Heroes Ever Die: Ken Allen / Super Sleuth Series

In Crawford’s entertaining sequel to 2021’s Jove Brand Is Near Death, failed actor turned PI Ken Allen has reason to be grateful to old friend Ray Ford, a special effects wizard. Ray has arranged for Ken to meet his idol, legendary comic book writer and illustrator Dave King, who’s on the set of the latest movie Ray’s working on. Also on the set is Flint West, the actor portraying the superhero Flying Freeman, who wants to hire Ken to investigate something dangerous on behalf of an unnamed friend connected to Dave, but without that friend knowing of Ken’s involvement. The PI gets definitive evidence that something rotten is going on when the actor playing Flying Freeman’s nemesis dies in an apparent accident during filming. Ray, fearing he’ll be blamed for the death, asks Ken to prove foul play. A second fatality on the set of a rival studio with a superhero franchise gives the detective another murder to solve. The nicely twisty plot builds toward a logical ending. Crawford’s tongue-in-cheek parody of superhero films will delight many. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (Aug.)