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The Masked Band
Mick Jagger. Bob Dylan. Paul McCartney. David Bowie. Debbie Harry. They’re icons. Legends. And together they form the ultimate supergroup - The Okay Boomers. It’s quite some band and it’s quite incredible to see them playing the Bull’s Head in Barnes on a Sunday night.
But all is not as it seems. Hiding behind lifelike masks are five local celebrities. They’re keen to keep their identities secret, but they are all unmasked when a man is found dead in the lead singer’s garden the morning after their post-gig party.
Who is the victim? Why was he wearing the lead singer’s Mick Jagger mask? And why have all the other masks disappeared? Enter DI Garibaldi, the Met’s literary, country-music loving, non-driving detective. As he investigates the five members of The Okay Boomers – a fading rom-com heartthrob, a high-profile comedian, a controversial TV pundit, a popular poet, and a national treasure – one thing becomes clear: behind every mask lies a killer truth.
But all is not as it seems. Hiding behind lifelike masks are five local celebrities. They’re keen to keep their identities secret, but they are all unmasked when a man is found dead in the lead singer’s garden the morning after their post-gig party.
Who is the victim? Why was he wearing the lead singer’s Mick Jagger mask? And why have all the other masks disappeared? Enter DI Garibaldi, the Met’s literary, country-music loving, non-driving detective. As he investigates the five members of The Okay Boomers – a fading rom-com heartthrob, a high-profile comedian, a controversial TV pundit, a popular poet, and a national treasure – one thing becomes clear: behind every mask lies a killer truth.
368 pages, Paperback
Published February 20, 2025
3 people want to read
About the author
Bernard O'Keeffe
8 books212 followersI studied English at Oxford, and started out in advertising. It wasn’t for me, and I soon escaped to train as a teacher.
I turned to crime writing when I stopped teaching. The Final Round, the first DI Garibaldi novel, came out in 2021, and the series has grown from there.
If I had to describe the books, I’d call them cosy procedurals—books with dark elements but not hard-boiled, gritty or violent.
As The Times put it:
“Bernard O’Keeffe’s series is as genteel as the suburb (SW13) in which it is set. Swearing, graphic sex and gore are, for once, off the menu. The gentle humour, oodles of clues and happyish ending create perfect comfort reading.”
Like DI Garibaldi, I live in Barnes. When I’m not writing, I’m usually reading, listening to music, playing Elizabethan Bowls, or watching football—or at least the version of it that QPR play.
I turned to crime writing when I stopped teaching. The Final Round, the first DI Garibaldi novel, came out in 2021, and the series has grown from there.
If I had to describe the books, I’d call them cosy procedurals—books with dark elements but not hard-boiled, gritty or violent.
As The Times put it:
“Bernard O’Keeffe’s series is as genteel as the suburb (SW13) in which it is set. Swearing, graphic sex and gore are, for once, off the menu. The gentle humour, oodles of clues and happyish ending create perfect comfort reading.”
Like DI Garibaldi, I live in Barnes. When I’m not writing, I’m usually reading, listening to music, playing Elizabethan Bowls, or watching football—or at least the version of it that QPR play.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 26, 2025
One of my happiest book-related discoveries last year was Bernard O’Keeffe’s series of novels featuring Detective Inspector Garibaldi, who lives and works in Barnes, in South West London. He is an intriguing and engaging character. As a consequence of a traumatic incident in his youth, he doesn’t drive, and generally avoids even travelling in a car as a passenger. Fortunately his ‘beat’ is relatively small, and he copes by cycling everywhere. Having been a frequent visitor to the local wetlands centre, I have come to know Barnes fairly well, and think that O’Keeffe captures its atmosphere admirably. DI Garibaldi is an autodidact, and has encompassed a wide and eclectic range of reading, but hasn’t yet learned that his amusing aperçus drawn from his literary hinterland, are seldom welcomed by his colleagues.
This is the fourth book in the series, and it lives up to the high mark set by the previous three. The story recounts events following a one-off concert by the Masked Band. This is a group of celebrities who live in the area and have formed a group for their own entertainment. Their identities are kept completely secret, and they perform behind elaborate masks. In the concert that open this book, they are dressed as Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Deborah Harry, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, and they are all confident that none of the crowd packed into the busy pub where they play have any idea who the performers actually are.
Laving the gig still masked, they repair to the home of the self-appointed leader of the group, a so-called national treasure (at least in his own estimation), and, having escaped from their disguises, they all relax with a few drinks. The following morning, a body is found outside the house, wearing the Mick Jagger mask in which leader of the band had performed the previous evening.
O’Keefe manages the suspense adroitly as DI Garibaldi embarks upon one of his more frustrating and challenging investigations.
This is the fourth book in the series, and it lives up to the high mark set by the previous three. The story recounts events following a one-off concert by the Masked Band. This is a group of celebrities who live in the area and have formed a group for their own entertainment. Their identities are kept completely secret, and they perform behind elaborate masks. In the concert that open this book, they are dressed as Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Deborah Harry, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, and they are all confident that none of the crowd packed into the busy pub where they play have any idea who the performers actually are.
Laving the gig still masked, they repair to the home of the self-appointed leader of the group, a so-called national treasure (at least in his own estimation), and, having escaped from their disguises, they all relax with a few drinks. The following morning, a body is found outside the house, wearing the Mick Jagger mask in which leader of the band had performed the previous evening.
O’Keefe manages the suspense adroitly as DI Garibaldi embarks upon one of his more frustrating and challenging investigations.
February 27, 2025
A quirky cosy mystery with a few good laughs along the way! DI Garibaldi- just like the biscuit- takes us on a murder mystery tour with a group of celebrities who go incognito so they can do a few low-key gigs. It's amusing and leads you in a number of directions before it settles on the truth.
I did guess the 'who' but couldn't work out why exactly. It also offers a couple of potential avenues of enquiry that lead you in a different direction although still very important to the plot in terms of character development.
I did enjoy this and the pop culture references along the way! Some great artists mentioned too.
I did guess the 'who' but couldn't work out why exactly. It also offers a couple of potential avenues of enquiry that lead you in a different direction although still very important to the plot in terms of character development.
I did enjoy this and the pop culture references along the way! Some great artists mentioned too.
November 27, 2025
Sometimes blind dates with a book are a hit and sometimes they’re a flop. This one would fall somewhere in between. The mystery was intriguing enough to keep me reading, but the story seemed to drag on. Just like DI Garibaldi, the celebrities in the book quickly became a nuisance, quickly throwing each other under the bus. The detective himself was interesting with his literary quips and quotes, but definitely seemed to play into the mysterious and inquisitive detective stereotype too much. Overall, a decent mystery and a semi-satisfying ending.
October 19, 2025
Ticks many boxes. Well constructed with some character diversity. Misses the zing of some other mystery series but fine as addition to English police proceural mystery genre. Disappointed there wasn't some reference to songs the cover band may have played.
February 22, 2025
A fascinating read, well plotted and interesting with some clever cultural references through out an intriguing read 4* from me
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews