The Shroud of the Thwacker - Softcover

Chris Elliott is a four-time Emmy award winning writer, producer, and actor. An alumnus of SNL, he performed on the David Letterman Show, and in 1990 starred in FOX-TV's cult hit sitcom, Get a Life. His film appearances include Cabin Boy, There's Something About Mary, and Scary Movie II. He most recently co-starred in Everybody Loves Raymond. His first book, Daddy's Boy, was co-written with his father, comedian Bob Elliott.

The book debut from the Get a Life and Cabin Boy star is billed as a parody, but this murder mystery wrapped in laughter is simply straight-up enjoyable. Jack the Jolly Thwacker is leaving dead bodies all over 1882 New York City. Chris Elliott, a modern-day researcher, is tracking the serial killer through time. Elliott's wry humor fastens on the burgeoning, Boss Tweedified city, giving it a hilarious and vividly imagined set of anachronistic technologies and accoutrements (New York's Mayor Teddy Roosevelt, who has mysteriously disappeared, has a navel piercing). The narrative leaps back and forth in time, as 1882 police chief Caleb Spencer chases the Thwacker through the streets, and Elliott, convinced the killer is from the 21st century, chases him through time. Elliott's ability to time travel is facilitated by Yoko Ono (don't ask) and a willing suspension of disbelief, but the results are very amusing (if often infantile in the style of There's Something About Mary), with asides on every page that bring in everyone and everything from Typhoid Mary to Skyy Vodka. If Shroud feels like an extended, Americanized Monty Python skit, it's also a rousing good yarn.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.