Three's a Crowd: A Noir Comedy

by David Benjamin

Moments after each of three conventional, middle-class American men has murdered his wife in a different part of the city, Rudy, Bud and Chip, rendezvous at the legendary Paris cafe, La Coupole, to celebrate their liberation and re-live the thrill of homicide. Rudy and Bud are first to arrive at La Coupole. While they await Chip's return from the scene of his wife's death, the narrative of the novel, Three's a Crowd, scrolls back in time, to unravel the history of this triple killing. It all began, in kidding and speculation, in Las Vegas-where the three murderers, ordinary citizens of their booming industry, meet annually at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Because the three plotters see one another only at CES, for five days in January, the murder plot takes years to develop. The catalyst who turns impulse into action is Chip, a latecomer to the trio. Chip is the "eager beaver" who brings to the party the energy and practical wherewithal to turn the violent death of three unsuspecting wives from a pipe dream to a real-life capital crime. The reasons that wives Whitney, Donna and Judy must die unravel in flashbacks to several Las Vegas locales, including the Las Vegas Convention Center and a North Vegas "gentlemen's club" called the Tough Titty Lounge. In annual pilgrimages to the Tough Titty, Rudy, Bud and Chip experience an almost religious epiphany. The ministrations of young ladies named Shalimar, Simba and Monique-among others-help the three husbands realize the lovelessness and sexual barrenness of their marriages. They come to understand, logically, that their only way out is murder. Back in Paris in the present, Chip arrives at La Coupole hours late, frazzled and disheveled. He assures his co-conspirators that, yes, he has killed Judy. But there's a complication that will require all three to return to the spot where he gunned her down. Before that, though, he takes nourishment and coaxes his friends into recounting the lurid and grisly details of their crimes-each committed in one of Paris' most historic and evocative locales. As the story unfolds, the three murderers reveal that, the previous night, as a sort of sendoff, they had thrown a party-with all three couples together for the first time-at a renowned Paris brasserie, Le Grand Colbert. During that festive occasion, the three wives bond, and the plot thickens. It thickens further the next night in a surprising climax when Rudy and Bud follow Chip to the banks of the Seine to help him dispose, once and for all, of Judy's body.

Unknown Binding

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

David Benjamin became, at least in his own mind, prose laureate of Wisconsin with the publication of his Random House memoir, The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked.
Raised in Tomah, educated in Madison and Beloit, Benjamin paid his dues as a writer, journalist, essayist and author in regions as far flung as Paris and Tokyo, Brooklyn, New York and Mansfield, Massachusetts.
Last Kid Books, an imprint initially devoted to publishing his works, is the voice of David Benjamin, a voice rich with stories that entertain, amuse, surprise and — now and then — get under your skin.
The first three Last Kid Books, officially published on 1 April 2019, are Almost Killed by a Train of Thought, a collection of Benjamin’s essays, and two novels, Summer of ’68 and Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter.

Reviews

[Gregory Renz · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first pages of THREE’S A CROWD, I knew I was in the hands of a master storyteller and a skilled writer. The beautifully flawed three main characters had me laughing and sometimes shaking my head at their hapless antics. The crisp pacing kept me reading late into the night and as the tension built through the story, it became impossible to put down. The main setting of Paris played beautifully into the well-woven plot. The author’s skill with specific details felt like a personal tour of Paris along with wonderful sensory details of dining and drinking at some exquisite locations. It became quite obvious the author has an intimate knowledge of Paris. The climax was well-earned and satisfying. Nicely done, Mr. Benjamin.

[Dan Woll · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Benjamin brings his considerable talent for reinventing life in the Sixties, ("The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked"), to a raucous Coen-flavored noir, comic mystery. "Three’s a Crowd" is a backward mystery. You know who did it on page one, yet there’s an element of suspense that is sustained to the end. You have the what and the who but not the how and the why and therein lies the darkly humorous twist.

Alternating between the convention halls of Las Vegas and the City of Light, there is a sense of place that is hilariously Euro and sleazy at the same time. “Three’s A Crowd” is an engaging read that will keep you turning the pages without a break.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was funny but not in a "ha ha" sort of way. More in the ironic sort of funny. Twist ending, easy read, I would recommend to someone that wants a "light" read but is prepared for the off subject matter.