What happens when a Jersey Shore type reality TV show, skeevy TV producers, & a motorcycle gang converge in Sea Haven? Murder, mystery, & steroids. Ceepak & Boyle are up to the eyeballs trying to solve a murder while unfortunately being filmed & added to reality TV. Deceit, backstabbing, & possible mob hits keep the two on their toes along with still trying to solve the ongoing drug investigation that had been stretching through the series. Plenty of humor, investigative process, & red herrings. Clever writing! ( )

Finished three books in the John Ceepak series on my road trip: Rolling Thunder, Ring Toss, and Fun House. I am enjoying them as audio books. Jeff Woodman, the Audible narrator, does an excellent job portraying the various characters and has a great Jersey accent, male or female, when he needs it. He also nail the ironic comments often made by Office Danny Boyle, who narrates the story. These are NOT cozy mysteries so be warned: there are often multiple, gruesome mysteries with psychopathic killers. But, even though they aren't my normal style, I really enjoy them.

John Ceepak is an ex-military man who lives by the West Point Code and, over the course of the series, has mentored his sidekick Danny Boyle to do the same. Together, they keep the citizens of Sea Haven, a fictional but very authentically portrayed, Jersey shore town, safe, or mostly safe since there are a couple murders in every book. Each book is connected in some way to a boardwalk ride and we meet the quirky inhabitants of the town, most of whom Danny has known all his life as he grew up in Sea Haven. We watch summer cop Danny grow into his job and straight-laced Ceepak soften a bit under the influence of his friends and family.

I would recommend all the books, and they are best read in order as the various stories are linked. Ring Toss is a short story that revolves around Danny's friend Rebecca who is managing the family motel.

John Ceepak and his partner Danny Boyle take on the stars of a reality show set in their town of Sea Haven. This book was a fun read and as expected the stars of the reality show were self-centered and egotistical, making me want to give them a good smack most of the time. It was funny watching "by-the-book" Ceepak trying to communicate with the reality stars and their producer. Danny has come a long way since the first book in this series. ( )

I make it a point not to watch reality TV, but with the number of mystery series that I read using that as a plot device, I now know I was justified in my decision. Of course, it helps when a master like Chris Grabenstein is writing the book; I know he'll make me laugh about it-- and he certainly did (although I think I was cringing while I was laughing).

Layla, a character from the previous book, makes an appearance here as a production assistant on the set, and we have one worried Danny Boyle. You see... Ceepak is seriously thinking about a career change.

This is another swift-moving entry in this excellent series. Grabenstein planted plenty of red herrings for us readers; however, I still found the identity of the killer to be easy to deduce. But let's face it-- I don't read Ceepak and Boyle for ground-breaking mysteries. Grabenstein has created two splendid characters who have grabbed hold of my heart, and he knows how to make me laugh. That's more than good enough for me, and I think it will be for you, too. ( )

Further adventures of Danny Boyle and his mentor, John Ceepak, as they police Sea Haven, a holiday city in New Jersey.
This time, their town is invaded by the makers of a reality TV program and the participants are all nicely flat and obnoxious. Ceepak and Danny look into a drug connection, which then leads into murder.
This is a light hearted, enjoyable read. ( )