From the London Free Press, Saturday April 24, 2010.

BOOKS

Fun to hang with area detective at annual Elvis fest

COLLINGWOOD FAKEOUT

By Rick Hundey

Fauxpop Media $29

Reviewed by Joan Barfoot

Special to QMI Agency

Elvis is one of those gifts that just keeps on giving. From the music industry to his heirs and offspring, to Graceland tourism, decades after his death he continues to fill a whole lot of pockets.

                That wouldn’t be the case if his music and persona hadn’t ignited a load of passions while he was alive. Which among other things has meant a big cottage industry of “tribute artists” who still travel the continent in flashy outfits and sideburns, trying to perform as if they were him.

                Among their obligatory destinations is Collingwood, the Georgian Bay town that has created an Elvis festival as an annual summer tourist event. Which is what brings us to Exeter’s Rick Hundey and his fledgling crime novel series following private investigator Jack Beer.

                 In Collingwood Fakeout, Beer travels there from his Grand Bend headquarters at the behest of his business and personal partner Sheila, whose brother Mike is competing in the Collingwood festival’s best-Elvis competition.

                Jack could hardly be less interested in Elvis, Elvis music, or for that matter Mike, whom he dislikes, but he likes Sheila very much, and so off they head through the countryside to a bemusing event that mostly makes him want a stiff drink.

                Some people, though, take Elvis-world very seriously, including not only the impersonators – a term they find offensive – but some memorabilia collectors, civic boosters and business people as well.

                Degrees of obnoxiousness vary among the participants, and nobody seems terribly surprised when a local who has claimed the title of Collingwood Elvis is killed.

                Sheila and her family, however, are distressed when police lean toward Mike as the likeliest suspect, and ask a reluctant Jack to prove the cops wrong.

                With help from an aging and eccentric drunk who’s also an ex-cop, Jack starts learning about some of the interpersonal chemistries of Elvis fans and a few town hobnobs, but some of their histories too, notably an old unsolved hit-and-run that left a local man paralyzed and his wife enduringly bitter.

                There’s also a few sexual liaisons going on under the town’s surface, mostly of the extra-marital variety, along with some dodgy business dealings.

                More lives are threatened, including Jack’s as he sorts through who’s doing what to whom, getting help not only from his new ex-cop buddy and some other local allies, but from a London lawyer and an ex-biker named Tiny.

                The latter two are familiar to readers of Hundey’s first Jack Beer novel, Death at the Bend. As with his initial series entry, Hundey has again self-published, and for readers outside regional bookstore range, has established his own on-line distribution system.

                 Whether or not those are shrewd moves in the currently confused evolution of the publishing industry, Hundey, a former community planner and consultant, looks to be having a good time. His alternately tough-and-tender Jack Beer isn’t exactly unique in the annals of fictional p.i.’s but he’s fun to hang out with for a couple hundred pages, which is satisfaction enough.

Joan Barfoot is a novelist living in London.

On Dec. 19, Rick read from his second Jack Beer mystery novel before a gathering of about 25 at the Exeter Public Library. In conversation afterward, he discussed his writing process and then in answer to one of the questions, admitted to ‘anecdote collecting,’ a habit which provides fodder for his stories. Wrapping up, he thanked the group and stayed around to sign his book.
Rick plans readings with area book clubs and other libraries. In the spring he hopes to travel to Collingwood for an author book signing.

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I’m excited to tell you that on Dec. 19, 2009, 2 PM at the Exeter Branch Library, I will be launching my second Jack Beer mystery novel. Jack retains his cryptic view of life (and his acid tongue) as he goes about solving crime at the Collingwood Elvis festival. Hope to see you there.

Great News. ‘Collingwood Fakeout,’ my second Jack Beer murder mystery, is due to be released by the end of November.

Coincidently, the novel is being released almost exactly a year after the publication of ‘Death at the Bend.’ Many of you wrote to tell me my first novel was a darn good read. According to those who read the draft of book 2, I’m betting you will find ‘Collingwood Fakeout’ equally enjoyable.

I’m planning a Saturday afternoon launch at the Exeter Public Library (likely Dec. 12 or the 19^th at the latest). Look for details on the website, on posters and in the local media.

Thanks all for your help and support.

Rick

On Oct. 22, Rick returned to Jack Beer country for a Book Club meeting in a wonderful little cottage located just off Main St. in rustic Grand Bend. Butter tarts were the highlight of the dessert tray. Better still, it was a perfect place to talk about books. The conversation was lively and Rick got a number of excellent ideas for improving a draft suspense short story he read to the group. All are looking forward to the November release of ‘Collingwood Fakeout’ the second Jack Beer mystery.

Rick spent a pleasant evening with Parkhill librarian Karen and eight patrons on Oct 19 for a library week reading and author visit. He read “Not Dead Yet,” a short story that will likely find its way into an anthology he is working on. Great fun. Thanks to Karen for the invitation.

On August 5, 2009, 7 pm, Rick will be on hand to talk about his murder mystery Death at the Bend and its PI Jack Beer. Come prepared to ask questions and to get your book signed. There may even be a teaser or two about his next Jack Beer mystery, tentatively titled “Fakeout.” Mark it on your calendar.

On the morning of June 2, Rick was thrilled to have the chance to tell a story to the grade 2 class at Exeter Public School. What a great audience to hear him tell his story about the “Rhinoceros that just smashed through my door.”  As it turned out, the children had some pretty darned good stories of their own to tell. He was impressed both with the exemplary behaviour and the creativity of these 7 year olds. A room full of writers in the making. The session ended with Rick signing autographs. And at the insistence of one young man, he penned both his ‘autograph and his signature’  because that’s exactly what he wanted. Thanks go to teacher Mrs. D., the story volunteers and the whole class.

On June 7, Rick and Jane joined with one of Exeter’s book clubs for conversation, wine and snacks at the Betty and Norm’s beautiful heritage home on Albert Street. Following a tour of the cosy home, including its hobbit nooks and crannies, we gathered around the dining room table. Rick was asked some questions about Death at the Bend and his second book in the works, tentatively called Death of a King (or possibly Fakeout). Discussion included favourite titles and authors as well as topics decidedly unbookish.  Thanks to Betty and Norm as well as club members Helen, Janet, Darlene, Brenda, and Brynn for a great time.

On March 27, Rick and Jane had a great meal at Cathie and Paul’s north of Brussels following which Rick met with the local book club around their dining room table. The club talked about the plot of Death at the Bend and the existence (or not) of factual bases for its characters. (Jessie is very, very loosely based on an encounter Rick had with his Minister’s daughter when he was about 14 while Tiny is based in someone he met while working in the Ford Engine Assembly plant in Windsor Ontario in about 1972.) Rick read a passage from his second book (now being reviewed for publication). While he has 4 possible titles, he does know one thing for sure – it’s about an Elvis Tribute Artist who gets knocked off.