Call me a dope (no, please don’t; it’s been a bad self-esteem day as it is) but I didn’t know that Steve Allen wrote books. I remember him from television years ago as being a comedian and musician, married to Jayne Meadows, but I didn’t know that he had ventured into the world of Authorship. When I stumbled across this book on the library bookshelf I was surprised, and after having read it, I can say it was a pleasant surprise.
Steve is a very funny man, and he’s a good writer. What intrigued me the most about his style is that he places himself as the main character in the books, as himself. I’ve never seen this done before and it made for a very good plot device.
In “Murder on the Atlantic,” Steve and Jayne, along with Steve’s good friend/bodyguard Cass, are sailing to England on a richly appointed cruise ship. Steve has been asked to perform his show on board, but just before the boat enters the ocean, he is asked to take on one more duty. The Wilmingtons, rich and famous entrepreneurs and owners of the boat, are headed up by Marcus Wilmington, a man so reclusive that members of his own family haven’t seen him for years. Steve is asked to meet with Marcus and when Steve agrees, he is blindfolded and taken in a helicopter to a secluded mansion, where the interview takes place. Marcus asks Steve to keep his eyes out for anything unusual that might take place on the boat during its voyage. Steve is an entertainer, not a detective, but he can’t turn down the pay packet, or the fun of playing sleuth. He accepts, sure that the job will be easy.
But it’s not. Dead bodies start popping up left and right, and Steve spends time in the brig. Between enduring bad lounge acts and feasting on gourmet buffets, he asks questions, ferrets out clues, and makes one too many enemies, winning himself a dunk in the ocean for his trouble. In the end, the murderer turns out to be the last person he suspected, and the motive, something he never suspected as the boat heads into a storm, heaving and churning its way through the water.
A charmingly funny book full of surprises, I recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a lighthearted read. I also would encourage you to skip page 280. For some reason I haven’t yet reconciled myself to, the villian chooses to use the F-word when discovered. You can avoid that by just turning the page. The rest of the language in the book is quite mild.
I find myself speaking of Steve as though he were still alive, as his books are new to me. However, he passed away in 2000 from a heart attack. He will live on through his shows and his books.
(This book was published in 1995 by Kensington Publishing Corp.)
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