Book Review: The Big Show Stopper

The Big Show Stopper
A Pinky and the Bear Mystery

Author: Ken Dalton

Pages: 296 pgs

Reading Level: 

Published: September 16th 2010

Review Source: Author Blog Tour

I really enjoyed reading this book.  Although I thought it dragged a little in the beginning, it turned out to be a pretty good book.       

The characters are really funny and complete opposites of one another.  Flo, Bear’s girlfriend, is a gorgeous woman who expects her man to be with her at all times and doesn't want to do anything else besides shopping and laying out in the pool.  Bear, is charged with killing a man in a bar brawl, but is acquitted thanks to his very "famous" attorney, Pinky.

The story starts with Flo and Bear at Brady Blackstone’s concert.  During his big entrance, Brady’s chair malfunctions and sends him straight to the stage where he dies.  Bear and Flo immediately realize that something wrong happened and that someone was behind the deadly accident.     Bear, who is also Pinky's private investigator, goes on a mission to find out who killed Brady.  Along the way, he discovers that Brady wasn't the person everyone thought he was and had plenty of enemies who had good reasons to kill him.  I don’t want to give much more away, but I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind an over the top story with complicated characters and a great ending.

Summary: (from goodreads) 

The Big Show Stopper opens in a packed concert arena with everyone waiting for the entrance of Brady Blackstone, the richest, and premier concert performer in America. But before Brady sets his foot on the stage, a tragic accident takes his life in front of Bear and a devastated Flo. However, it does not take Bear and Flo very long to question if the death was it an accident or murder? 

Once again, in the pursuit of a pile of money and a little justice, Pinky travels to an exotic site while Bear and Flo end up in one of the least desirable locations in California. 

The Big Show Stopper brings back Pinky, Bear, Flo, along with a gaggle of quirky characters. A beer swilling wacko. A naked old fart. A couple of downright dangerous folks. And concludes on a dark night with the dynamic trio spread eagle counting down the final seconds of their lives.

Thank you to Ken Dalton for including us in the blog tour for The Big Show Stopper. Below you can find links to Ken or his books. 

Ken Dalton Links:

Ken Dalton Website

The Big Show Stopper Blog Tour Site

Ken Dalton's  Bio:

Ken Dalton was born in 1938. In a turn of bad luck, the dreaded Polio virus found Ken. At the end of World War II, Ken's family moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming for a year where he learned how to live through snow blizzards, avoid walking through the large pile of coal in the basement, and how to survive life as an Army Officer's brat on a base called Fort Warren. 

By the age of sixteen, after eleven years of operations, therapy, and braces, Ken's luck changed dramatically when he met the girl of his dreams at a party. A few years later they married, produced three wonderful children, and settled into a happy life in Southern California.

In 1966, Ken, who worked as a technician for Pacific Bell, and his family left Southern California for the green hills of Sonoma County where they bought a home in Sebastopol surrounded with apple trees. A few years later, Ken and Arlene built a new home on three and a half acres. They raised cows, pigs, and learned how to build outstanding fences. While their children grew, they hosted two exchange students, Eva Reimers from Sweden, and Tanja Wuttke from Germany, both of whom are still loved members of the Dalton clan. Also during those years, Ken was promoted to management at Pacific Bell. He eventually ended up responsible for all the central offices, sixty-three, in an area that covered five counties.

In 1977, Ken, Arlene, Bob Wiltermood, and his wife Norma, designed, built, and operated a 2000 case winery named Pommeraie Vineyards. They produced award winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. However, after Bob died, the winery was sold. Ken and Arlene moved to a hilltop in Healdsburg.

With the winery gone, and time on their hands, Ken and Arlene started to perform with the Camp Rose Players. Twenty years and forty productions later, both are still acting and singing. 

Life was good. All Ken had to do was learn some lines and bow when the audience applauded.

Then, ten years ago, in a moment of madness, Ken started to write. His first article was published in Golf Illustrated in August 1996. More golf articles followed in national and regional magazines including Golf Magazine and Fairways and Greens.

After a two-year stint on the County Grand Jury, Ken felt the need to begin his first novel.

Now, after a decade of struggle to learn the craft of writing, Ken has become the publishing world's latest overnight sensation.