Duck Duck Gator

by Ken Wheaton

Reality is stranger than reality TV.

When Tony Battaglia wakes up after his successful heart transplant, he's expecting a new lease on life. Even after a decade of stitching together the most ridiculous footage on the most outrageous reality shows, the reality-TV editor could never have expected that his new heart was formerly owned by "Gator Guys" star Lonnie Lalonde Junior. The development puts Tony on the wrong side of the camera, involved in the plot of the show-and with a murder mystery.

The official story was that Lonnie Junior slipped and fell. But after heading south and arriving in Blackwater, Cajun Country, Tony discovers that things aren't as simple as they seem-especially after he finds a bit of cast-off footage showing someone else at the scene of the accident.

Convinced that Lonnie Junior has been murdered, area weirdo, AirBnB host and "Gator Guys" cast member Fudgeround Arcenaux convinces Tony to help him investigate the case.

As Tony gets more and more involved with Lonnie's family and Lonnie's ex-girlfriend (and former child star) Chelsea Granger, all signs start to point to infamous rage-aholic Travis Richardson, who just happens to be a cast member of the nation's most popular Louisiana-set reality show, "Mallard Men."

After Travis is named the prime suspect, he disappears into the swamp, looking guiltier by the minute. And the town of Blackwater becomes home to a media feeding frenzy and a possible family feud between the Richardsons of "Mallard Men" and the cast of "Gator Guys."

Behind the scenes, a powerful Southern politician, Senator Ronald Birch, and scheming reality-show producer Barry Steves are pulling the strings. And reality wanna-be Brit Borders just might be involved somehow.

But Fudgeround becomes convinced he and Tony just might be looking in the wrong direction-especially after a mob heads out into the swamp to hunt down Travis Richardson and Brit ends up dead.

Knowing only that there are bigger forces at play, they set out to find the real culprit before shooting the next season-and the next victim-starts.

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 2020

About the author

Born and raised in Opelousas, Louisiana, Ken Wheaton is the author of "The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival," "Bacon and Egg Man," "Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears," and "Duck Duck Gator." He now lives in Colorado.

Reviews

[Sally Kilpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure, a book that starts with murder maybe shouldn't be classified as "fun," but look. Listen. This book was fun. Imagine, if you will, that the Swamp People were in a feud with Duck Dynasty, that the stakes of reality television were just as high as you might've expected.

Wheaton's strengths are setting and characters. Duck Duck Gator read kinda like a cozy, but it wasn't the whodunnit so much as the why'd they do it and what're they going to do next?

Just be careful because this book left me craving Cajun cuisine and a trip back to Louisiana.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It made me laugh and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Quirky and likable characters, a lot of humor and a good mystery.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Rachel (sheepyreads)]

Duck Duck Gator was a decent book to read during the craziness that was the 2020 election this week. While it seemed very predictable, I laughed a lot and enjoyed the honest characters featured throughout the story.

[Sheri Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a life long resident of Louisiana, I really appreciated this book. I laughed a lot and just shook my head a lot as I thought of people I know who could be these people. I grew up in Monroe and now live in Baton Rouge so I really do know these characters! It strikes the right balance between parody and murder mystery. I can’t wait to read more of their stories.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Join a delightful murder-mystery set in the backdrop of several reality tv shows. "Reality" is of course a big stretch, so it was delightful meeting a full cast of flawed human beings. With the story told from different perspectives and short chapters, you will want to keep on reading and finished the book quite quickly.
Reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen's work, you get to really delve into the different sides of the people. The on-camera, the off etc. Would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun quick and a little gory read set in Louisiana. I hope one day when the world opens back up, I get to see the area myself and indulge in loads of fried food.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow and maybe a slog for those who do not watch or have never watched reality tv. Kudos for an original plot and characters. For me the Louisiana folks were a bit over the top. Think this would have worked better if some more of the story was fleshed out but overall a fun read.

The book included a preview of another novel featuring Fudgeround and Tony so I will likely read that.

3.5 stars, solid Coronavirus distraction read.

My copy was provided by NetGalley for review.

[Stephanie McNutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I found this book to be more of a comedic thriller than anything else, but that being said, I loved it. The characters were well developed and were full of great one-liners, and helped moved the story along in a tremendous way. The plot was engaging and full of mystery, which helped me read through this in about a weekend. It was a great change from the heavy psychological thrillers that are so popular right now. The humor was well placed and not at all forced, which made this even more readable. I would 100% watch a movie remake of this book as long as it was held exactly as the book is written. I felt myself disliking and loving the right characters, and every sentence felt like it had a purpose and fulfilled it well. I would recommend this book to lovers of mystery and thrillers who want to stay true to the genre but also take a break from the same five tropes and heavy writing. I will be purchasing a physical copy for my personal library soon.

[Emma Siemer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Duck Duck Gator is what you get when you combine Duck Dynasty and a murder mystery. Yes, you read that correctly. The Gator Guys and The Mallard Men are two reality tv families from Louisiana who become involved in a murder investigation after one of the families suffers an unimaginable loss. I am not going to lie, the premise drew me in. However, I did not have a great reading experience. Wheaton, the author, had a lot he wanted to put into this book and it shows. There are too many storylines happening in this novel which made it confusing at times. In addition to this, there were also too many characters to go along with these storylines. With some major editing and a more clear focus on the investigation, I think this book would have been a lot better.
(PUB DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

[Tammy Feeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This was a great light read. A comedy and mystery all rolled in one. I did find a few parts a tad predictable but it had me laughing throughout. I’d recommend.

[Elisabeth Cordova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun read!

[Kamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun whodunit in Cajun Country with the added twist of reality TV meeting reality. Few writers capture South Louisiana as well as Ken Wheaton.

[Nae · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read. A quick read. I just ordered this author's, Ken Wheaton, other two books.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, fun read - especially if you're from Louisiana.

[M.A. Kropp · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York city boy and recent heart transplant recipient Tony Battaglia is a reality-TV editor for one of the hottest reality TV shows around, the Cajun Louisiana based "Gator Guys". When it becomes known that Tony's new heart belonged to a recently deceased cast member of the show, he finds himself unwillingly added to the cast. Which he definitely would rather not be. When he arrives in the town of Blackwater, he becomes entangled in the amateur murder investigation of one of the cast members. It seems Fudgearound is convinced Lonnie LaLonde Jr. didn't die from an accidental fall. Fudgearound believes Lonnie was murdered. As Tony gets more involved with the "case" (and Lonnie's ex-girlfriend), he starts to think Fudgearound might have good reason for his suspicions. But the clock is ticking on finding the culprit because not only has the media descended on this scandal revolving around rival reality shows based in Blackwater, but it looks like there are political machinations behind the scenes, as well. Add in another dead cast member and Tony and his new partner need to find the real killer before the shooting- both with TV cameras and bullets begins.

This was a fun read. Wheaton was raised in Cajun country and it shows. The setting is alive and vibrant, with detail that shows the author knows that part of the country. His characters are quirky and delightful, with a penchant for one-liners that are laugh out loud. The mystery plot moves along well with enough twists to keep you guessing until the end. Bringing in the reality show aspect was a clever device and sets up some timely commentary on society and entertainment that should resonate with pretty much everyone, even if you are not a fan of those type of shows.

Duck Duck Gator is a fun, readable mystery with accents on character and setting, with a good dose of humor. Very much recommended.

[Paul Lautman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read this book one rather got the feeling that the whole of the population of Louisiana is involved in one or other reality TV show. Maybe it is? For quite a lot of the book, the reader alone knows of the murder that has been committed. Personally I was rather surprised that no one had investigated sufficiently to have discovered it earlier. Having waited a long time to have the characters become aware of the murder, the reader is informed relatively early of the identity of the perpetrator. I'm not sure that the perpetrator's motive is every fully explained. Overall I did enjoy it and read it through to the end, but I did find it a bit slow at times.

[Russell Ricard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken Wheaton’s novel, Duck Duck Gator. Twisted humor. Uniquely set in and around Southern Louisiana Cajun country. A murder mystery anchored between rival reality shows: “Mallard Men” and “Gator Guys.” Wickedly quirky characters and situations that endearingly pokes fun at culture, gender, current events. A fun, entertaining escape with spot on commentary about humanity. Would make for a great film and/or TV adaptation. Bravo!