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The Shroud of the Thwacker |  |
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The Shroud of the Thwacker | |
Set in New York City in 1882, the story hilariously chronicles the adventures of police chief Caleb Spencer and his two cohorts, Evening Post reporter Liz Smith and mayor Teddy Roosevelt, as they unravel the mystery of the world?s first (and most bizarre) serial killer: Jack the Jolly Thwacker. The elusive Thwacker dresses his victims in outlandish costumes, leaves behind taunting poetry, and leads the authorities on a wild chase through New York streets and landmarks (complete with gas-powered wooden cell phones, carriages, gaslights, and the original Original Ray?s Pizzeria). In a bizarre twist, Chris Elliott himself joins the action, using time travel and historical documents to uncover the Thwacker?s identity.
With a wink and a nod to Patricia Cornwell, The DaVinci Code, and Caleb Carr?s mysteries, Elliott does for the historical crime genre what Douglas Adams did for science fiction in The Hitchhiker?s Guide to the Galaxy.
作者简介 Chris Elliott is an Emmy-award-winning writer, producer, and comedian. He wrote for and performed on SNL, Late Night with David Letterman, and starred in the sitcom Get a Life and the films Cabin Boy and There’s Something About Mary. He recently co-starred in Everybody Loves Raymond. He lives in Connecticut.
媒体推荐 "A demented spoof." -- The New York Post
"A rousing good yarn." -- Publishers Weekly
"Relentlessly silly." -- The Washington Post
专业书评 From Publishers Weekly
The book debut from the Get a Life and Cabin Boy star is billed as a parody, but this murder mystery wrapped in laughter is simply straight-up enjoyable. Jack the Jolly Thwacker is leaving dead bodies all over 1882 New York City. Chris Elliott, a modern-day researcher, is tracking the serial killer through time. Elliott's wry humor fastens on the burgeoning, Boss Tweedified city, giving it a hilarious and vividly imagined set of anachronistic technologies and accoutrements (New York's Mayor Teddy Roosevelt, who has mysteriously disappeared, has a navel piercing). The narrative leaps back and forth in time, as 1882 police chief Caleb Spencer chases the Thwacker through the streets, and Elliott, convinced the killer is from the 21st century, chases him through time. Elliott's ability to time travel is facilitated by Yoko Ono (don't ask) and a willing suspension of disbelief, but the results are very amusing (if often infantile in the style of There's Something About Mary), with asides on every page that bring in everyone and everything from Typhoid Mary to Skyy Vodka. If Shroud feels like an extended, Americanized Monty Python skit, it's also a rousing good yarn.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Elliott is best known for his madcap appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and his small but juicy roles in such films as Groundhog Day. In his debut as a novelist, his veteran comedy-writer's skills come to the fore in a wacky murder mystery that sends up best-selling thrillers such as The Alienist and The Da Vinci Code. With all of New York City, circa 1882, as his playground, Jack the Jolly Thwacker is a demented serial killer with equally demented tactics. He dresses his victims in bizarre clothing and leaves behind poems taunting his pursuers. Hot on his trail are the city's police chief, an Evening Post reporter, and mayor Teddy Roosevelt, who actually was police commissioner then. Somehow, after blundering into a time machine while researching the unsolved mystery, Elliott himself gets entangled in the chase, and the real identity of the Thwacker is revealed. The time-travel element nudges Elliott's spoof into sf, but that doesn't mean fans of historical crime fiction won't get their kicks. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Publishers Weekly
"A rousing good yarn."
The New York Post
"A demented spoof."
The Washington Post
"Relentlessly silly."
