Deadly Campaign

November 7, 2011
Orloff’s second whodunit starring standup comic Channing Hayes, part-owner of the Last Laff Comedy Club in northern Virginia, fails to deliver on the promise of his debut, Killer Routine (2011). Hayes enters the high-stakes world of a heated congressional campaign after three masked, bat-wielding thugs violently interrupt a reception for Democratic candidate Edward Wong at Wong’s uncle’s Chinese restaurant in Fairfax County. The uncle, who’s a friend of Hayes, asks him to find out the motive for, and the people behind, the attack. In order to learn whether Wong’s opponent in the general election might be responsible, the comedian makes overtures to the rival campaign. While Hayes, still in mourning for his fiancée, Lauren Dempsey, who died eight months earlier in a car crash, is a sympathetic lead, his fairly superficial interactions with the important people in his life won’t endear the supporting cast to readers.

November 15, 2011
An out-of-service comedian turns investigator in a political race to the death. Running the Last Laff comedy club with his senior partner Artie is supposed to keep Channing Hayes out of trouble, especially because the comedian hasn't been ready for the stage since the car accident that claimed the life of his fiancé Lauren. Unfortunately, Channing seems to be a magnet for disaster, and trouble finds him when he's not looking—this time in the form of masked men with bats breaking up Edward Wong's political rally. Not an avid follower of local politics, Channing is at the rally only as a favor to Thomas Lee, Edward's uncle and the owner of Channing's favorite Chinese restaurant. So Channing feels he can't say no when Lee asks him to look into the attack. The obvious place to start is with Sanford Korbell, Wong's opponent and the quintessential politician, whose slick headquarters could be hiding anything. Channing also has his suspicions about the Wong family dynasty, each member of which has a different agenda. While Channing is busily investigating, he's also trying to get his life in order. With each comedy show that passes, he hopes he can get his chance to play the role of funnyman once again. Less witty than Orloff's debut (Killer Routine, 2011), this second installment focuses on minor characters who aren't as intriguing as the mainstays.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2011

Professional comedian Channing Hayes (Killer Routine) goes amateur detective in his rousing encore performance. Channing and his partner, Artie, are invited to a political kickoff for the nephew of their friend Thomas Lee, but masked thugs disrupt the event. Lee begs Channing to find out who wants to sabotage Edward Wong's campaign, and Channing reluctantly agrees to poke around. His snooping does not go unnoticed, and our sleuth begins to realize that the seemingly perfect Asian American family is full of cracks and chips. He is also struggling in his own life--still recovering from his fiancee's death and regaining his comedy mojo, while this favor threatens to tarnish an entire community. VERDICT Politics is no laughing matter for the intrepid and ever-helpful Channing. Orloff has put together another winning routine, and mystery buffs will enjoy the fresh venue of a comedy club, not to mention a soft-boiled amateur sleuth case.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.