Summer Reading 2023 Heroes Ever Die (Ken Allen Super Sleuth Book 2)

 

Ken Allen made an incredibly bad movie about the superspy Jove Brand, and that was the end of his acting career. Eighteen years later he became an amateur detective to clear his own name when his successor was murdered. Now he is working on a new case that involves the deaths of several actors portraying superheroes in upcoming films. This time his oldest friend and special effects guru Ray Ford is suspected of causing the deaths. Ken knows it can't be true because Ray is dedicated to his craft and would never cut corners or do shoddy work.

Ken uses his contacts within the movie industry and the gadgets Ray supplies to investigate the circumstances of each casualty. The more he uncovers, the more he suspects that someone is setting Ray up to take the blame - and that they are not through with the attacks. High-powered producers, directors, and actors; suspicious police detectives; villainous henchmen; Ray and his daughter; the group of people involved is large and all have possible motives for sabotaging the movies.

This story pulls readers along in Ken's wake as he moves from mansions to movie lots to warehouses, fighting off attacks from thugs and threats from various interested parties. We begin to see why his own movie career was cut short (he cannot act or fake emotions). But we also get the enjoyment of seeing him put Ray's gadgets to use as he searches for clues. And we can root for an average guy who may be a great personal trainer, but needs to polish his skills as a gumshoe.

I won an e-galley of this book and had not read the first in the series, so I did not have some of the backstory that would have given me more context. Readers who enjoyed Jove Brand Is Near Death will have fun with Ken's new adventure. Those new to the series may wish to backtrack and read book 1 to get the full picture of how one man can go from big screen star to neophyte detective.