The Murder Game

By: Steve Allen

Narrated by: Steve Allen

When the network decides to revive its old show The Murder Game, Steve Allen's wife Jayne Meadows is willing to try her hand at solving imaginary homicides on prime-time television. The game turns deadly, however, as one by one the stars are actually killed. With each new victim, the program's ratings soar, so Steve and Jayne take it upon themselves to find out who the killer is—before their bodies increase the viewership even more!

Steve Allen, the genius behind the acclaimed show Meeting of Minds, takes the audience on a comic—and lethal—ride as listeners play The Murder Game.

©1994 Steve Allen (P)1994 Phoenix Books, Inc.

very broad, silly caricatures, fluff story

Steve Allen was such a wonderful entertainer, but he phoned this one in on a string and two tin cans. Strange little series of murders around an old TV panel show. Broad characters like you might see in an old Marx Bros. picture, but not antic enough in tone to justify the preposterous goings-on. When you're asked over and over again to believe that a blackmail related murder might be movtivated by an older actress lying about her age -- well, even Margaret Dumont couldn't make that one work. Sorry to slam any piece of the multi-talented Mr. Allen's work, he was one of the great impromptu humorists in TV history. It's just that those of us who like everything about him, his wit, his intellect, his music, and his perspective on society, are most likely to buy this audiobook on his name and voice alone, and it's just not very good. Instead watch those old "What's My Line?" reruns on YouTube instead, and see the witty gentleman at his best.