In this pretty mundane offering, Goldman tells the story of 40-year-old Ethan Harris, showrunner/head writer for The Murder Show. During a visit back home to Minnesota for the Jewish High Holidays, Harris is struggling to find a story to pitch for a fourth season of the program. He has plenty of time available, since the novel is set during the strike of Hollywood writers. His visit with his parents and any pretense of observing the holidays is thrown out the window as Ethan and his near-neighbor Ro Greeman reunite and recount the death of their friend Ricky, back when they were teenagers. The plot expands and contracts in predictable ways and the are they/aren't they relationship between Ethan and Ro is pretty uninteresting. Entanglements ensue as the case expands, sometimes in unbelievable ways. Still, the story will hold interest for readers who like mysteries that aren't impossible to solve. Narrator Dan Bittner's talent helps elevate the book and entices the listener to keep listening.

Loved this book. I don’t normally love male narrated books but this one was great. I loved the idea behind it and the surprises and twists. Well written and well read as well. Overall great book that I finished in one day.

I enjoyed reading this book! It’s a great mystery with interesting twists and turns. A solid 3 star read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an early audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Showrunner and tv writer Ethan Harris comes home during the writers strike to visit his parents in Minnesota. He catches up with his neighbor and bestie Ro who is now a detective. Ro suggests that Ethan write about the death of their friend in high school to see if they can get new clues to solve the case. I enjoyed the book.


Enjoyed Dan Bittner's narration.

What? What? You think you know what's happening but you have no clue what's going on at all. This book pulls you in and didn't let go until very end! I thought i knew one thing and was rather upset that i was wrong! It was one of those books that was a true rollercoaster! Loved ever minute of this book

eh, it was a so so book. A little all over the place at times. I got a little confused to who was who sometimes, but the writing tise;f wasn't bad. i'd probably read more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Dan Bittner did a fantastic job of narrating this story and making it come to life for the listener!!

Ethan Harris is a writer for the hit show, The Murder Show. During the Hollywood writers strike, Ethan returns home to Minnesota to visit his family during the high Jewish holidays and to brainstorm for his next season. He runs into his old high school crush, Ro Greenman who is a detective with the police department. Ro is investigating the murder of their highschool friend, Ricky, on the side as she has found a pattern of deaths that match Ricky's and hopes to find the murderer. Ethan, believing that the story would make a great season 4 for his show, agrees to help Ro and the 2 get into more trouble than Ethan bargained for.

I loved the concept, the characters and the story! I found the characters to be believable and relatable. The pacing was fast and the story is well written. I found myself staying up very late to finish the audiobook in one go! Highly recommend!!

First, I want to say the narrator was perfect. He was enthusiastic and entertaining.

The book was interesting and I enjoyed the funny banter between characters, but I don't really feel like it was a "pulse-racing" story.

The premise behind it was interesting but I found it to be more humorous than mysterious or suspenseful.

Ethan Harris returns home to Minnesota during a Hollywood strike. His show, The Murder Show, on an unknown hiatus, Ethan reconnects with his high school crush and current police detective Ro. They team up on an investigation into their past and get deeper into a dangerous mystery.

The Murder Show was a fun listen. The story moves along nicely with several twists and turns. Intrigue, a little romance. Ethan is a relatable lead as a bystander who writes about investigations but has no place being in one. I hope this turns into a series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced listener copy. All opinions are my own.

The Murder Show was entertaining enough, but it didn’t fully work for me. The “twist” fell flat because the villain was so obvious I thought we were supposed to know all along. Plus, there were way too many coincidences and random murders—sure, they moved the plot forward, but they didn’t actually make much sense. It kept me reading, but I wouldn’t enthusiastically recommend.

This was okay -
It gripped me right off the bat due to delivering likable characters and a real/ relatable world and situations. As the mystery unfolds, it’s a mix of fun/ real interactions and … some slower-paced scenes.

I didn’t find the mystery / investigation aspects super gripping. I wouldn’t say ‘bad’ by any means, just not really exciting either.

3 stars.


🎧 Audio:
Fantastic production! The narrator sounded excellent and overall sound quality is perfect.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

After Ethan Harris's pitch is rejected for the fourth season of The Murder Show, Ethan decided to head home for the holidays to get inspiration for his next pitch. When he meets up with an old friend, now local police officer, Ro, she suggests that Ethan help her investigate the hit and run that killed their friend Ricky the summer they graduated High School. They quickly determine there is more to Ricky than they originally thought, and someone is determined to stop them from finding out the truth.

This was a rollercoaster of a mystery that had me so captivated I finished this audiobook in one day. There is plenty of twists throughout the investigation that figuring out what truly happened had me guessing till the very end. This is the first book I have read by Matt Goldman and after finishing The Murder Show, I am excited to read more from this author.

The Murder Show comes out on April 15th.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to review The Murder Show. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Such a great audiobook. Couldn't stop listening to it. Thank you for my advance reader copy. Can't wait to look up other books from this author.

I have loved Matt Goldman’s previous books, and this one is no exception, especially since Nils Shapiro has a fun cameo role. Goldman has been a TV writer so his portrayal of Ethan Harris as the show runner for The Murder Show is definitely well done and believable. Ethan is home in MN for the first time in over 20 years because of the writer’s strike. When he rekindles a relationship with his old high school flame, Ro, who is now a Minneapolis detective he thinks he has a great idea to plug for the next season of his show when she asks him to help her investigate the unsolved hit and run death of a friend from when they were in high school. The home- town vibes, the great characters and Goldman’s sometime witty and always excellent plotting as well as great narration all contribute to an audio book you won’t want to stop listening to.

The Murder Show by Matt Goldman
Narrated by Dan Bittner

I went into the story thinking we'd end up on a TV show set, not my favorite setting, but this story took us a different direction. In fact, it didn't take us anywhere but back to Showrunner Ethan Harris's home of his teen years, the home his parents finally settled into after a young lifetime of moving from place to place for Ethan. During his high school years, Ethan found a best friend in his neighbor, Ro, a girl he had a crush on from the time he met her but who kept him in the friend zone while she dated a older guy.

It's on the one day that Ethan and Ro actually hook up before heading off to different colleges that something happened that devastated both Ethan and Ro. That's when something terrible happens to their friend Ricky and Ethan and Ro had a front row seat in a way that can never leave their minds. Now Ro is a police officer and when Ethan comes back home during a writer's strike, Ro wants his help to find out what really happened to Ricky.

Now, twenty two years after what happened to Ricky, Ro sells the ask as being a great new plot of his Murder Show, which is on the brink of being cancelled if Ethan doesn't come up with a very compelling new storyline. Ethan is very reluctant to take the bait and even more so when it becomes obvious that there are those who will kill to stop Ro and Ethan from looking into Ricky's death. I enjoyed the story so much that I listened through it straight through, I just did not want to put the book down so I ended up going to bed very late, indeed.

The audiobook narration by Dan Bittner is fantastic. I would forget that there was only one narrator, he handles the voices so well, I felt like I was watching a show. I plan to both read more by Matt Goldman and listen to more narrations by Dan Bittner. I wonder if there is a chance that we will see these characters again in the future, I sure wouldn't mind that, at all.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

I've been a fan of Matt Goldman's since his debut, and he hasn't let me down yet. While I'm delighted that he's one of the handful of mystery writers writing stand alone novels, there's a part of me who will always miss the PI hero of his first four novels. Fans, this is the best of both world because Nils Shapiro makes a cameo appearance in this novel, and it's awesome!

As for the main story, Mr. Goldman is really writing what he knows this time. Like his protagonist, Ethan Harris, Matt Goldman is a successful, Jewish, television writer from Minnesota who sometimes lives in LA. Set during the most recent writers' strike, Ethan has returned home both to visit his parents for the high holidays and to think about the next season of his struggling television show. He reunites with the proverbial girl next-door in the opening pages. She's now a cop, conveniently enough, and she suggests using a distressing unsolved mystery from their teen years as fodder for the show. And so begin an investigation that leads to trouble for many.

This is a strong mystery that kept me turning pages for a one-sitting read. Did I figure out who the big bad was? Hell, no. Matt Goldman writes smart, well-plotted, well-paced mysteries with appealing protagonists. Keep 'em coming, Matt!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of “The Murder Show”.

I loved this book! I enjoyed the author’s writing and flow of the story. The character development is exceptional; by the end of the book, you feel like you’ve truly grown alongside them.
The book was interesting and the mystery kept me guessing and wanting more.
If you are looking for a quick, entertaining and engaging read, this is for you!

After his once, popular TV crime show is canceled, Ethan returns home to Minnesota, hoping to regroup and come up with some new ideas. Once there, he runs into his old class Ro, who has become a police officer and is convinced she’s found evidence that the death of their high school classmate years ago, was anything but an accident. Ethan doesn’t believe her at first, but it soon becomes obvious they’ve uncovered something that someone will do anything to keep from seeing the light of day