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