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DM for Murder
Ten million Twitter followers. One killer. Bryce Horrigan, a Brit made good in America, makes a living rubbing people up the wrong way. He revels in antagonising guests on his TV talk show, and the thousands of death threats he’s received on Twitter are a badge of honour. But when the controversial TV host is shot dead, it leaves the authorities with one hell of a dilemma. After all, where do you start investigating millions of suspects? Detective Sorrell has to separate the keyboard warriors from the real killer… who begins tweeting cryptic clues. As the investigation and media storm build, Sorrell discovers a British journalist from Horrigan’s past may hold the key...
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2015
3 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Matt Bendoris
6 books15 followersMatt Bendoris is a senior journalist with The Sun newspaper who is already making waves with his electric style of crime fiction writing. His first novel, Killing With Confidence, attracted fantastic plaudits, DM for Murder was described as 'riveting' by international bestseller Peter May and Matt is already working on his third book.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 11, 2021
This could have been a lively enough murder mystery. The chapters were all extremely short, which made it bounce along nicely. Trouble is, the casual misogyny and fat jokes were really grating. This book was written in 2015, but reads like it was written 20 years ago.
Can someone tell Matt Bendoris that this sort of crap has gone out of fashion? I genuinely couldn't tell if certain characters (such as Haye) were meant to be assholes or not.
Can someone tell Matt Bendoris that this sort of crap has gone out of fashion? I genuinely couldn't tell if certain characters (such as Haye) were meant to be assholes or not.
August 5, 2016
Fun and clever. Full review to follow.
May 19, 2017
2.5* επειδή διαβάζεται εύκολα! Μικρά κεφάλαια που μου αρέσουν και ευχάριστη υπόθεση, η οποία βέβαια σαν πλοκή δεν σε ξεσηκώνει κιόλας.
Θα έβαζα και παραπάνω αν δεν είχε μια από τις πιο αχώνευτες πρωταγωνίστριες εβερ!
Θα έβαζα και παραπάνω αν δεν είχε μια από τις πιο αχώνευτες πρωταγωνίστριες εβερ!
September 27, 2016
Γίνεται μια ιστορία φόνου να είναι τόσο διασκεδαστική; Ναι, όταν συμμετέχει η αξιολάτρευτη Έιπριλ Λάβεντερ. Η Έιπριλ κέρδισε όλες τις εντυπώσεις. Η 57χρονη δημοσιογράφος, που περιμένει να βγει στη σύνταξη, μητέρα μιας κόρης, γιαγιά, χωρισμένη από τον 1ο, το 2ο και τον 3ο άντρα της, που δεν τα πάει καθόλου καλά με την τεχνολογία και την οδήγηση, που λατρεύει το φαγητό και εξ ου υπέρβαρη και που αυτοσαρκάζεται γι'αυτό. Η Έπριλ και ο 40χρονος συνάδελφός της Κόνορ Πρίσλεϊ θα κυνηγήσουν το αποκλειστικό ρεπορτάζ για το φόνο μιας σιχαμερής σκουληκαντέρας, τηλεπερσόνας, του Μπράις Χόριγκαν. Ο Μπράις είναι σκοτωμένος και ο δολοφόνος τρολάρει την αστυνομία μέσω του τουίτερ του νεκρού. Παρ' ολίγο να πάρει τα πρωτεία στη συμπάθεια ο Επιθεωρητής Μπέρναρντ Σορέλ, πανύψηλος, τεράστιος και άσχετος με τα της τεχνολογίας δρώμενα, ο οποίος με τον υπαστυνόμο Χέι ερευνούν την υπόθεση. Μια πολύ πρωτότυπα δοσμένη ιστορία αναζήτησης του δολοφόνου με κεφάλαια σύντομα, περιεκτικότατα και μεστά.
September 4, 2017
This book was a nice, easy and good read. I really enjoyed it and was able to solve half the mystery without making it too obvious. The characterisation was good and it dealt with the issues presented well. I did think that the swearing and some of the violence at the end was a bit much but otherwise a good read and a new author to add to my list.
August 28, 2017
This is a good murder mystery - although it is fairly obvious whodunit, as the story progresses. The characters are well-written and it is a very modern murder mystery. As it is set in the world of Twitter, Facebook and the like - you don't have to be a computer geek to enjoy this story, but some understanding of how modern communication is used is needed to fully enter in to the novel. There is also quite a high level of violence, particularly towards the end. All-in-all, not a bad book.
January 20, 2020
For most part, this book is an entertainer. Matt Bendoris manages to keep readers captivated with two/three plots running simultaneously, hence, readers will continuously try to unravel the mystery of the Twitter killer, till we hit the book about halfway, where anyone with a keen sense of Sherlock in them (someone like me) already knows who the killer is, and is just reading on to find out the motive, which is concealed until the very end. Also, the continuous confusion of plots and far too many characters, adds to a little boredom, and honestly, lack of perspective to many characters in the book.
September 20, 2015
Ten Million Followers. One Killer.
Okay, here we have another absolute corker . I'm sure you've heard people say they'd write a book "but they just don't have the time". Perhaps they should take a lesson from Matt Bendoris, who wrote this on his BlackBerry on his 25-minute commute to and from work (he's Senior Features Editor at The Sun here in Scotland, and he has a family, so really, if he can do it anyone can. I believe EL James also used a BlackBerry, but there, you'll be pleased to hear, the comparison ends.) I suspect, though, that most people are struggling with ideas, rather than time. That's definitely not a problem for Matt - he's come up with a thoroughly modern story, in which Twitter plays a large part. Technophobes need not worry; our investigating officer, Capt Sorrell, has no idea what a tweet is at the start of the investigation. I do love the homage to Hitchcock in the title, though. It reminds us that, despite modern technology, which can aid (or, sometimes, hinder) the police, a murder investigation is still, at it's most base, a (sometimes laborious) search for a killer.
And boy, do they have a lot of suspects for the shooting in a Baltimore hotel of Bryce Horrigan, a Scottish journalist-turned-TV-host/shock-jock (I pictured Piers Morgan, with a dash of Howard Stern, and Craig Ferguson's accent.) He's a controversial figure as he takes every opportunity he can to push his pretend pro-choice agenda, which obviously puts him at loggerheads with the US pro-life lobby - and attracts a hundred thousand death threats on Twitter, of which he boasts! So when he's found dead, they've got a lot of suspects to rule out (or in!) And of course, the people in his personal and working life, and those in his past, need to be investigated and eliminated. It's a detective's nightmare.
Journalists Connor "Elvis" Presley and April Lavender knew Bryce - he worked with them at Glasgow's Daily Chronicle before he moved to London as an editor, then to the US as a TV host. They're a great double act: the thrice-married April, who's been in journalism for 30 years, and Connor, who joined the Chronicle at the same time as Bryce, and went to London with him, only to return after two years, disillusioned with the big city (and Bryce turning into a prick...!) With Bryce having worked there, and Elvis and April knowing his long term ex, Patsy "Pasty" Tolan well, the Chronicle send Elvis to the States, while April talks to asty - who was unceremoniously dumped after 27 years - to get the inside story on what Bryce was like to live with.
The short, snappy chapters - each presumably written on a commute! - told from different character's perspectives: Connor, April, Sorrell, a suspect - make for a story that zips along. It's one of those " just one more chapter..." books, and, as well as being wickedly funny, has some well-fleshed characters, as well as the customary violent denouement. In short, it's got everything you could want in a book - which is probably why it made the shortlist of six for the Deanston Scottish Crime Book Of The Year, which was announced at Bloody Scotland last weekend. It was up against such experienced writers as Chris Brookmyre, Louise Welsh, Lin Anderson, Ann Cleeves, and Craig Russell (who won, with The Ghosts Of Altona.) Read this book. I defy you not to love it.
Okay, here we have another absolute corker . I'm sure you've heard people say they'd write a book "but they just don't have the time". Perhaps they should take a lesson from Matt Bendoris, who wrote this on his BlackBerry on his 25-minute commute to and from work (he's Senior Features Editor at The Sun here in Scotland, and he has a family, so really, if he can do it anyone can. I believe EL James also used a BlackBerry, but there, you'll be pleased to hear, the comparison ends.) I suspect, though, that most people are struggling with ideas, rather than time. That's definitely not a problem for Matt - he's come up with a thoroughly modern story, in which Twitter plays a large part. Technophobes need not worry; our investigating officer, Capt Sorrell, has no idea what a tweet is at the start of the investigation. I do love the homage to Hitchcock in the title, though. It reminds us that, despite modern technology, which can aid (or, sometimes, hinder) the police, a murder investigation is still, at it's most base, a (sometimes laborious) search for a killer.
And boy, do they have a lot of suspects for the shooting in a Baltimore hotel of Bryce Horrigan, a Scottish journalist-turned-TV-host/shock-jock (I pictured Piers Morgan, with a dash of Howard Stern, and Craig Ferguson's accent.) He's a controversial figure as he takes every opportunity he can to push his pretend pro-choice agenda, which obviously puts him at loggerheads with the US pro-life lobby - and attracts a hundred thousand death threats on Twitter, of which he boasts! So when he's found dead, they've got a lot of suspects to rule out (or in!) And of course, the people in his personal and working life, and those in his past, need to be investigated and eliminated. It's a detective's nightmare.
Journalists Connor "Elvis" Presley and April Lavender knew Bryce - he worked with them at Glasgow's Daily Chronicle before he moved to London as an editor, then to the US as a TV host. They're a great double act: the thrice-married April, who's been in journalism for 30 years, and Connor, who joined the Chronicle at the same time as Bryce, and went to London with him, only to return after two years, disillusioned with the big city (and Bryce turning into a prick...!) With Bryce having worked there, and Elvis and April knowing his long term ex, Patsy "Pasty" Tolan well, the Chronicle send Elvis to the States, while April talks to asty - who was unceremoniously dumped after 27 years - to get the inside story on what Bryce was like to live with.
The short, snappy chapters - each presumably written on a commute! - told from different character's perspectives: Connor, April, Sorrell, a suspect - make for a story that zips along. It's one of those " just one more chapter..." books, and, as well as being wickedly funny, has some well-fleshed characters, as well as the customary violent denouement. In short, it's got everything you could want in a book - which is probably why it made the shortlist of six for the Deanston Scottish Crime Book Of The Year, which was announced at Bloody Scotland last weekend. It was up against such experienced writers as Chris Brookmyre, Louise Welsh, Lin Anderson, Ann Cleeves, and Craig Russell (who won, with The Ghosts Of Altona.) Read this book. I defy you not to love it.
August 27, 2015
A murder mystery story for the Twitter generation.
Bryce Horrigan is a larger than life star on American TV. He is not afraid to speak his mind and has been revelling in the notoriety of controversy. He has been actively seeking Twitter death threats by speaking out on contentious issues – all good for ratings and his follower count. However it appears that he has finally gone one step too far as one evening Bryce’s Twitter account is used to Tweet images of his own murder. Millions of people see images from the moments leading up to his death and the police have a problem, how to find a killer when there are millions of potential suspects?
Meanwhile in Scotland Bryce’s friend and former colleague (Connor ‘Elvis’ Presley), is following the developing story. A reporter for one of Scotland’s national newspapers Elvis and his often-hapless colleague, April Lavender, are engaging in the constant battle to meet deadlines and source content in a bid to stop falling circulation figures. One of the highlights of DM For Murder is the dialogue between Elvis and April who often provide some comedic interludes, these scenes nicely break up the more serious chapters that featuring the official police investigation.
Elvis manages to convince the newspaper owners that he could cover the story of Horrigan’s murder much better if he was to travel to America and be ‘on the ground’ where he could use his connections to get close to those that knew Horrigan best. The story then splits as we have Elvis and in America and April in Scotland, each uncovering more detail of how Horrigan lived his life and who he left behind in his pursuit to the top. Their investigations run a very different path to that being followed by the police and it is great to see how Matt Bendoris portrays the different journalistic skills of Elvis and April.
Although the stars of the book (for me) are April and Elvis, we also follow the official police investigation headed up by Twitter ‘noob’ Detective Sorrell. With a high profile victim and no real leads Sorrell is under pressure to come up with visible results. Help comes from unexpected sources as Twitter users start their own witch-hunt of possible suspects. More importantly for Sorrell is one user who is reaching out to him directly – suggesting a Tweeter that may merit close investigation.
If you are comfortable with Twitter you will enjoy DM For Murder immensely, the concept of the murder Tweets is unsettling but you cannot help but feel that if such an event were to happen IRL (as it were) then the retweet count would go through the roof. If Twitter is not for you then do not despair, both Sorrell and April are new to the world of Twitter and through them the concept of Tweeting and Direct Messaging is explained so everyone can easily follow how the mystery is played out.
Fun, fast paced and a cracking whodunnit…this is my type of story. I thought I had solved the murder with around 80 pages to go but I was caught out by a red herring. Well played Mr Bendoris I liked this very much.
Bryce Horrigan is a larger than life star on American TV. He is not afraid to speak his mind and has been revelling in the notoriety of controversy. He has been actively seeking Twitter death threats by speaking out on contentious issues – all good for ratings and his follower count. However it appears that he has finally gone one step too far as one evening Bryce’s Twitter account is used to Tweet images of his own murder. Millions of people see images from the moments leading up to his death and the police have a problem, how to find a killer when there are millions of potential suspects?
Meanwhile in Scotland Bryce’s friend and former colleague (Connor ‘Elvis’ Presley), is following the developing story. A reporter for one of Scotland’s national newspapers Elvis and his often-hapless colleague, April Lavender, are engaging in the constant battle to meet deadlines and source content in a bid to stop falling circulation figures. One of the highlights of DM For Murder is the dialogue between Elvis and April who often provide some comedic interludes, these scenes nicely break up the more serious chapters that featuring the official police investigation.
Elvis manages to convince the newspaper owners that he could cover the story of Horrigan’s murder much better if he was to travel to America and be ‘on the ground’ where he could use his connections to get close to those that knew Horrigan best. The story then splits as we have Elvis and in America and April in Scotland, each uncovering more detail of how Horrigan lived his life and who he left behind in his pursuit to the top. Their investigations run a very different path to that being followed by the police and it is great to see how Matt Bendoris portrays the different journalistic skills of Elvis and April.
Although the stars of the book (for me) are April and Elvis, we also follow the official police investigation headed up by Twitter ‘noob’ Detective Sorrell. With a high profile victim and no real leads Sorrell is under pressure to come up with visible results. Help comes from unexpected sources as Twitter users start their own witch-hunt of possible suspects. More importantly for Sorrell is one user who is reaching out to him directly – suggesting a Tweeter that may merit close investigation.
If you are comfortable with Twitter you will enjoy DM For Murder immensely, the concept of the murder Tweets is unsettling but you cannot help but feel that if such an event were to happen IRL (as it were) then the retweet count would go through the roof. If Twitter is not for you then do not despair, both Sorrell and April are new to the world of Twitter and through them the concept of Tweeting and Direct Messaging is explained so everyone can easily follow how the mystery is played out.
Fun, fast paced and a cracking whodunnit…this is my type of story. I thought I had solved the murder with around 80 pages to go but I was caught out by a red herring. Well played Mr Bendoris I liked this very much.
October 15, 2015
DM for Murder was thoroughly enjoyable with good characters. My favourites were Crosbie and April LavenderI was lucky enough to meet the author and get my copy signed. I laughed a lot through this book and it was a fast paced read with short and to the point chapters, just how I like it. Well done Matt Bendoris, a well deserved nomination for crime book of the year at Bloody Scotland 2015. Will be reading more of this author.
August 31, 2016
Fun fast-paced quick read. Entertaining but not really very credible - the characters all seem a bit like caricatures. I'm guessing the whole twitter thing is supposed to be exotic and almost science fiction-y? Anyways: Fun if you have a few hours to kill - and would like to think journo's can really save the world (while snaking their way into the homes of the recently bereaved to get their scoops).
August 5, 2015
Great early novel. Can't wait for the next book. I'd say if you enjoy Brookmyre and Macbride give this a go. If nothing else you'll get a laugh at DCI Crosbie and his tourrettes. Seriously though, a good wee crime thriller in its own right. A decent take on our social media culture infused with humour and above all else, a page Turner.
August 28, 2015
Very entertaining. Interestingly drawn characters with a range of skills in the age of technology - some of the descriptions felt close to home. Enjoyed the balance of old and new ideas and the entwining of Twitter text within the story. Readallaboutit @whodunit.
September 2, 2015
Very entertaining! I loved Bendoris' book Killing with Confidence, and this one is better if anything. Some of the same characters including the lovely April Lavender. I almost feel I know her... It's a thoroughly modern murder story, and darkly fun. Please hurry up and write more books, Mr B.
June 18, 2016
It was a nice idea for a murder mystery set in a world thousands of Twitter trolls are possible suspects. Most of the time it was an enjoyable/okay read but I probably wouldn't rush to recommend as the plot wasn't hugely surprising.
February 28, 2016
Killer tweet
Really enjoyable, great fun especially for Twitter devotees everywhere. I,'ll be careful what I tweet in future.
Highly recommended, and nice local reference points.
Really enjoyable, great fun especially for Twitter devotees everywhere. I,'ll be careful what I tweet in future.
Highly recommended, and nice local reference points.
December 5, 2016
A student of mine recommended this book, thrusting it into my hands unexpectedly, saying he really liked it and never read a concept like this book's. I've read it quickly, Hungarian translation and all (the translator did a very good job). I liked the idea of the murderer on Twitter, and the chapter headings with the tweets and hashtags were great too. There are many characters, colourful and varied, but the main characters' unconventionality was what I liked most. It feels like everybody's presence is like a twitter text, every important thing about them fits into one paragraph. Some people are recurring in other books though, so more to come, I guess... Perfectly enjoyable read, good murder mystery, almost guessed it and bashed my head against the table cause I should've been able to. I'll hardly want to reread it, but good entertainment nonetheless.
I've recommended my student some Brookmyre in return...
I've recommended my student some Brookmyre in return...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews