A Hard Day's Death

by Raymond Benson

Book Overview

When rock star Peter Flame is found hanging, it's up to Spike Berenger to sort through the colorful music industry types to find the killer. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0843960639
• ISBN13: 9780843960631
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Leisure Books
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll...and Religion

"A Hard Day's Death," takes you on a thrilling adventure. The main character, Spike Berenger is the owner of Rockin' Security. Spike got his formal investigation training while he was a criminal investigations special agent in the military. Needless to say, he is used to excitement and adventure. Things really heat up for Spike when he agrees to take on a case involving the death of a middle aged rocker and cult member named Flame. Unfortunately, the main suspect is the victim's estranged son. It is up to Spike to discover who really killed him. The list of possibilities is extensive and as Spike gets closer to the truth, his own life and the lives of those around him become endangered. Raymond Benson has also penned James Bond adventures. Spike Berenger's character is the antithesis of James Bond in the sense that he relies on his muscle and his gun to be a hero. There are no fancy, high tech gadgets, and he doesn't wear a tuxedo. He seems more gritty and real. The author certainly demonstrates his creative talent in "A Hard Day's Death." He provides the reader with hours of entertainment. He has gifts for developing a compelling plot, creating unique characters and describing his scenes in vivid detail. Benson's incorporation of humor into the tale is the icing on the cake. I also have to admit enjoying his inclusion of many of my favorite musicians. As a person who grew up watching MTV when they still had music videos, it was refreshing to step into the world of musician's whose heydays were in the 70's through possibly the 90's. If you appreciate a good mystery, with a lot of action, you will love "A Hard Day's Death." It will also make a great gift for fans of good old rock n roll. I highly recommend this book!

A fun and fast-paced read....excellent!

I always enjoy any book by Raymond Benson, including his James Bond books. This is a great suspense/murder mystery with a twist of the rock music industry as the background. It's fun to read the chapter titles as song titles and to find various famous rock artists making cameo appearances throughout the story. Have fun....I'm looking forward to the next in this series!!

Well-developed characters

A highly enjoyable mystery with well-developed characters. The author is good at creating believable characters as if all these people existed. He describes the main characters' past and private lives, giving a depth not only to people but to the story. If you like detective stories, you will most likely love this investigator and his team. It is also noteworthy that the author successfully avoids story development which would have made me say, "That's too convenient," "Too good even in fiction" or "This is just to move the story ahead." Things stay closer to reality than to fiction: not everything goes well for the good guys; the investigator is not entirely in good shape; and the good guys are shot more often than they dodge bullets. Rock 'n' roll fans would enjoy various references to the music scene, which is actually a unique feature of this novel. Overall, the story is well worth reading, and I'm looking forward to the second story.

Rock N Roll Detective Work!

I may be a bit biased here, because I wanted to be a private investigator when I was a little kid and I play bass guitar in a band currently, however, I think anyone who is a fan of a good action/thriller will enjoy this book. It is a very cool take on the genre, it is original and creative. I do not like to give away much of anything in a book review, you can read the description of the novel on this site! I am just here to tell you that if you purchase this book you will have a great trip through the pages! As an added bonus if you are a music fan there is a lot of extra content that you will enjoy, if not, pay attention you will be introduced to some great artists and some great songs! This was the first book I have read by Benson and I am hooked. I ordered one of his Bond books because I am a huge Bond fan as well, and I can not wait to read it!

Great music-oriented murder mystery!

Raymond Benson, the noted author behind numerous James Bond novels, scores again with a brand-new concept. Benson has combined his encyclopedic knowledge of rock & roll with his proven ability to create a thrilling mystery in "A Hard Day's Death". This is an extremely enjoyable and entertaining novel with vivid characters and numerous cameos by real-life rock stars. Music fans will enjoy the frequent references to bands and albums while trying to solve the puzzle of a murder disguised to look like suicide. This is the first in Benson's new series featuring private investigator/former tour manager Spike Berenger and his team at Rockin' Security. Loads of fun!