Buy This Book
Synopsis // Excerpts // Press
BACKGROUND
David Hiltbrand’s years as a journalist reporting on music pop culture have given him inside perspective on celebrity culture. The pages of his newest novel, DYING TO BE FAMOUS (Avon Mass Market Original, On Sale december 26, 2006, ISBN: 0060554150, $6.99 U.S., $9.99 CAN), the follow up to KILLER SOLO and DEADER THAN DISCO, are crammed with witty parodies on America’s hottest reality obsession.
SYNOPSIS
The book provides a tongue-in-cheek look at an American Idol-esque reality show, as seen through the eyes of Jim McNamara, cynical former record industry talent scout-turned-private eye. In his latest adventure, McNamara must discover who killed one of the favored contestant on the hit show Star Maker.
M
cNamara has made a name for himself hunting killers in the world of rock ‘n roll. Now he’s diving into the shark-infested waters surrounding TV-land to discover who slew Matt Hanes, one of the finalists on the hit television show Star Maker. Contestants on the reality hit sing for a chance to land a record contract, but it appears that Matt has just enacted his swan song. He is found in his hotel room, drugged and asphyxiatedto death. With millions of dollars at stake, the people in charge know who to call: Jim McNamara, the rock n’ roll detective.It seems that the motive for the murder is obvious. Now that Hanes is dead, each of the final ten contestants is that much closer to stardom. But the producers make it even harder on Jim--he must solve the case without disrupting the broadcast in any way. Jim has to work fast to unmask a lethal music critic before any more contestants get eliminated from the competition… permanently.
Excerpts
Read 5 Pages from Dying to Be Famous: link
Press Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Link 4 Link 5
From USA Today's Idol Chatter: link
by Ken Barnes
I just realized that headline may be a bit misleading, not to mention alarming. I'm talking about a novel, a work of fiction closely based on American Idol, what it's mandatory in the book biz to call a roman a clef (quicker and more exclusionary than just saying "fiction based on slightly disguised fact" or something).
Idol's weathered the satirical skits, the jokes, the TV knockoffs (Nashville Star, Rock Star, Celebrity Duets and innumerable others), even the movie (American Dreamz was kind of funny in spots, especially the theme song). Now there's the book, a paperback by David Hiltbrand, author of Deader Than Disco and Killer Solo, called Dying to Be Famous. It's about the murder of a contestant on a show called Star Maker, and the similarities to Idol are ... well, transparent is too weak a word. Details -- and there are loads of them -- follow.
(Advance warning: this is long. But amusing.)
The "fictional" Star Maker (airing on Fox) is described as "a simple talent show that had grown into a monster. A group of young amateur singers, selected by a trio of musical experts, competed against each other, with the viewing audience calling in to vote for their favorites. One by one, the contestants were sent packing until the last remaining singer was crowned a star and awarded a recording contract." So far, so Idol.
Musical theme nights depicted in the book feature the music of Huey Lewis, Glen Campbell and the Bee Gees, with particular authorial venom directed at the first two. (His narrator, a vaguely Chandleresque "rock 'n' roll detective," doesn't like much about the contemporary music scene, for which he mostly blames Pearl Jam. He may have a point there.) The only real difference between Idol and Star Maker is that the latter tapes its performance shows ... and there's more than a hint that the Star Maker producers cook the votes to produce desired results.
See if you can identify these judges by their descriptions:
> "Rodney Hampden, Star Maker's arrogant and acerbic judge, was the show's real star. He had been just an obscure British record executive until he was appointed to the judging panel on Pop Star, the the British template for Star Maker. Hampden's decimating comments to the contestants were considered such a crucial component in the program's success that he was imported over here along with the format."
> L.A. Cooper, "a burly and officious black man, was completely unknown before Star Maker ... He was a terrible name-dropper. He would preface most of his on-air comments with boasts like, ' When I was in the studio with U2...' or 'You know I worked with Mariah and...' ... I went back through the credits of the artists he mentioned, and never found his name listed in any function."
(OK, that's a bit harsh. L.A. is given to saying things like "duck" and "aiight.")
> Sugar Kane (who is always gushingly complimentary to the contestants) "had been a dancer on some dreadful TV music show. Don't hold me to this, but I think it was Solid Gold. Somehow that led to a record contract. She became a one-hit wonder in the early eighties with Tony ... It was a strident and tinny earache with a chanted chorus that sounded like it was taken from a high school pep rally. But that kept Sugar from having to do any actual singing. And the video, with Sugar and a group of aspiring porn stras leaping around in pigtails and skimpy cheerleader outfits, was enough to put Tony on top of the charts ..."
Wait, we have a problem. The astute pop scholars among you will have noticed that that's not a thinlhy disguised summary of Paula Abdul's career. No, that's Toni Basil. The reason for this switcheroo is never explained.
Just as well Paula's not the model. Each of the judges in the book has an unspeakably unpleasant recreational pastime that I will leave mercifully unmentioned.
Fans of Clay Aiken will not be thrilled by the portrayal of Terry Taylor. "He was a geeky kid who resembled the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Then he opened his mouth and this gloriously sweet tenor poured out ... Even after his dramatic serial makeovers, Terry still looked like a neglected stuffed doll at a yard sale. But he had this soft-spoken Southern manner and freakishly long eyelashes that women -- especially older women -- seemed to respond to ... Critics were calling him the next Barry Manilow, like that was a good thing." Terry later displays an amusing Jekyll-and-Hyde personality switch that ends up crushing the morale of the current crop of singers.
Well, I could go on (in fact, I already have). There are characters closely resembling Ryan Seacrest (host Brian Breeze, "an empty package of teeth, ego and frosted hair" whose catch phrase is "Call me the Breeze") and Fox reality czar Mike Darnell, and one final thing that naturally caught my attention.
There are something like five or six direct shots at USA TODAY. When the Fox reality honcho is talking about how the show covered up the contestant's murder, he says, "We put an item in USA Today, spinning the story the way we want it. They're practically our house organ. They'll print anything we tell them." Then the narrator says, apropos of not much, "I can't bring myself to refer to pieces in USA Today as articles." Another character says, "I don't believe anything I read in the entertainment section of USA Today. It's not a newspaper; it's a message board for publicists."
USA TODAY's Idol reporter is described as "a guy with black Brillo hair and a whomping big forehead ... who looked like Napoleon Dynamite's dance instructor." Asked who he is by the narrator, a show insider says, "He's the one we spoon-fed that story (about the murder cover-up). Because he did such a fine job of taking dictation, he's been rewarded with a week backstage."
Ouch. What makes these jibes more intriguing is that author David Hiltbrand is described in the press handout accompanying the book as a former critic, editor and columnist for such prestigious journalistic institutions as the New York Daily News, People and TV Guide -- none of which, of course, have ever been known to publish superficial, oversimplified or abbreviated entertainment journalism.
All inexplicably ground axes aside, Dying to Be Famous is an entertaining noir-lite reading experience -- and for the literarily (is that a word?) inclined among the Idol Chatter community, it will provide plenty of chuckles, snorts and eye-rolls. And what more could you ask from a book?
Back to Top
From Philadelphia Inquirer: link
Posted on Thu, Jan. 25, 2007
Reviewed by Sarah Weinman
Caustic P.I. is back in another Hollywood whodunit
David Hiltbrand is a well-known name in Philadelphia circles, as his movie reviews, entertainment reporting and weekly column, "Dave on Demand," have appeared regularly in The Inquirer. But he has also branched out into writing novels that make good use of his entertainment background.
The latest, Dying to Be Famous, brings back likable private investigator Jim McNamara (after Deader Than Disco and Killer Solo), whose opinionated, caustic ruminations about the underbelly of the music and television industries elevates a fairly standard mystery novel into a certified guilty pleasure.
McNamara is a refugee of the music world, where constant drugging and drinking destroyed his marriage and forced him to mend his wayward ways. But unlike other recovered alcoholic P.I.s, McNamara makes no bones about how his wiseacre personality is still very much in place. "Left to my own devices, I'm still inherently dishonest, restless, angry and self-centered." All of these fine qualities come into play when McNamara gets a phone call from Mitch Reynolds, producer of the hit TV show Star Maker (a thinly disguised version of American Idol) that "the mothership has sprung a leak" in the form of a dead body.
Matt Hanes, the perceived front-runner for the current edition of Star Maker, has been found murdered in the house he shared with his fellow contestants, all of whom instantly become suspects in McNamara's book. How could they not, with such high tensions and skyrocketing ambitions over the competition? Add an executive producer who can't get through the morning - let alone the day - sober, an ex-junkie parent of one of the contestants whose family reunion seems more than a little shady, and the whiff of scandal in the form of competition-fixing rumors. McNamara has more than enough to handle and dodge in order to solve the mystery of who killed Matt.
That very mystery is somewhat thin; it's hard to believe that the LAPD, even if Hollywood is a "company town," would step aside and let McNamara have free rein questioning potential suspects and building leads.
He also gets a lot of help from Whitey, a fellow AA member who seems to have access to all sorts of inside information that is doled out just when it's time for another plot twist. Though McNamara is a private investigator, his demeanor and Hiltbrand's narrative structure bear more resemblance to an amateur-sleuth story.
At a shade over 200 pages, Dying to Be Famous, while fast-paced, is also rushed. The story is spiced up with "spot the celebrity" references to American Idol judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson (with enough changes to circumvent any prospective lawsuits). The interactions McNamara has with them and with contestants are certainly entertaining, but a little more depth in the form of character development and motivation would have been helpful.
The only supporting player who merits any hint of realism is Roxie, one of Star Maker's assistants and McNamara's love interest. Their relationship, while sudden, is at least grounded in mutual liking and companionship, and the sparks - if somewhat infrequent - are at least present.
But if pure entertainment was what Hiltbrand aimed for, he has succeeded in a big way. Dying to Be Famous is lighthearted and fun, filled with plenty of catfights, dirty dealings and name-dropping to catch even the most clueless celebrity consumer up on a still-popular sector of Hollywood. It's clear he knows this beat well, and the knowledge shows through in this entertaining mixture of froth and edge.
Back to Top
From: 5 Reasons to Live
By Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker is critic-at-large for EW
American Idol Gets Murdered in David Hiltbrand's Dying To Be Famous
In the third of Hiltbrand's devilishly pop-culture-stuffed, deviously plotted series of mysteries featuring music-industry private-eye Jim McNamara, someone has killed an American idol — that is, a contestant on the ratings-busting fictional TV music competition called Star Maker, based in the U.K. — and McNamara is hired to find the murderer. As usual, Hiltbrand fills the book with sharp jokes about the biz — there's a wicked caricature of reality-TV guru Mike Darnell (under another name, of course); one chapter finds the show's finalists warbling an episode whose theme is Glen Campbell songs. I'd say that if you read mysteries, you'll like Dying To Be Famous, but that limits its audience: Anyone who actually reads books is bound to enjoy a good, deft skewering of American Idol, don't you think?
Back to Top
Dying to Be Famous Review
From Bookgasm.com
By Mark Rose
I love AMERICAN IDOL. Oh, I know half of you now will completely discount everything I say. But there’s still a lot of fun to be had in the old franchise, whether cheering encouragement to the decent singers, or gawping in amazement at the rampant sense of entitlement those under 28 years old seem to have. It is as much a cultural marker as the brilliance of THE OFFICE or RENO 911.
And, of course, that means it’s ripe for parody, or at least a not at all thinly veiled takedown. David Hiltbrand’s DYING TO BE FAMOUS does this exquisitely, attacking the integrity of the show, the judges and the participants all wrapped up in a quick-to-read murder mystery. Hiltbrand’s series character is private investigator Jim McNamara. He’s known for his work with musicians, and his exploits are recounted in titles like DEADER THAN DISCO and KILLER SOLO.
McNamara is called out to the set of the reality TV show STAR MAKER in order to investigate the murder of one of the finalists. The show’s producers have managed to convince the LAPD not to investigate the murder, and instead allow McNamara to do the job, all while the show continues on schedule. Not likely.
This somewhat sour and unrealistic note is leavened by Hiltbrand’s bitchiness about the show. Of course, there’s a Simon Cowell type in the role of blackshirted Rodney Hampden. The role of Paula Abdul is played by crazy Sugar Kane, who mixes both Abdul and, improbably, Toni Basil. And Randy Jackson’s presence is dishonored by L.A. Cooper, a music producer backbencher who has a penchant for drugs. Yipes. Hiltbrand weaves these gonzo parodies together into an entertaining simulacrum, a corny but fun and snarky read. If you follow IDOL, you may want to vote for this one on your phone.
Back to Top
Dying to Be Famous Review
Reviewed by Marcella Courneya
Dying to be Famous, David Hiltbrand's third major mystery, will rake in those American Idol lovers who just can't seem to get enough of the drama and excitement dished out each season.
Jim McNamara, a recovering heroine addict and private detective to the stars, is called to the set of Star Maker, television's most exciting reality show where musically gifted contestants sing their hearts out each week, only to be found least popular by American voters and dumped from the show, crushing their dreams at stardom. Sound familiar?
McNamara ends up investigating the death of the show's most talented singer. You follow McNamara through his week of investigating, interviewing the contestants, and becoming romantic with a Hollywood assistant. He also tastes the crude form of coffee available at the A.A. meetings that he attends with his sidekick, Whitey, throughout the city.
Had the setting and characters of this story been a figment of imagination, the novel may have held my attention longer. As it stands, the contestants, judges, and TV personalities of Star Maker are simply copies of the men and women our current pop culture has come to know all too well. However, Hiltbrand does entice with the ever-popular idea of scandal by introducing scenes including fights and romance between contestants, drug use, and mental illness.
If you also find time to become a musical critic, like me, the book offers an array of sarcastic remarks on famous icons and the choices decided on by Star Maker. It was during these times the narrator addressed me as a reader, engaging me in his critiquing. These moments offered a bit of humor, as I happen to find the whole idea of making a star a bit ridiculous.
Throughout the book, Hiltbrand offers a few surprises and twists. Hold your breath for the end, the scene involving two characters that parallel known personalities was burned to my memory. However, there are times the author seems to make sudden leaps with his characters' personalities, specifically Whitey. These changes held untrue and convenient, leaving me to feel fooled or cheated.
In the end, it is obvious David Hiltbrand has captured a piece of today's culture and rebuilt it for a different entertainment value.
Armchair Interviews says: Book was an enjoyable read that could have had more substance.
Back to Top