cover image Would It Kill You to Smile?

Would It Kill You to Smile?

Philip Lawson. Longstreet Press, $22 (240pp) ISBN 978-1-56352-511-7

Ventriloquist Skipper Keats suffers a fatal aneurysm while performing at his comedy club in Columbus, Ga. Skipper's son Will, a school counselor, harbors painfully mixed feelings about his father, whom he considered a second-rate talent and third-rate parent who lavished more attention on his favorite dummy, Dapper O'Dell, than on his son. Skipper had even insisted that Dapper be placed in his coffin, keeping the act together forever. After the funeral, Will imagines a cry for help from his wooden ""brother,"" so he breaks into his father's crypt and discovers that Dapper has disappeared. Will's suspicions focus on ventriloquists jealous of Skipper, the mercenary co-owner of Skipper's club and the hearse driver. His search for Dapper leads him to family secrets and a little larceny. Although Will is soured by his Daddy-loved-the-dummy-best resentment, Lawson's otherwise strong characterizations and a stage trunk full of ventriloquism lore make this comedy caper worthwhile. (Oct.)