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Maggie is really getting into the swing of her daily radio show. She loves her new life in Cypress Grove, Florida, where she considers herself a Dr. Phil–minus the money and the fame. Unfortunately, she’s also minus the fans. So when a big movie company hits town, Maggie’s producer thinks a few exclusive on-set interviews could mean a ratings boost.

But no sooner does Maggie slip her way into a job as a script consultant than the leading lady ends up dead from a prop gun that’s been tampered with. With the help of sexy Detective Rafe Martino, Maggie discovers a bevy of behind-the-scenes secrets that could be motives for murder. Now she’d better find the killer before the credits roll–or it might be her own final performance.

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 8, 2010

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About the author

Mary Kennedy

155 books330 followers
Mary Kennedy is a national best-selling novelist and a licensed psychologist on the east coast. She has written 37 young adult novels and has a new adult mystery series with Penguin, The Talk Radio Mysteries.The first title, DEATH IS BAD KARMA was released in January 2010, and the second release, REEL MURDER, is available now. She has spoken at over 100 schools, libraries and writers' conferences all over the country. She received a grant and award for "artistic excellence in fiction" from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Please visit her online at http://www.marykennedy.net. And be sure to visit Killer Characters--it's a fun site where cozy mystery writers blog as their characters! www.killercharacters.com

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5 stars
34 (20%)
4 stars
61 (36%)
3 stars
50 (30%)
2 stars
12 (7%)
1 star
8 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for JoAn.
2,504 reviews1 follower
March 1, 2018
Reel Murder by Mary Kennedy is the 2nd book in the Talk Radio series and was another intriguing cozy mystery. I really enjoy this series and each one gets better as I read.

I like Maggie and feel like I got to know her much better in this second book. I love Vera Mae. Her snarky attitude makes me laugh each time she appears. Her mother, Lola, is quirky and definitely over the top when it comes to her career and her stories regarding Hollywood. I enjoyed the references to different movies and celebrities that pop up when Lola makes an appearance. I also found the background information of how movies are made to be fascinating.

I do confess that I wish Maggie would stand up more for herself with Rafe about her profession and forensic psychology. I get that he's handsome and drool-worthy but her former profession shouldn't be slighted by him. Ms. Kennedy would you please have Maggie take him down a peg or two?

The mystery was quickly paced and there were a few twists; but I did catch on to who the killer might be before Maggie. However, I wasn't clear on the "why" until the reveal. Since I am so late starting this series, I've already got book #3 lined up and ready to go.
Profile Image for Amy.
1,377 reviews
February 11, 2018
This is the second book in the Talk Radio Mystery series by Mary Kennedy. Maggie is still doing her talk radio show and the guests that she has tend to be boring.
When Maggie goes to the movie set of Death Watch to visit her mother Lola , she is asked to be a consultant since she used to be a forensic psychologist when living in New York.
Maggie thinks it will be fun and interesting, until a murder occurs right in front of her while a scene is being shot. The weapon a prop gun.
Detective Rafe Martino tells Maggie to stay out of the investigation and let the police due their job. Something that is difficult for Maggie to do.
A lot of suspects to question as more information comes out about the actress that was murdered.
Twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.
I love Maggie’s relationship with her mother Lola. Also love Lola, fun character that had me laughing even during a murder investigation.

I received a copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it.
Profile Image for Vicky.
444 reviews9 followers
August 24, 2011
it is confusing to me how Maggie is seen as an investigator. Most of her investigating is done in her head but all the "suspects" know? Really don't know how this series got published to tell the truth. I have the third installment to go but not sure if i can go through it. the first book was better and that is why I purused the 2nd.
Profile Image for Mary Kennedy.
Author 155 books330 followers
June 24, 2010
This book was great fun to write because it takes place on a movie set. It's the second in my Talk Radio Mysteries for Penguin. Hope everyone enjoys it, you can visit my website at www.marykennedy.net to read more!
Profile Image for Kim.
1,169 reviews18 followers
February 10, 2018
Maggie Walsh is visiting her mother, Lola, on the set of Death Watch, an indie movie about a forensic psychologist. When the director finds out that Maggie’s former job was as a forensic psychologist in Manhattan; he offers her a job as a consultant. This sounds like an interesting job so Maggie agrees to help. While filming one of the scenes on location something happens with one of the prop guns and the lead actress is killed. The more Maggie learns about the actress; the people more Maggie’s counts as suspects in the murder. Detective Rafe Martino is in charge of the investigation and once again advises Maggie to stay out of things and let him and the police force handle the investigation.

This is the 2nd book in the series, but can definitely be enjoyed as a stand-alone mystery. I enjoyed seeing a little of the forensic psychologist Maggie. Maggie is still doing her talk show but you get to see how she deduces who should be a suspect in the murder. There are several twists and turns and red herrings that Author Mary Kennedy includes in the story to keep you guessing whodunit. Kennedy includes a hint of a possible budding romance in the partnering of Detective Rafe and Maggie. I also loved seeing Maggie’s mom, Lola, in her ideal environment. Lola is such a fun character and seeing her element as an actress was great.

I recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers. I was provided with a copy of this book with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way influenced by anyone.
Profile Image for Linda.
2,388 reviews62 followers
April 3, 2020
3.5 stars. Very enjoyable entry in the series. I enjoyed the movie set setting. i was able to figure out the motive but I didn't realize it was the motive until the reveal. The ending was good. Looking forward to more in the series.
Profile Image for Whitney.
968 reviews5 followers
February 25, 2020
This is number 3 in the talk radio mystery. It wasnt my favorite but it wasnt bad. The ending took me by surprise though and it is one of the few books I didnt know who the killer was.
Profile Image for Sandra.
395 reviews16 followers
March 16, 2014
I did not enjoy this one as much as the first book only because this book was a LOT more annoying and quite frankly just unreal, i know its a work of fiction but you'd expect the story to make some kind of sense and in a lot of ways it failed. For instance; (Warning: This Review contains some spoilers)

There's a lot of identical similarities to the first book Dead Air And by that I mean a lot of Maggie's thought process was just a copy and paste work for example in both books there comes a point when Maggie meets up with Nick to discus the information they’ve gathered so far and in both instances they meet at Gino’s, the description of he restaurant was word for word, even when they order their meal the conversation is a copy and paste and the thought she has as the beer Nick orders tempts her is a copy and paste, word for word. There's a lot of that in this book, and if you read the first book its very annoying. I remember asking myself, a lot as i read on, if the author thought we were idiots?

Another thing that i could not reconcile with was the main character. In the first book I found her endearing, in this she was that too but also so unreal I barely have words.

Another really silly thing to note; Maggie mentions over three times in this book how Rafe thinks so little of her job as a psychologist, how he’s constantly being condensing and patronizing of her work, yet she does nothing to defend her self, just mentions it every time the meet. Even when he blatantly challenges her job description and clearly looks down on her, what does she do she wants to kiss him and stroke is check, while apparently miffed at not being appreciated. Seriously! And to make matters worse the meeting and conversation, hell the whole dialogue of her thought process was another copy and past work from the last time they meet in the book, the author just goes on about how much better looking he is to Simon Baker, and its word for word what she had already said a couple of chapters ago.

For me the bad guy was obvious the reasons behind the actions had already been blatantly spelled out for the main charterer, but you get the sense that the author really thought she had cleverly hid the motive and perpetrator form her audience. She hadn't.

After all that I should be giving this book a 2 stars. But there is just something about the story, you can't help but love it regardless. And I did. And I might even pick up the next one.

I guess even when a story is poorly executed, the when the idea behind it shines through and its good. Then its good.

3.5 stars.




Profile Image for Martha Cheves.
Author 5 books74 followers
June 2, 2010
Reel Murder – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
‘It was giving me a little chill to think that the murderer was probably right here on the set with us. It had to be someone connected with the Death Watch production, didn’t it? So many possibilities. I’d narrowed them down in my mind, turning them over and over, and outside of Frankie Domino – who still was the mystery man – all of them had a motive for killing Adriana. Sidney Carter had Adriana to thank for his ruined career. There was no love lost between Sandra Michaels and Adriana, that much was clear. Carla hated Adriana, and blamed her for the loss of a lucrative book deal. And Hank Watson? Adriana’s death certainly paved the way for his young girlfriend, Tammilynne, to step into the starring role. And if Adriana really had been having an affair with Lori’s husband, maybe the actress would have been angry enough to kill her. My head was reeling, and Nick interrupted my jumbled thoughts.’

Maggie Walsh is a Cypress Grove, Florida talk show psychologist. Her mother Lola is an aging actress still waiting to be noticed by an A-list producer. Hopefully, someone will notice her as she plays a part in a movie being produced in Cypress Grove called Death Watch.

Maggie is invited to serve as a script consultant for the show, working mainly with by Sandra Michaels in her part as a forensic psychologist. As Maggie, the director and assistant director watch the scene taking place on the water’s edge between Adriana St. James, the leading lady, meets with the killer Jeff Walker, the unthinkable happens. When Walker pulls the trigger of the prop gun, Adriana falls but the blood flowing from the wound is not prop blood. It’s real. As Maggie starts her own investigation in the death of Adriana, she finds the wasn’t the most fondly thought of person on the set. It seemed that everyone Maggie met had nothing but bad things to say about Adriana, making everyone a suspect.

This is my second book in the Maggie Walsh series that I’ve read. The 1st in the series is titled “Dead Air.” And it kept me going to the end. When I read a mystery, I like to see how quickly I can discover the guilty party. I usually make a note of the page number that I’m on when I make my decision. Sometimes I have to change that number many times before the end of the book. With Reel Murder, I had no clue until page #268 and this book is only 292 pages long! Mary Kennedy kept me in suspense that long! As in Dead Air, you will find humor as well as excitement and fast page turning.

Osbidian Mystery
June 2010
292 pages
ISBN #978-0-451-23084-3

Profile Image for Vanessa James-brooks.
128 reviews9 followers
June 15, 2010
I had the pleasure of reviewing Mary Kennedy's Second book in this series "Reel Murder" I have not yet gotten to read her first but if it is as good as this book I want it lol! I could not put my books down ~! I read it all in 4 days and that is fast for me since I have 2 little kids and one has been very sick. I rate this book a 4 out of 5~! LOVE this book here is what I thought of Real Murder..
Maggie Walsh is a Cypress Grove, Florida talk show psychologist. Her mother Lola is an aging actress still waiting to be noticed by an A-list producer. Hopefully, someone will notice her as she plays a part in a movie being produced in Cypress Grove called Death Watch an Indie Film by a well known Producer.

Maggie is invited to serve as a script consultant for the show, working mainly with by Sandra Mitchael's in her part as a forensic psychologist. As Maggie, the director and assistant director watch the scene taking place on the water’s edge between Adriana St. James, the leading lady, meets with the killer Jeff Walker, the unthinkable happens. When Walker pulls the trigger of the prop gun, Adriana falls but the blood flowing from the wound is not prop blood. It’s real blood she had been shot~! As Maggie starts her own investigation in the death of Adriana, she finds the was not the most fondly thought of person on the set. It seemed that everyone Maggie met had nothing but bad things to say about Adriana, making everyone a suspect.

Reel Murder is a page turner you never know what to expect and just when you think you know who the murderer is ... you find out that's not who it is. Defiantly a good read~! Please check out Mary Kennedy site out she is a fantastic Author and very personable feel free to drop her a line to let her know how much you enjoy her books if you have read any of hers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Myhotstylist.
181 reviews
September 13, 2010
What a huge let down...

In this second installment, we follow Dr Maggie Walsh, WYME's radio talk show host as she gets to assist with the writing of a movie script, filmed right in her town of Cypress Grove, FL.

Things turn haywire on the first day of filming when the star of the film, Adrianna, is shot and killed by her co-star with what seemed to be a prop gun. With eye-witnesses everywhere, and hundreds of people on the set, ANYONE could have tampered with the prop to ensure Adrianna's starlight was put out.

After just feeling ho-hum about the first book, I had higher expectations for the second. However Maggies mother is extremely irritating with her washed up actress routine. The constant celebrity name dropping and movie references got old and stale quick. The book was about 150 pages too long, and Maggie never really seemed to do any sleuthing per-se. SHe was just basically was invited to a party and the killer showed up, out to get her. I figured out the killer at the very beginning of the book and skipped over 10 chapters only to confirm my guess on the killer. The plot just dragged and dragged. Even on her "work" radio interviews, I skimmed those parts too, as they were completely irrelevant to the plot.

Ive decided to let this series go for good. Maggie is not very interesting and her mother is a whack-job. if i could give this book 0 stars, I would. This is turning out to be a below-average series for me and i would not reccomend it.
Profile Image for Beverly.
544 reviews38 followers
October 29, 2010
Amazon Product Description:
"Florida's newest talk show radio psychologist Maggie Walsh has no sooner gotten involved with a local movie production than the leading lady turns up dead. Now Maggie has to find the killer before the credits roll-or it might be her final performance."
I hate it when I read the second book in a series before the first. However, with most mystery series, reading the books out of order doesn't hurt too much. This was not a bad book. It was just ok. I figured out the solution way too soon. I liked finding that I was right, but I just never connected with this book. And with so many wonderful mystery series out there, I don't think time will allow me to add another this one to my to read list.
Profile Image for Brandon.
133 reviews3 followers
July 29, 2016
This book was decent. I think the author is trying too hard to compete with the already established competitor in this space in the Elvis Cole/ Joe Pike series by Robert Crais in terms of wisecracking main characters and amateur sleuths. But where this book fell apart is the subplots with the shrink in love with the detective, but he was more a friend in his perspective. And not to mention all the radio show stuff that added a bunch of dead weight to the book that could've been condensed into smaller spots. I was wanting more action and humor as I thought this was going to be similar to the aforementioned series, but I was disappointed. I would recommend it if you like stories that can dredge out needless stuff on end.
Profile Image for Kim.
215 reviews20 followers
October 11, 2015
Maggie's radio show has taken her into a place she never dreamed of, in the middle of a murder investigation. When a guru that Maggie had on her show ends up dead hours after the interview, she is suddenly facing threats and a gorgeous investigator and both leave her mind and stomach tied in knots.
This was a good read and has many twists and turns. It didn't suck me in like some cozies but it made me want to hurry back and find out what happens. I will be reading the next in the series "Reel Murder"
Profile Image for Emily Cullen.
605 reviews11 followers
November 19, 2016
Former high-priced Manhattan psychologist leaves her practice to become a radio talk show host down in sunny Florida and it just so happens that a movie is going to be filmed there with her actress mother playing a small part. But when the leading lady is shot by a real gun instead of a prop, Maggie discovered this woman didn't lack for any enemies. This is book #2 of the Talk Radio cozy mystery series and I'm really enjoying it. Maggie's mom is hysterical and there's even a hint of romance. I'm definitely moving on to the next book!
Profile Image for Kate.
473 reviews16 followers
July 28, 2010
Not as "cozy" as I might have liked, but it is a fun mystery. It takes place on a movie set and it was fun to read all about the little tips and tricks that go into Hollywood magic. There were a lot of funny parts, and I had the murderer all wrong so that was fun to see! I would have liked to see the main character analyze the different players a little more, seeing as she is a trained therapist, but for the most part this was a good read.
5,998 reviews69 followers
July 24, 2010
Psychologist Maggie Walsh has a radio talk show, but when actress mother Lola comes to town, she's dragged to the set of the Indie film where Lola has a bit part. They watch an actress die, only to find that the unpleasant woman may have been murdered. Maggie is interested in the local policeman, Rafe Martino, and decides to help with the investigation, even though it might put her into danger.
104 reviews
November 25, 2010
Love, love, love local author Dr. Mary Kennedy! Enjoyed cozy "Reel Murder" as a flirtatious romance, detail-rich narrative, and most importantly, suspenseful thriller. Would translate well on sceen with the redhead pro dancer from DWTS as Adrianna, don't you think? Once again, thanks, Mary! Can't wait to discuss with you...
Profile Image for Melodie.
1,278 reviews85 followers
July 14, 2010
I like Maggie's mom. Lola is a hoot, but I just can't warm up to Maggie. She's just not interesting.....except for her dog, Pugsley. Mary Kennedy seems like a really nice person, and I really wanted to like this (the first one was an okay read), but I just didn't.
51 reviews8 followers
March 31, 2013
I did not like Maggie...but I'm not sure why that is. I read this book in one day but the next day I could not have told you who the killer was. The book just did not leave an impression, which is the kiss of death for me...
Profile Image for Annice22.
625 reviews
May 2, 2013
I thought "Reel Murder" was a very funny yet interesting cozy mystery. It's fast paced and will have laughing as you try to solve the mystery.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews