, Kentucky-based Deco Industries, preferring to hobnob in Manhattan. So when he falls in love with wannabe actor Eddie Cotton and gleefully announces to his father, Arthur Deco Sr., that he's gay, it doesn't sit well with Deco Sr. or the rest of Art's Southern family. When Art is discovered shot in his apartment, the police are quick to call it a suicide and avoid a high-profile investigation. But then Jimmy Netts, a former podiatrist-turned-unlicensed-PI from Philadelphia, recently relocated to Bowling Green, Ky., hits the scene, hired by Deco Sr. to look into Art's death and prove it was murder. Netts gets most of his investigative techniques from old episodes of Homicide, but manages to bumble along, thanks to the help of two unbelievably cooperative NYPD detectives, finally stumbling upon the underwhelming truth. Unfortunately, Barris's characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, and the sophomoric humor is, well, very sophomoric. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The latest novel by the author of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (1982) and The Big Question (2007) is a three-in-one literary satire, lampooning simultaneously the murder mystery, the private-eye novel, and the family drama. Outrageous, yes, but readers would expect nothing less from the man whose memoir claimed he was a CIA assassin and whose previous novel posited a ruthless (yet oddly plausible) game show. The wealthy murdered man, Arthur Deco, Jr.; the prime suspect, Art’s spurned gay lover; and the private eye, Jimmy Netts, are drawn with broad strokes, like characters in one of Woody Allen’s New Yorker essays, and they are all very funny. The story is labyrinthine, as befits a murder-mystery spoof (fans of S. J. Perelman will be pleased), and Barris’ portrayal of the victim’s uniformly eccentric family reads like a spoof of P. G. Wodehouse, if it’s possible to spoof a spoofer. Barris, who gained early fame as the creator of such television fare as The Gong Show, is a wildly inventive writer whose imagination takes him, and us, to some very strange and entertaining places. --David Pitt

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416575596
• ISBN-13: 978-1416575597
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,275,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chuck Barris Fans - Take Art Deco to the beach, July 22, 2009

By 

Elizabeth A. Dale - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Killed Art Deco?: A Novel (Paperback)

Chuck Barris Fans - Take Art Deco to the beach

Those of us who are lifelong fans of Chuck Barris will find Who Killed Art Deco to be the icing on the cake in his prolific career. He draws you inside the character's personas, paints backdrops that are perfect accompaniments to the story and weaves a tale that makes one not want to put the book down.

It is a love story, a satire, a comedy, a mystery, a commentary on modern life and a fun read for any sunny beach.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chuckie, Chuckie, Chuckie, September 20, 2009

By 

Quixote010 (columbus, ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Who Killed Art Deco?: A Novel (Paperback)

It started out with a-fixing a permanent smile to my face.

When I got to page 23, the line: "Eddie Cantelone was a twenty-five-year old lying, sleazy scuzzbag" brought about my first out-loud chuckle.

By the time I was a third of the way into the book, the people at the next table were giving me weird glances. By halfway, the task of holding back the tears and trying to stop my sides from heaving were too much so I had to go home. That's Chuck Barris.

Of course Chuck has always made me laugh, even when he isn't writing, but Who Killed Art Deco is bound to please everyone. Art Deco Jr. is the reluctant heir of Deco Industries who despises his father, his siblings, and everything about his wealthy lifestyle. To compensate, he undertakes the bohemian lifestyle in New York and engages a variety of misfits, any of whom could be responsible for his demise. Seeking vengeance, Deco senior persuades a novice investigator to find the killer. And as Chuck would say, the chuckles keep coming.

Besides being entertaining, the book is easy to read, has an interesting little mystery connected in it, and a variety of characters who he develops just enough so that you can structure a fine superficial opinion about them.

I suppose to really appreciate Barris you have to see life from his point of view, and from his point, there are a lot of funny, misfit people and situations in the world.

5.0 out of 5 stars A good laugh!, June 29, 2010

By 

KSC (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Killed Art Deco?: A Novel (Paperback)

What a wonderful read; funny, engaging, a bit of a mystery but nothing scary, and a sordid tale thrown in for good measure. The family of Art Deco is a cast of curious characters. His life and ultimate death leads the reader on a fantastic journey. I just wish Barris would write more books like this!