Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White

The seaside resort of Sea Haven, NJ has seen more than its fair share of murder and mayhem over the course of author Chris Grabenstein’s John Ceepak mystery series, but nothing officer John Ceepak and his partner Danny Boyle have experienced in their careers could have prepared them for the horror they must confront in Fun House… babysitting the contestants of a Jersey Shore style reality show.

Indeed, when “Fun House” (“Think Jersey Shore meets Big Brother meets Survivor.”) sets up shop in sunny Sea Haven things get quite stormy for Ceepak and Danny, as the buff, bronzed, and boozed up cast proceeds to wreck havoc – loudly and usually with much profanity – on everything and everyone they come into contact with.

When footage of Ceepak arresting one of the contestants run amok in a drunken skee ball rampage hits YouTube and goes viral, the show’s producers smell ratings gold and convince Sea Haven’s Mayor to assign Ceepak and Danny to the Fun House cast full time.

Things go from obnoxious and annoying to deadly and serious, however, when one of the cast members is brutally murdered. Add in a drug dealer called Skeletor, a motorcycle gang, the Jersey mob, and an anonymous death threat promising to kill one of the remaining cast members live on air and you get two things: through the roof ratings and a lot of overtime for Ceepak and Danny. (more…)

Officer Danny Boyle isn’t the only one going for a roller coaster ride in Rolling Thunder, the sixth entry in author Chris Grabenstein’s John Ceepak/Jersey Shore mystery series. Memorial Day weekend in Sea Haven, New Jersey finds Danny and his partner, John Ceepak, working crowd control at the grand opening of the Rolling Thunder roller coaster. “Big Paddy” O’Malley, owner of the Rolling Thunder, his family, and assorted town dignitaries are also on hand to be the first to experience the seaside town’s newest attraction.

They get more than they bargained for when Mrs. O’Malley has a heart attack and dies during the coaster’s initial run. Though the death appears on the surface to be nothing more than an unfortunate tragedy, Ceepak and Danny are bothered by the lack of distress exhibited by several members of the family and begin looking into the workings of the O’Malley clan. As they are doing so another death, this one unquestionably a murder, confirms their suspicion that something is fishy in Sea Haven.

As with all previous entries in this outstanding series, Grabenstein serves up a wonderfully complex mystery for Ceepak and Danny to tackle. Along the way they must deal with a jealous, potentially criminally complicit colleague, prominent members of the community engaging in organized activities of questionable legality, a mayor who wants nothing more than to not upset the tourists, and a family with Shakespearean levels of dysfunction. (more…)