The Sinister Sitcom Caper

By Sally Carpenter

Description:

Book 2 of the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol mystery series
Former '70s teen idol and TV star Sandy Fairfax (also a recovering alcoholic) lands a guest role on "Off-Kilter," a corny family sitcom and the lowest-rated TV show of the 1993 fall season. Rehearsals barely begin when one of the actors drops dead at Sandy's feet and he's off to investigate, enlisting the help of two cast mates: a little person and an animal actor. Sandy's also busy reconciling with his ex and his estranged parents. When he practices with a beautiful choreographer he wonders: is this love? The book was revised into a clean read in 2020. New print and ebooks will have the changes; old used print copies will not.

Book Takeaway:

How God uses even bad situations, such as a deplorable job situation to help a person grow in character, to meet the right people (a girlfriend) and minister to others (solve a crime)

Why the author wrote this book:

In 2000-2002 I worked as a page at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. One of the pages' duties was to usher in the audiences for the sitcom tapings. It was a great experience and I learned a tremendous amount of how TV shows are made. Several teen idols form the 1970s have either starred or guest starred on sitcoms, so I felt this would be the perfect venue for my character. The description of the sitcom rehearsal and production process in the book is accurate based on my observations at the studio.