When an unpopular TV presenter is murdered, producer Tess Darling is forced to investigate. Digging the dirt on daytime, can she outsmart bloated stars, ruthless talent agents - and her own famous father - to discover where the real bodies are hidden?
Death on Daytime is a funny, gripping read - and the first in a modern mystery series set in the shameless world of showbiz.
Ballsy, blonde heroine Tess Darling tackles a cast of unrepentant characters drawn from the author's direct experience of the giddy - and gruesome - world of TV.
If you're going to spend this summer stretched out on a beach - or stuck at home, trying to escape this daily grind - this is the book for you!
Excerpt
“I’m so glad your TV crew has come to makeover my garden,” the old lady told Tess. “It’s gone to seed since my Reginald died - he did so love his flowers – and of course, I’m no use to anyone.” Trailing off, Mrs Meakes cast a forlorn look at her flower-bed. She was sure there’d been some pansies there this morning.
“Don’t worry, grandma!” Seized by her plight, researcher Gideon went off-script. “Your garden just needs a bit of love. Why, look at this soil!” He held a turd-like lump to camera. “Full of earth. We just need to pull out a few weeds like so…”
Dropping to his knees, Gideon yanked at a clump of straggly grass. He kept yanking. “I will not be beaten by grass,” he muttered manically. “Not again.” He gave one last heave. It produced a satisfying, schlurping noise. Then the tangled knot came away in his hands, bringing with it a huge, white bulb.
A bulb the size and shape of a human head.
Gideon’s smile sagged into a slack gape of horror. As he tumbled backwards, the head kept rising up out of the earth, as if by its own volition. A dirt-splattered forehead emerged, then a pair of aggressively plucked eyebrows and two sightless eyes, soft and pale as egg whites.
Taken altogether, one very dead Jeenie Dempster.
As Tess felt her legs go cold, she realised it was the first time she’d seen her presenter without make-up.
Professional Reviews
Review by Tony Parsons, bestselling author of 'Man and Boy'
'Impossible to read without laughing out loud - black, knowing and funny as hell
Review by Penny Vincenzi, bestselling author of 'Wicked Pleasures'
'A genuinely fresh and extremely funny voice. Tess Darling is a hapless joy, and I think we shall be hearing a great deal more of her - and her creator, Tash Bell'
Review by Lorrain Kelly, star of UK breakfast show 'Lorraine'
'Cheeky, sassy and very readable'
Following several murders, means, motive, and opportunity all point to out-of-work actresses Bootsie Kittredge and Babs Harrison. Their claims of righteousness and lack of guilt seem fabricated, thanks to a cheerfull announcement made to the patrons
