Murder on Demand

by Al Roker, Matt Costello

Murder on Demand, the new book in the delightful Morning Show Murders series from bestselling author and TV news icon Al Roker, finds Billy Blessing investigating a suspicious boating accident in Long Island.

Ten years have passed since Billy Blessing’s adventure in Chicago, and a lot has changed. With the advances in television—the vanishing cable news and the flood of streaming channels entering the market—Billy found himself out of a job. Oh, and his restaurant had a fire (maybe suspicious? Billy does have enemies…), but the insurance won’t cover a rebuild.

So Billy is reinventing himself on the North Fork of Long Island, where on a clear day you can see the Hamptons across the bay. The pace of life is slower—and more affordable—and he’s been enjoying his new job as a chef in Greenport. That is, until a young woman walks into the restaurant talking about murder. Her father’s boat washed up down the coast, but the man himself is nowhere to be found. The police are calling it an accident, but she thinks it’s way more than that, and would Billy, maybe, look into it? Nice and quiet since, well, any other way might not be safe.

Billy is back in another hilarious, suspenseful, and delectable murder mystery perfect for new and old fans alike.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2024

About the author

Al Roker is an American weather forecaster, journalist, television personality, actor, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's Today.

Reviews

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for the finished copy to review.

I didn’t realize this was the 4th in a series, and while it took a bit to get going I ended up liking it overall. Al Roker reads the audiobook and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would via this medium. I’m not sure I will go back and read the other books but I will definitely pick up any others going forward in this series.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al Roker's Murder on Demand offers a creative plot, suspense and action. Roker's narration adds value to the audio book. Billy Blessing, a former celebrity chef and restaurant owner, is living on the North Fork of Long Island. He is doing some part-time cooking, but spends a lot of time missing his past and being uncertain about his future. A restaurant customer who believes her missing father was murdered asks Billy for help. Although he is not a PI, he ends up acting like one. When the father's boat washes ashore without a body, Billy starts working with the local police chief to solve the murder. Billy's celebrity chef career starts to show signs of reviving, but his role in the murder investigation could kill him before things work out. The weakness of this book is that it lacks credibility.

[Betsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this was a disappointment. I had read one of Al Roker's detective novels some years ago and remembered that I enjoyed it. So, when this came up on my cheap e-book lists I bought it. I don't know if this one has a different co-writer or if I am misremembering my previous experience, but this was awful. The writing style was choppy with sentences full of dashes and ellipses to the point that I had to reread may of the sentences multiple times before I could parse out what was being said. Beyond the writing style, the story was pretty bad. How much mayhem does someone need to observe connected to his "case" before he gets a clue that he, himself, may be in danger? There is a particularly stupid episode in which two people decode a 4 letter secret code by asking Google to break the encryption. Amazingly with only four letters in the message Google is able to narrow its meaning down to one of four possible answers. Right. At least the book didn't cost much.

[Betty-Anne]

Poorly written. Could not finish this book which happens VERY rarely with me. The poor writing was so distracting that I could not convince myself that it was worth finishing.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know that Today Show weatherman Al Roker is also an author? He’s co-authored a series called The Morning Show Murders and the fourth book in the series, Murder on Demand, was just released a few days ago. I only found out about this series when I requested the NetGalley ARC, so I haven’t read the other books. You could dive into this one without reading the others because it’s mostly about this one case, but it seems to me like the other books are probably better than this one. The main character of this book, Billy Blessing, was a chef at his own hot NYC restaurant and he had a regular segment on a morning news show. Sounds interesting, right? Well, by the fourth book in this series, he’s lost all his money and is working as a chef in a restaurant out on Long Island. He’s hired by a mysterious woman who asks him to look into the disappearance of her father. Her father is a fisherman, and I got bored pretty quickly with all the fisherman and boating talk. So this was just an OK mystery for me. Perhaps if I had the audiobook, which is narrated by Al Roker, it might have been more interesting.

Thank you, @NetGalley and @BlackstonePublishing for my gifted copy of this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story started off a bit rocky but as I continued... I enjoyed this book.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had read Al Roker’s “Storm of the Century” about the Galveston hurricane and thought it was really good. But he should stick to non-fiction. This murder mystery, one of a series about an ex-morning show host, was colossally boring and heavily, heavily padded. On top that, everyone in it thought and talked in questions, like valley girls: “My friend the detective? He said, if some things were going on here, things that could lead to someone disappearing? Maybe it was an accident at sea, but maybe something else?” “Billy Blessing? Why don’t we go to my office? And I can see what you need to speak to me so urgently about?” “…those people who picked up Luis? Who also picked up Stenier, made them both talk? …what if Steiner lied to them? And louis, not sure what to do supported the lie?” So annoying!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is blurbed on the cover as a cozy, but that's far from accurate. Former broadcaster and celebrity cook Billy Blessing is cooking at a small Long Island restaurant and about due to take a week-long break when he's approached by a woman who wants him to find out what happened to her father, who took his small boat out to fish and was lost in a storm. But there are other people who want information about the man, and soon the local law enforcement authorities are involved too--the missing (dead?) man had a secret past, and the woman in question is probably not even his daughter. Soon Billy is in the midst of three warring criminal factions, all of which would be very willing to dispose of Billy just when he's on the verge of a comeback.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not having read any of the other Morning Show Murders, I was not familiar with Billy Blessing. But once I got into the delightful story and got to know Billy as he unearths clues to the possible murder of an innocent fisherman lost at sea, I loved the character and all of the other players in the story. Although I watch the Today Show daily, I never knew that Al Roker was an author - but his voice clearly comes through loud and clear throughout the book. I can't wait to go back and read the earlier Billy Blessing escapades.

[Ryan Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hilarious murder mystery continues with hero Billy Blessing, chef, TV personality, and sleuth, in the present day. Out of a job on TV talk show and also his restaurant ending up in a fire. Billy goes to Long Island and starts a life as a chef in a restaurant in Greenport. Until a young woman in destress comes into his restaurant and later her father's boat is found with him missing. Which means another case for Billy. It was great to see this series continue. It needed to b3 more then just a trilogy. It was fun and entertaining like the previous titles with plenty of action and a worth while whodunit.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this audiobook and thought, "What the heck..." I'm game to try a mystery written by Al Roker about what he knows best, gourmet cooking and network morning news. It is definitely written in the Al Roker style of humor and with him narrating the book, it sounds like him through and through. This makes a sort of dark murder mystery feel like a cozy read.
Full of cliches but lovable in a Al Roker kind of way. Four stars for the effort and it had its interesting moments.

[Cynthia Woodlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It

Billy Blessing in yet another mess. I loved this book. Al's books are quick reads because they are so good you can't put them down. I hope Billy Blessing comes back in more books.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al Roker is so good natured and it comes through in his books.
I like his chef main character, Billy Blessing.
Takes place mainly at the end of Long Island.
Lots of interesting characters, clever story.

[Treva · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this third book of the Billy Blessing series, Billy is approached by a woman to find out what happened to her father, who was lost at sea. Turns out there are multiple people wanting to know this information, and it becomes very dangerous for Billy to find the answer.

[Philip Lerner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected more from Al

A great disappointment. I really expected more from Al. Perhaps he should stick to the weather or find another editor. Spend your money on something worthwhile.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a book in between book club reads & decided to try Al Roker’s latest. I enjoyed it!

[PennsyLady (Bev) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* Did not finish

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the last one.

[Jewett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a fun murder with twists. Audio is good with Roker doing the reading.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 overall. Al Romero writes an amusing tale about a chef that keeps getting involved with murder. He narrates very well. I was interested enough to continue reading until the end.

[CR · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one I a not recommend to readers at least not from me. This was boring and so dense that I could not read it.

[Dennis Keitel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder on Demand

This story is believable! I had to look up areas of Long Island on Google maps, all the more fun. Looking forward to reading more of Al's stories.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this quick read. Murder with a humorous main character and read by Al Roker. Not a bad book but not great literature, therefore three stars.

[Ted Schmiedeke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a terrible read. The writing style was so choppy & disjointed, I found I had re-read some sentences more than once. I've never met anyone that talks like that.

[Debra Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

didn't like; didn't finish

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

another fun installment to this cozy mystery series

[Cherie Waggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only problem I had with this was why the police let the narrator to be involved in the case. This was a book on tape read by Al Roker. Since this was his book, his reading brings the reader into the story.