Who Killed the Fonz?

Set in 1984, this nostalgic reboot from Boice (The Good and the Ghastly) imagines the gang of TV’s Happy Days in middle age. Richard “Richie” Cunningham, one-time Hollywood screenwriting sensation, finds himself at a creative crossroads after a decade’s worth of professional setbacks. Struggling to finance his dream project, Richie must decide whether directing a Star Wars rip-off is worth keeping his career alive. Adding to his struggles, Richie learns that his friend Arthur Fonzarelli (aka the Fonz) is missing and presumed dead. The Fonz apparently lost control of his motorcycle while crossing a bridge and plunged into the river below back home in Milwaukee. Richie returns for the memorial service. With the body still missing and lingering questions surrounding the accident, Richie and old friends Ralph Malph and Potsie Weber suspect something more sinister happened and investigate. Notwithstanding some plot contrivances, readers yearning for simpler times will enjoy this trip down memory lane, which is as predictable and comforting as an episode of Happy Days. Agent: David Granger, Aevitas. (Feb.)