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Billy Blessing #1
The Morning Show Murders
Nobody can dish morning TV like Al Roker, who's seen every side of a business that looks good on camera--even when sharks are circling inside the gleaming glass Manhattan media headquarters. Treachery abounds in Roker's riotously thrilling debut novel--at once an ingenious murder mystery and a delicious behind-the-scenes look at network TV. As fact and fiction collide and the backbiting ignites, The Morning Show Murders will make you wonder: How much of this stuff is real?
Network TV can be murder. Just ask Billy Blessing, famous for his smile, charm, and ability to survive the shark tank that is high-stakes morning TV. But though Billy has outlived his fair share of prima-donnas, his cooking segment on Wake Up America! is a staple of the American diet, and his Manhattan bistro is a mega-success, his career has just taken a very dangerous turn: His show's perky cohost, Gin McCauley, has launched into some brass-knuckles contract negotiations. A visiting Mossad agent is about to tell all on the air. And then the network's head honcho is murdered in his luxury apartment, and an ambitious D.A. decides that Billy is to blame.
Forensics show that Gerry Gallagher was poisoned and that the fatal coq au vin came from Billy's restaurant. Gerry had an impressive list of women in his black book--and a news assignment in Afghanistan had plunged the TV exec into the heart of a violent international secret. Now unsavory characters are coming out of the woodwork, and another murder strikes the show's inner circle. Billy knows that someone's trying to frame him. He also knows that a ruthless international assassin has just arrived in New York City. And suddenly, for the most trusted guy on TV the ultimate career move is not about ratings. It's about staying alive--and stopping the next murder from becoming tomorrow's breaking news.
Network TV can be murder. Just ask Billy Blessing, famous for his smile, charm, and ability to survive the shark tank that is high-stakes morning TV. But though Billy has outlived his fair share of prima-donnas, his cooking segment on Wake Up America! is a staple of the American diet, and his Manhattan bistro is a mega-success, his career has just taken a very dangerous turn: His show's perky cohost, Gin McCauley, has launched into some brass-knuckles contract negotiations. A visiting Mossad agent is about to tell all on the air. And then the network's head honcho is murdered in his luxury apartment, and an ambitious D.A. decides that Billy is to blame.
Forensics show that Gerry Gallagher was poisoned and that the fatal coq au vin came from Billy's restaurant. Gerry had an impressive list of women in his black book--and a news assignment in Afghanistan had plunged the TV exec into the heart of a violent international secret. Now unsavory characters are coming out of the woodwork, and another murder strikes the show's inner circle. Billy knows that someone's trying to frame him. He also knows that a ruthless international assassin has just arrived in New York City. And suddenly, for the most trusted guy on TV the ultimate career move is not about ratings. It's about staying alive--and stopping the next murder from becoming tomorrow's breaking news.
313 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
205 people are currently reading
983 people want to read
About the author
Al Roker
24 books132 followersAl Roker is an American weather forecaster, journalist, television personality, actor, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's Today.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
March 7, 2014
Wow, just...wow. So, yeah, Al Roker wrote a murder mystery where the main character is essentially...Al Roker and it is was horrible. But (and it is a big but) it was SO bad that it was horrible awesome (like many Nic Cage movies). It was made even worse (better) by the fact that I listened to the audiobook version...read by Al Roker himself.
Oh man, oh man, if you've never heard Al Roker say the line: "I awoke mentally, physically, and sexually exhausted." Than you haven't lived. His delivery was great on so many levels! He would say almost every line as if he was giving the five day forecast: "She had been murdered! Now here's what's happening in your neck of the woods!" So cheerful! So inappropriate!
Also, one of the characters was Asian and let's just say Al went for it. He went big! "Okay boss, I bring car around!" Not "the" car. Just "car." Yeah, that happened.
A couple of things I learned from reading this book:
1. Al Roker sees himself as a slightly chubby Denzel Washington with a receding hairline.
2. Al Roker loves food. (What? I know!)
3. Al Roker seems very turned on by large breasted comic book heroes.
I can safely say this was the most uncool book I've ever read. This had "written by my dad" all over it. I think it comes from Al injecting his humor into everything, which is fine for a 30 second news segment, not so much for a novel. After making some connections between two groups of bad guys, the main character says:"...and like the song says, it's a small world after all." The worst!
This came out in 2009 and feels more dated than many movies I've seen from 50's! Constant references to Britney Spears, Donald Trump, MP3 players, on and on!
There was a whole section that basically explained to the reader how Google worked. Please tell me more!
This was hate reading at its finest. I can't say I recommend it but sometimes reading a book this bad really helps to clarify what is so great about the books I love.
Oh man, oh man, if you've never heard Al Roker say the line: "I awoke mentally, physically, and sexually exhausted." Than you haven't lived. His delivery was great on so many levels! He would say almost every line as if he was giving the five day forecast: "She had been murdered! Now here's what's happening in your neck of the woods!" So cheerful! So inappropriate!
Also, one of the characters was Asian and let's just say Al went for it. He went big! "Okay boss, I bring car around!" Not "the" car. Just "car." Yeah, that happened.
A couple of things I learned from reading this book:
1. Al Roker sees himself as a slightly chubby Denzel Washington with a receding hairline.
2. Al Roker loves food. (What? I know!)
3. Al Roker seems very turned on by large breasted comic book heroes.
I can safely say this was the most uncool book I've ever read. This had "written by my dad" all over it. I think it comes from Al injecting his humor into everything, which is fine for a 30 second news segment, not so much for a novel. After making some connections between two groups of bad guys, the main character says:"...and like the song says, it's a small world after all." The worst!
This came out in 2009 and feels more dated than many movies I've seen from 50's! Constant references to Britney Spears, Donald Trump, MP3 players, on and on!
There was a whole section that basically explained to the reader how Google worked. Please tell me more!
This was hate reading at its finest. I can't say I recommend it but sometimes reading a book this bad really helps to clarify what is so great about the books I love.
February 22, 2011
Yes, it is the same Al Roker you see every morning on NBC's "Today" show. He uses his experience to put together, with Dick Lochte, a murder mystery that involves people on a morning TV show.
Billy Blessing, the main character, is a mainstay on the program "Wake Up America". Blessing is responsible for the cooking segment of the show and owns a very popular Bistro. He also has his own show on another network called, "Blessings in the Kitchen".
The networks head honcho, Rudy Gallagher, is murdered ands Billy Blessing becomes a prime suspect. Blessing uses friends in the business to try and get to the bottom of the murder. He finds that Rudy's death may well go back to when he took a trip to Afghanistan and was passed some vital information by a group of mercenaries.
After Rudy's death, the mercenaries are murdered one by one and still Blessing remains the prime suspect. Blessing is also receiving threats from "Felix the Cat", a known assassin for hire.
Everyone in the book now becomes suspect either as "The Murderer" or "Felix the Cat".
The kidnapping of his co-host, Gin McCauley and her boyfriend, Ted Parkhurst, becomes a major turning point in the story.
Oh, I forgot to mention that a Mossad agent is about to be interviewed by Blessing ands is about to tell all on the air.
"The Morning Show Murders" is a delightful read and a book suitable for everyone. It combines mystery with a little bit of laughter at the expense of those in the TV industry.
Billy Blessing, the main character, is a mainstay on the program "Wake Up America". Blessing is responsible for the cooking segment of the show and owns a very popular Bistro. He also has his own show on another network called, "Blessings in the Kitchen".
The networks head honcho, Rudy Gallagher, is murdered ands Billy Blessing becomes a prime suspect. Blessing uses friends in the business to try and get to the bottom of the murder. He finds that Rudy's death may well go back to when he took a trip to Afghanistan and was passed some vital information by a group of mercenaries.
After Rudy's death, the mercenaries are murdered one by one and still Blessing remains the prime suspect. Blessing is also receiving threats from "Felix the Cat", a known assassin for hire.
Everyone in the book now becomes suspect either as "The Murderer" or "Felix the Cat".
The kidnapping of his co-host, Gin McCauley and her boyfriend, Ted Parkhurst, becomes a major turning point in the story.
Oh, I forgot to mention that a Mossad agent is about to be interviewed by Blessing ands is about to tell all on the air.
"The Morning Show Murders" is a delightful read and a book suitable for everyone. It combines mystery with a little bit of laughter at the expense of those in the TV industry.
September 9, 2024
Technically, this is a book, and technically, I understand the words written on the page. Or rather, read to me by the weatherman himself. I absolutely lost the plot at a certain point, it's hard to pay attention when you're meeting the 1,000th new character and learning what brand of shoes they wear, and then Al will drop some critical info about the story and I will miss it. Or at least, I assume that's what happened. I didn't expect to hear Al Roker doing offensive accents or describing women's breasts, and I can tell you, I could've lived without the knowledge that Al Roker's avatar is an ass man.
The funniest part of the book is when Billy Blessing attempts to help his security agent and ends up falling down the stairs. The most baffling is a name drop of basically every terrorist group operating in the early 2000s.
The funniest part of the book is when Billy Blessing attempts to help his security agent and ends up falling down the stairs. The most baffling is a name drop of basically every terrorist group operating in the early 2000s.
December 25, 2009
Very few are as familiar with the ins, outs, and roundabouts of morning TV as is popular weatherman Al Roker. What few knew until recently was that he's not only engaging on camera but also an accomplished author ( Don't Make Me Stop This Car!: Adventures In Fatherhood, and several cookbooks.) Add to that description a smart fellow because when he decided to turn his pen to a mystery he wrote about what he knew - choosing as his protagonist Chef Billy Blessing who tantalizes viewers tastebuds each morning on Wake Up America!
It's a delicious treat to read Roker's book because of his ingenious use of and references to real people, places and programs. This gambit leaves readers wondering what is fact and what is fiction while enjoying every page. Don't know whether or not American Idol, Charles Gibson, Clint Eastwood, etc. enjoy their mentions, but readers surely will.
How's this for an opening line, "The big guy lumbered toward me, waving the cleaver. Weeping like a baby."? Roker pulls us in on page 1 and keeps us guessing until page 312.
Between his gigs on Wake Up America and running a vaunted NYC restaurant Chef Billy Blessing has been in tall cotton. Ooops, when the show's producer is murdered and his untimely departure is found to have been caused by coq au vin from Billy's restaurant, who is the prime suspect? None other than charming Billy. Producer Gallagher left behind a little black book filled with names and had recently been to Afghanistan, Kabul "to oversee a week of live evening news broadcasts." While there a man sharing a dinner table was murdered, his throat cut. Unwittingly Gallagher had become privy to dangerous, tightly guarded information. Worth murdering to keep secret?
Whatever the case, it's not long before some very unfriendly fellows are circling and it seems another death is in the offing. In order to clear himself Billy must not only find the killer but stay alive while doing it.
Roker has created a likable hero, spiced his story with insider quips, and woven an entertaining mystery - enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
August 21, 2020
A pretty good cozy mystery, some of the reviews were pretty harsh but it's everything I like about Al Roker, Yuck Yuck Dad jokes and an underlying theme of cooking!
September 2, 2024
I believe Al Roker is some type of celebrity.
Being British I have never heard of him. But reading this book has led me to assume the following about him:
1. He is a black man of middle age, probably older by now.
2. He works on some daytime talkshow or similar
3. He has been in TV for a long time, and doesn’t know much about any other world.
4. He is a real bore.
5. He is a reactionary, conservative, slightly right-of-centre type.
6. He is misogynistic
7. He is racist, particularly about Asian people.
8. He is overly interested in the military, in the sense that he is the type to choose an airport book about some man-thing like an ex-special army guy on a revenge mission or some such.
9. He is a bad writer.
This book is dull. The characters are unbelievable and uninteresting, and there are about 175 of them named on the first 20 pages, with nowhere near enough distinguish features between them. The plot is silly and boring. The clues to the mystery are weak and poorly seeded. And the author spends inordinate amounts of time telling me about the outfits of every single character (including the Looney Tunes alien for some reason. We already know what his outfit looks like, Al. He’s famous. More famous than you.) At one point he describes a Google search in extended detail. I don’t know why. It’s not like the book wasn’t plenty long enough.
Meanwhile our lead bumbles about putting incriminating things in his pockets, bantering dully with dullards, and blaming women for their physical abuse by men.
He also mentions turducken, which I found very upsetting. Not that I have ever eaten or seen it, I just don’t like to be reminded that there is a food whose name prominently features the word ‘turd’. How did that ever get past marketing?
Anyway, various stupid things happen in a boring manner, and then the book ends. I can’t bring myself to say much about the plot other than that I guessed the killer almost immediately, and I wasn’t trying. I wasn’t even paying attention to be honest. And I actually prefer not to guess the killer in a mystery, and just sit back and see where the story goes. Unfortunately the solution to this murder mystery was so obvious that I solved it by accident. 😐
Being British I have never heard of him. But reading this book has led me to assume the following about him:
1. He is a black man of middle age, probably older by now.
2. He works on some daytime talkshow or similar
3. He has been in TV for a long time, and doesn’t know much about any other world.
4. He is a real bore.
5. He is a reactionary, conservative, slightly right-of-centre type.
6. He is misogynistic
7. He is racist, particularly about Asian people.
8. He is overly interested in the military, in the sense that he is the type to choose an airport book about some man-thing like an ex-special army guy on a revenge mission or some such.
9. He is a bad writer.
This book is dull. The characters are unbelievable and uninteresting, and there are about 175 of them named on the first 20 pages, with nowhere near enough distinguish features between them. The plot is silly and boring. The clues to the mystery are weak and poorly seeded. And the author spends inordinate amounts of time telling me about the outfits of every single character (including the Looney Tunes alien for some reason. We already know what his outfit looks like, Al. He’s famous. More famous than you.) At one point he describes a Google search in extended detail. I don’t know why. It’s not like the book wasn’t plenty long enough.
Meanwhile our lead bumbles about putting incriminating things in his pockets, bantering dully with dullards, and blaming women for their physical abuse by men.
He also mentions turducken, which I found very upsetting. Not that I have ever eaten or seen it, I just don’t like to be reminded that there is a food whose name prominently features the word ‘turd’. How did that ever get past marketing?
Anyway, various stupid things happen in a boring manner, and then the book ends. I can’t bring myself to say much about the plot other than that I guessed the killer almost immediately, and I wasn’t trying. I wasn’t even paying attention to be honest. And I actually prefer not to guess the killer in a mystery, and just sit back and see where the story goes. Unfortunately the solution to this murder mystery was so obvious that I solved it by accident. 😐
January 12, 2021
2 stars
This is the first book in the Billy Blessing series by Al Roker and Dick Lochte.
I have to admit this book was not my cup of tea. I had a hard time getting into it since I started out wondering who the main character was since it wasn’t immediately apparent. We were inundated with so many minor characters that I couldn’t tell who the important ones were. When I finally got a handle on it, Billy ended up being a real snooze. I think Al was trying to make himself the main character. But if he had used his online persona, he might have had a lot more success.
I do not plan on reading anything else from this author.
This is the first book in the Billy Blessing series by Al Roker and Dick Lochte.
I have to admit this book was not my cup of tea. I had a hard time getting into it since I started out wondering who the main character was since it wasn’t immediately apparent. We were inundated with so many minor characters that I couldn’t tell who the important ones were. When I finally got a handle on it, Billy ended up being a real snooze. I think Al was trying to make himself the main character. But if he had used his online persona, he might have had a lot more success.
I do not plan on reading anything else from this author.
May 31, 2024
I would actually give this just shy of 3 stars. Written by Al Rocker and narrated by him on the audiobook (which is what I did). The mystery was initially slow and the story was written with too many random details. It is an “old school” mystery with the well to do protagonist being persuaded while also living an extravagant life. But the actual crime had some nice twists and it did engage me. All in all I enjoyed it and will read the next one in the series.
August 9, 2024
Got this from Libro.fm librarian program-thank you to them for supporting librarians! We listened to this on our vacation-it was so convoluted and Al Roker would have been a great narrator if he had avoided using so many weird voices for the characters. This book had too many characters, too much unnecessary description and weird plot lines to be really enjoyable.
December 15, 2024
Probably more like 3.5 stars, but really I think it was worth bumping up to the full four stars. I don’t know why people are having so much hate on this book. I don’t think it’s that bad. I enjoyed Billy and the characters in the book. I thought it was well written and enjoyed it and will probably continue the series.
Read
January 23, 2024DNF - 15% in and had a hard time tracking all of the characters via audiobook, found it to be not worth my time. I did however enjoy Al’s narration
July 30, 2024
"The Morning Show Murders" is a mystery that kept me stumped most of the way through. I did figure out part of it before the reveal, but not all of it. I initially got the book just because I've been an Al Roker fan for ages. I'm glad I did because it really was a good, cozy mystery. I'm sure I'll be reading more in this series.
June 29, 2010
I bought this for mom while she was recovering from her knee replacement since she likes The Morning Show. I wasn't expecting too much. Good thing since I got even less than I bargained for. This was one of those times that you feel they paid off big name mystery writers to gush over this because it had nothing in it that they said it did. It wasn't thrilling or funny (and funny is mentioned in every review). The point of view character, Billy Blessing, is sarcastic but not even really sarcastically funny.
Granted, a good chunk of my displeasure with this stems from the fact it's the type of amateur detective trope I dislike the most. I can enjoy amateur detectives when they're related to a real cop or are at least good friends with the local detectives. However when the local detectives are absolute idiots, refusing to listen and are out to get the amateur detective at every turn, I just roll my eyes and put the book aside. This was one of those books.
Blessing is a chef, has his own restaurant, his own cooking show and works for Wake Up America (and is a thinly disguised Al Roker but that's okay. I didn't mind that). Rudy, his producer, wants him to do a knock off of foodnetwork's next star show but with no talents. Then after an innocent but misunderstood conversation with Gin, another coworker, leads to her negotiating a 15 million dollar contract, Rudy and Billy are at loggerheads until Rudy ends up dead poisoned by Billy's coq au vin.
This potentially could be an exciting mystery and if you don't mind stupid cops you might even like this. The detectives however refuse to even look at other suspects and everything hinges on people either misunderstanding each other or keeping stupid secrets (another drama creating trope I hate). I mean if someone cold cocked you and demanded something from the dead guy's place wouldn't you report it? Wouldn't you mention that the victim was sleeping with a 17 year old while cheating on his fiancé just to give the cops other suspects? Yeah, apparently not. This isn't badly written from a technical standpoint but I found it unbelievable, unfunny and I won't be looking for the next book in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2012
When it comes to summer reading, there are your good summer reads (thrillers that have you on the edge of your seat, mysteries that have you wondering, or that auto-biography you have always wanted to read) and the bad ones (mostly saved for airport bookstores so you can read them from Point A to B in the air). Roker's book is a little of both; with the cheesy factor making it quite low brow and best for the air, but some story development that allows you to want to keep reading. Depends on what you use to compare it, it could be called a decent read (Richard Castle, some Patterson one-offs), though by no means stellar.
Roker uses himself in a quasi-biographical character and offers an interesting behind-the-scenes look at tv life, tossing in a murder mystery to keep the reader going through it all. He does a decent job with the plot and the storyline, though the characters and some of the background narration is fit to make you pray for a brick wall. Some people have the knack and others do not. I chose to have Mr. Roker narrate the book on my iPod, which added another dimension of fingernails on the chalkboard, but I will offer up, he did an ok job with his progress.
Decent work Mr. Roker. The trilogy continues and I shall plod on.
Roker uses himself in a quasi-biographical character and offers an interesting behind-the-scenes look at tv life, tossing in a murder mystery to keep the reader going through it all. He does a decent job with the plot and the storyline, though the characters and some of the background narration is fit to make you pray for a brick wall. Some people have the knack and others do not. I chose to have Mr. Roker narrate the book on my iPod, which added another dimension of fingernails on the chalkboard, but I will offer up, he did an ok job with his progress.
Decent work Mr. Roker. The trilogy continues and I shall plod on.
November 10, 2014
2.5 Really.
Yet another book that slipped through the cracks is this one. I didn't know what to expect from Al Roker the writer. As an idea, writing what he knows (morning weather anchor and food) should have played to his strengths. To some degree, it does. However, like with cooking, sometimes we add too many ingredients, make the recipe too complex and ruin the dish. I'm afraid that's what happened here.
A great edit, and a few less characters and this could be a really good read. As is, it's only fair.
Yet another book that slipped through the cracks is this one. I didn't know what to expect from Al Roker the writer. As an idea, writing what he knows (morning weather anchor and food) should have played to his strengths. To some degree, it does. However, like with cooking, sometimes we add too many ingredients, make the recipe too complex and ruin the dish. I'm afraid that's what happened here.
A great edit, and a few less characters and this could be a really good read. As is, it's only fair.
November 16, 2013
Mystery is not my usual genre of books.... But I like Al Roker on the Today Show and thought I'd give this a try when I saw it on the discount table at B&N... I am so glad I picked it up!
Cover shows written by Al Roker and Dick Lochte... I don't know who wrote what, but it was a good story. It kept me interested and I did not figure out the ending prior to getting there. (Which really is no surprise as I've had no practice with mystery novels)
Cover shows written by Al Roker and Dick Lochte... I don't know who wrote what, but it was a good story. It kept me interested and I did not figure out the ending prior to getting there. (Which really is no surprise as I've had no practice with mystery novels)
October 29, 2014
I thought this was a funny and great first book from Al Roker. His main character Billy Blessing is a full time TV show chef and part time sleuth.
His adventures are rather madcap and part James Bond. As other have said, and I agree, a book of good fun and a pretty good read.
His adventures are rather madcap and part James Bond. As other have said, and I agree, a book of good fun and a pretty good read.
May 18, 2017
A cozy
I was disappointed that this is a cozy. The plot, characters and writing was not especially intriguing. Romance as a man would imagine. I found the story line itself full of holes.
I was disappointed that this is a cozy. The plot, characters and writing was not especially intriguing. Romance as a man would imagine. I found the story line itself full of holes.
January 10, 2017
Well done!
April 2, 2025
Thank goodness it's finally over ... Oh that was painful.
I figured that a mystery/thriller by Al Roker would be a fun read. It was nothing short of painful.
The plot is tired and oversaturates the market, the bad guy was obvious, not to mention predictable, and the cops that are in this are portrayed as bumbling oafish brutes who don't know how to follow clues or solve crimes. There is only one positive I can give and ... it's the narrator of the audiobook. Al Roker himself. He enunciates well, does voices very well, and carries the plot along nicely ... but that's about it.
Here's the synopsis to this book! The main character is famous chef, Billy Blessing. He has a segment on a morning tv show called Wake Up America and does segments for them frequently. When he has a disagreement with his producer, Rudy, he doesn't expect the man to wind up dead the next day. Nor does he expect to be considered the prime suspect. Enter the detectives, Solomon and Butker. These two are grunting brutish oaf-types who stomp around and yell at Billy that he is a killer ... with no evidence supporting the claim or really doing much of anything.
Billy starts doing his own investigation so that he doesn't have to be accused of the murder. Along the way, the reader is given his backstory. Billy isn't just a chef. He grew up among con artists and can (wow) amazingly tell when people are lying. Somehow (it wasn't entirely clear), he gets put on the chopping block of an international assassin (?). There's a bunch of shoot-outs and accusations, comments by Billy about how beautiful women with big boobs are, and comments about how food is good, blah blah blah. Then there's the big moment where Billy reveals he was wearing a freaking wire the whole time and he knows who the killer is and he points to the person and is all, "HA! I knew it was you" and .... The End.
This was ... painful. It's clear from the writing Al Roker has been on TV so long that that is the only world he knows. I don't think he knows anything about real life, which is why his character is ... famous. His character's Asian driver is written as a reinforced stereotype that would make anyone cringe, his sexist remarks about women and their bodies made me want to vomit, and it's pretty obvious that Al Roker doesn't care for cops because of the constant writing of them as stupid, incompetent, and brutes.
The best part of this entire book was the ending. And I mean that literally. ENDING the book was the best thing I could have done. LOL. Also, as I stated before, Al Roker is actually a pretty darn good narrator. He should read more audiobooks ... just please, not anything else he's ever written.
If you guys want to read it, be my guest, but I ... wouldn't recommend it.
OH! One last comment before I put this book away forever ... it was written in 2009. It READS like it was written in 2009. Lots of comments on MP3 players, Brittney Spears, and the like ... so it came off as really dated.
That's ... yeah, that's it...
Happy Reading! But not this, please read anything but this! :D
I figured that a mystery/thriller by Al Roker would be a fun read. It was nothing short of painful.
The plot is tired and oversaturates the market, the bad guy was obvious, not to mention predictable, and the cops that are in this are portrayed as bumbling oafish brutes who don't know how to follow clues or solve crimes. There is only one positive I can give and ... it's the narrator of the audiobook. Al Roker himself. He enunciates well, does voices very well, and carries the plot along nicely ... but that's about it.
Here's the synopsis to this book! The main character is famous chef, Billy Blessing. He has a segment on a morning tv show called Wake Up America and does segments for them frequently. When he has a disagreement with his producer, Rudy, he doesn't expect the man to wind up dead the next day. Nor does he expect to be considered the prime suspect. Enter the detectives, Solomon and Butker. These two are grunting brutish oaf-types who stomp around and yell at Billy that he is a killer ... with no evidence supporting the claim or really doing much of anything.
Billy starts doing his own investigation so that he doesn't have to be accused of the murder. Along the way, the reader is given his backstory. Billy isn't just a chef. He grew up among con artists and can (wow) amazingly tell when people are lying. Somehow (it wasn't entirely clear), he gets put on the chopping block of an international assassin (?). There's a bunch of shoot-outs and accusations, comments by Billy about how beautiful women with big boobs are, and comments about how food is good, blah blah blah. Then there's the big moment where Billy reveals he was wearing a freaking wire the whole time and he knows who the killer is and he points to the person and is all, "HA! I knew it was you" and .... The End.
This was ... painful. It's clear from the writing Al Roker has been on TV so long that that is the only world he knows. I don't think he knows anything about real life, which is why his character is ... famous. His character's Asian driver is written as a reinforced stereotype that would make anyone cringe, his sexist remarks about women and their bodies made me want to vomit, and it's pretty obvious that Al Roker doesn't care for cops because of the constant writing of them as stupid, incompetent, and brutes.
The best part of this entire book was the ending. And I mean that literally. ENDING the book was the best thing I could have done. LOL. Also, as I stated before, Al Roker is actually a pretty darn good narrator. He should read more audiobooks ... just please, not anything else he's ever written.
If you guys want to read it, be my guest, but I ... wouldn't recommend it.
OH! One last comment before I put this book away forever ... it was written in 2009. It READS like it was written in 2009. Lots of comments on MP3 players, Brittney Spears, and the like ... so it came off as really dated.
That's ... yeah, that's it...
Happy Reading! But not this, please read anything but this! :D
February 17, 2021
The Morning Show Murders (Billy Blessing, #1)
by Al Roker Published January 1, 2009
#bgrtreadingchallenge 2021~A fictional book written by a celebrity
BOOK#93 OF #100𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓮
<3 CORNY BUT CUTE READ <3
Nobody can dish morning TV like Al Roker, who’s seen every side of a business that looks good on camera—even when sharks are circling inside the gleaming glass Manhattan media headquarters. Treachery abounds in Roker’s riotously thrilling debut novel—at once an ingenious murder mystery and a delicious behind-the-scenes look at network TV. As fact and fiction collide and the backbiting ignites, The Morning Show Murders will make you wonder: How much of this stuff is real?
Network TV can be murder. Just ask Billy Blessing, famous for his smile, charm, and ability to survive the shark tank that is high-stakes morning TV. But though Billy has outlived his fair share of prima-donnas, his cooking segment on Wake Up America! is a staple of the American diet, and his Manhattan bistro is a mega-success, his career has just taken a very dangerous turn: His show’s perky cohost, Gin McCauley, has launched into some brass-knuckles contract negotiations. A visiting Mossad agent is about to tell all on the air. And then the network’s head honcho is murdered in his luxury apartment, and an ambitious D.A. decides that Billy is to blame.
Forensics show that Gerry Gallagher was poisoned and that the fatal coq au vin came from Billy’s restaurant. Gerry had an impressive list of women in his black book—and a news assignment in Afghanistan had plunged the TV exec into the heart of a violent international secret. Now unsavory characters are coming out of the woodwork, and another murder strikes the show’s inner circle. Billy knows that someone’s trying to frame him. He also knows that a ruthless international assassin has just arrived in New York City. And suddenly, for the most trusted guy on TV the ultimate career move is not about ratings. It’s about staying alive—and stopping the next murder from becoming tomorrow’s breaking news.
From the Hardcover edition.
by Al Roker Published January 1, 2009
#bgrtreadingchallenge 2021~A fictional book written by a celebrity
BOOK#93 OF #100𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓮
<3 CORNY BUT CUTE READ <3
Nobody can dish morning TV like Al Roker, who’s seen every side of a business that looks good on camera—even when sharks are circling inside the gleaming glass Manhattan media headquarters. Treachery abounds in Roker’s riotously thrilling debut novel—at once an ingenious murder mystery and a delicious behind-the-scenes look at network TV. As fact and fiction collide and the backbiting ignites, The Morning Show Murders will make you wonder: How much of this stuff is real?
Network TV can be murder. Just ask Billy Blessing, famous for his smile, charm, and ability to survive the shark tank that is high-stakes morning TV. But though Billy has outlived his fair share of prima-donnas, his cooking segment on Wake Up America! is a staple of the American diet, and his Manhattan bistro is a mega-success, his career has just taken a very dangerous turn: His show’s perky cohost, Gin McCauley, has launched into some brass-knuckles contract negotiations. A visiting Mossad agent is about to tell all on the air. And then the network’s head honcho is murdered in his luxury apartment, and an ambitious D.A. decides that Billy is to blame.
Forensics show that Gerry Gallagher was poisoned and that the fatal coq au vin came from Billy’s restaurant. Gerry had an impressive list of women in his black book—and a news assignment in Afghanistan had plunged the TV exec into the heart of a violent international secret. Now unsavory characters are coming out of the woodwork, and another murder strikes the show’s inner circle. Billy knows that someone’s trying to frame him. He also knows that a ruthless international assassin has just arrived in New York City. And suddenly, for the most trusted guy on TV the ultimate career move is not about ratings. It’s about staying alive—and stopping the next murder from becoming tomorrow’s breaking news.
From the Hardcover edition.
January 22, 2018
My family and I love the Hallmark Channel (January to October 15th, after the 15th you start seeing non-stop Christmas). We love the mystery movies that they put on and the mystery shows. So after Christmas, the commercials started talking about Al Roker's mysteries. I had seen them but had not read them. So with the movie coming, I decided I needed to "read" this book, but I have been unable to find it in Kindle format, so I borrowed it as an audio.
Billy Blessing (male) is a chef with a popular NYC restaurant and host of morning news segments and a cooking program. One night the restaurant is visited by the local corrupt DA who demands that he be given a private room for his entourage. Billy's manager, Cassandra - a strong woman who doesn't take anything from anyone, refuses to move people to please this man. The next night, the restaurant is closed down by the police because one of Billy's coworkers, Rudy - a man who has a black book of women and cheats on all of them, is found dead in his apartment and they believe that Billy committed the crime. Because Billy is the main suspect and the police and DA are causing him problems in his business, he feels the need to find out who really killed Rudy. As he searches for the real killer, he comes across another killer, a serial killer called Felix. Because he is now being threatened, he is given a security detail and still works to find the true Felix.
There were moments that the story felt like "The Gourmet Detective" by Peter King. At other times you could clearly see the author's beliefs. He dedicates the books to his family and says they think he hasn't got a clue.
Overall, the book was pretty good, but the movie was okay but definitely different from the book. Billie (female), Cassandra (aunt) and Ian the detective helps while in the book, the detective was adversarial and crooked as well.
Billy Blessing (male) is a chef with a popular NYC restaurant and host of morning news segments and a cooking program. One night the restaurant is visited by the local corrupt DA who demands that he be given a private room for his entourage. Billy's manager, Cassandra - a strong woman who doesn't take anything from anyone, refuses to move people to please this man. The next night, the restaurant is closed down by the police because one of Billy's coworkers, Rudy - a man who has a black book of women and cheats on all of them, is found dead in his apartment and they believe that Billy committed the crime. Because Billy is the main suspect and the police and DA are causing him problems in his business, he feels the need to find out who really killed Rudy. As he searches for the real killer, he comes across another killer, a serial killer called Felix. Because he is now being threatened, he is given a security detail and still works to find the true Felix.
There were moments that the story felt like "The Gourmet Detective" by Peter King. At other times you could clearly see the author's beliefs. He dedicates the books to his family and says they think he hasn't got a clue.
Overall, the book was pretty good, but the movie was okay but definitely different from the book. Billie (female), Cassandra (aunt) and Ian the detective helps while in the book, the detective was adversarial and crooked as well.
May 27, 2020
Chef and tv personality Billy Blessing becomes the prime suspect in a murder when a colleague is found poisoned from a sauce made in his restaurant.
So, rather than write a review, I thought I would just write down all of the things I found a bit silly about this book.
Blessing doesn't get along with the detectives, who think he's guilty. Because of that, he doesn't let them know when he comes into possession of the victim's little black book that might help exonerate him, or at least cast suspicions on other people. He doesn't tell the police when he's attacked by a gun wielding man. He doesn't tell the police when he finds evidence perhaps linking the murder victim to other murder victims. He doesn't tell police when the host of the morning show he appears on is *kidnapped* with her reporter boyfriend. Instead, he flirts with the woman in charge of his security, sleeps with her, and then goes to work the next morning to eat a pastry while waiting for the ransom call. It seems like his life is in danger and they have an idea of who is trying to kill him and yet he goes about his day like it's all normal.
The detectives know nothing, Blessing puts it all together and there's a "twist" at the end of the book that felt kind of meh and out of place.
The Morning Show Murders was a super light, easy read. I know Al Roker wrote this with Dick Lochte, but it felt very amaeturish. That's really all I have to say about it.
So, rather than write a review, I thought I would just write down all of the things I found a bit silly about this book.
Blessing doesn't get along with the detectives, who think he's guilty. Because of that, he doesn't let them know when he comes into possession of the victim's little black book that might help exonerate him, or at least cast suspicions on other people. He doesn't tell the police when he's attacked by a gun wielding man. He doesn't tell the police when he finds evidence perhaps linking the murder victim to other murder victims. He doesn't tell police when the host of the morning show he appears on is *kidnapped* with her reporter boyfriend. Instead, he flirts with the woman in charge of his security, sleeps with her, and then goes to work the next morning to eat a pastry while waiting for the ransom call. It seems like his life is in danger and they have an idea of who is trying to kill him and yet he goes about his day like it's all normal.
The detectives know nothing, Blessing puts it all together and there's a "twist" at the end of the book that felt kind of meh and out of place.
The Morning Show Murders was a super light, easy read. I know Al Roker wrote this with Dick Lochte, but it felt very amaeturish. That's really all I have to say about it.
September 29, 2020
The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker and Dick Lochte was a surprisingly clever book. Yes, I'm sure Dick Lochte, who after all writes mysteries by himself, wrote the book based on a lot of material from Al Roker about what happens in the studio and how celebrities react with their guests. It is basically a first-person narration by Chef (not Chief) Billy Blessing, lead actor on The Morning Show, owner of a restaurant, man-about-town, who is probably a fantasy portrait of Al Roker, weather man, man-about-town and TV personality. But even if so, there is enough humor to keep the fantasy from becoming over-bearing; one can still like both Blessing and Roker in spite of all their luck (both with women and life).
The plot revolves around the murder of one of the network's head honchos, Rudy Gallagher, which is blamed on Billy Blessing since the poison was in a dish from his restaurant. It gets complicated because Rudy was one of five people (newsmen and guards) in Afghanistan who are being murdered one by one. Fortunately Billy is not accused of all the murders; a big time hitman, Felix the Cat, is. It is a complicated, intricate plot with lots of suspense, nicely controlled with humor and insights into the TV (and restaurant) business.
Hardly great literature, but a fun read.
The plot revolves around the murder of one of the network's head honchos, Rudy Gallagher, which is blamed on Billy Blessing since the poison was in a dish from his restaurant. It gets complicated because Rudy was one of five people (newsmen and guards) in Afghanistan who are being murdered one by one. Fortunately Billy is not accused of all the murders; a big time hitman, Felix the Cat, is. It is a complicated, intricate plot with lots of suspense, nicely controlled with humor and insights into the TV (and restaurant) business.
Hardly great literature, but a fun read.
April 24, 2021
Bought the book because we’ve been watching the Hallmark mystery channel, and one of their movie series is based on this book. Allegedly. Yes, they both feature a restaurateur who also does a cooking segment on a Today clone, and yes, most of the characters at the TV station seem to be the same in both. However, Billie (the Hallmark protagonist) turns out to be Billy (the protagonist in the book). Holly Robinson Peete he ain’t, that’s for sure. And he does not have a romantic relationship with any of the cops, all of whom think he’s the killer. “But, hey there,” you say, “putting the movies aside, how was the book?” Pretty good, actually. I did occasionally lose track of just who someone was; but that’s probably my fault rather than Mr Roker’s, as there were significant pauses (sometimes days) in my reading. I did not ID the killer until about two paragraphs before he/she/they/it was revealed, but the clues were all there. And since the writing was good as well, I’m giving it four stars.
May 5, 2018
"The Morning Show Murders" was Al Roker's first attempt at a murder mystery, and it was a doozy. Roker introduces morning show chef Billy Blessing as the unlikely sleuth to solve the murder of Rudy Gallagher, the executive producer of Blessing's morning show, "Wake Up, America!". Since Blessing and Gallagher had a contentious relationship, Blessing becomes the number one suspect, particularly since Gallagher was poisoned with food from Blessing's restaurant. He spends the remainder of the book tracking down clues to exonerate himself and identify the real killer. He stumbles upon a notorious assassin (Felix) and unwittingly puts himself in the crosshairs. "The Morning Show Murders" isn't a heavyweight literary masterpiece, but it's marvelously entertaining, with lots of tongue in cheek humor. A great book for some light reading.
October 9, 2017
I loved the idea behind this plot, but the book itself was disappointing. If you want a quick fun read I don’t think this is it. The second body drops at about 20% of the way through the book but it felt like we were really at the half way point (when the second body drops in most cozy mysteries). Everything in this just seemed to take longer to get to than other cozy mysteries. It dragged on. The mystery had multiple parts, each one was intriguing. One part was well balanced, challenging but solvable. The other part was difficult, even looking back I’m not sure there was enough information there to figure it out. Still, I had a lot of fun with the story and it provided a good challenge. So, if you have some time to spare, check it out, just be prepared for the long haul.
February 7, 2018
I honestly read this for my book challenge book of: a book with a time of day in the title. It was available digitally from my library and I'd just finished Time Phantom: Amsterdam, and needed something light and silly.
This fit the bill.
Some detractors were scoffing at Al Roker's supposed "views" of himself: a ladies man, a chef ( I guess?) a "balder and slightly heavier Denzel..." Whatever, I didn't read it because it was by Al Roker, who if I passed him on the street, he *might* make me do a double take. And honestly, there's a co-author, how much do you really think he wrote??
This is a light romp through a murder mystery, the drama around running a high-end restaurant, and the inane morning-show sub-culture. Will I read the next book?
Shut up. I already am.
This fit the bill.
Some detractors were scoffing at Al Roker's supposed "views" of himself: a ladies man, a chef ( I guess?) a "balder and slightly heavier Denzel..." Whatever, I didn't read it because it was by Al Roker, who if I passed him on the street, he *might* make me do a double take. And honestly, there's a co-author, how much do you really think he wrote??
This is a light romp through a murder mystery, the drama around running a high-end restaurant, and the inane morning-show sub-culture. Will I read the next book?
Shut up. I already am.
January 23, 2019
Al Roker wrote a book? Who knew? Seriously, I think I probably heard something about him writing books but I never thought about reading one. What prompted me to pick this one up, ironically, was seeing the movie on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Because I saw the movie, I almost choose not to read the book, but I decided I'd give it a shot anyway. I was pleasantly surprised that there were numerous differences between the two and it made the book that much more enjoyable to me because I knew right off the bat that it was different than the movie. This book was quite enjoyable and I was left in suspense trying to figure out who the killer actually was until close to the end. That is definitely the sign of a good mystery for me. :-)
December 18, 2021
This review is based on the audiobook so my first thought was how much I really liked Al Rokers narration. He has a great voice and brings a lot of liveliness and inflection to the characters without overdoing it. The story is also pretty lively and moved along at a good pace. I didn’t give it a 5 star rating primarily because of the ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was good but it felt like the story ended after the kidnapping and then there were more developments that felt like they drew the story out a little too long. I liked the twists and turns the ending took, just felt like it made that part of the book drag more than the rest of the story. I will definitely be reading more in the series.
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