Biff Kincaid

Some kinds of thievery cause not only material loss but outrage--Great Aunt Annie's cameo brooch, for instance. Or a stand-up comic's routine. So when Bill Kincaid, standing in at the last minute for a friend who unexpectedly cancels his gig, finds that another comic working there that night has taped his act, he is mad! Turns out there's a lot more involved than the theft of a clutch of hilarious one-liners, no matter how important that can be to a good stand-up. A lot of shenanigans are going on on the comedy club circuit. The very bad comedian who stole Bill's material had paid the club owner to put him on the bill. Art Wescott, the friend who cancelled so suddenly, is found to have had a very good reason --he'd had a gun at his head while he was making the call, one that went off after he hung up. Bill figures he's involved in something that's not funny at all, and he'd better find out what it is before the last laugh is on him.

In this fast-paced novella, when ventriloquist Priscilla Graham has her wisecracking stuffed sidekick Checkers stolen, she turns to her opening act for help-none other than stand-up comedian turned amateur sleuth Biff Kincaid. With just twenty-four hours to go before show time-and the hefty payday he desperately needs-Biff springs into action. It's up to him to track down the dummy-nappers who stole Checkers by uncovering their twisted motives and dark deadly secrets. Biff races against the clock to deliver the ransom and rescue Checkers before the thieves deliver on their threat to put an end to the beloved puppet-and Biff along with it!

Hollywood stand-up comedian turned amateur sleuth Biff Kincaid is called at the last minute to headline a comedy club inside a sprawling resort on the Las Vegas Strip. He's thinking big laughs and good times are all that's in store when he boards the next plane to Sin CIty. He has no idea that the real gig won't be just headlining a showroom - it's solving a murder. It turns out he's filling in for his friend and fellow comic Tiger Moore. Tiger was stabbed by a mysterious killer who left a message written on the wall, one that sends chills down the spine of every comedian: Get off the stage, it reads. You suck. The Heckler has claimed his first victim. Biff follows the trail of clues that lead to Louie Baxter, network television's newest sitcom star (and hardest living party boy). He tells Biff he thinks he knows who the Heckler is: A novice comedian beaten into a coma years ago by a hostile audience after a hell gig at a remote location. Louie had given the man up for dead, but if he's back it's to get revenge on the other comedians who stood by while he was tortured. Tiger was one of them. So was Louie. Now Louie fears for his life, and begs Biff to track down the Heckler and try to stop him. Biff follows the clues left by a mysterious mix of mob justice, a corrupt country sheriff, tabloid headlines, and the deadly family secret that guards the Heckler's true identity. Heckler is the latest mystery from author Dan Barton, himself a veteran of the Hollywood comedy scene. Biff Kincaid was introduced in his debut adventure Killer Material and follow-up novella Dummy.

Danger finds comedian Biff Kincaid once again in this novella set in the high-stakes world of late night talk shows. For years Biff's friend Lonnie Udall has been the sidekick to Doug Easton, host of Last Laughs, television's top-rated late night talk show. When Biff accepts a gig as Lonnie's opening act at a Palm Springs casino, he thinks he's in for a lucrative week of sold-out stand-up shows. The first night goes well, but the next morning Lonnie is nowhere to be found. Desperate to find his missing second banana before he has to tape the next episode of Last Laughs that night, Doug turns to Biff for help. With only a few hours until airtime, Biff has to find Lonnie and deliver him back to Hollywood. Biff knows there's a secret reason Lonnie's gone AWOL, and uncovering it could lead to curtains for Lonnie's career-and Biff's life! From the author of KILLER MATERIAL, HECKLER, and DUMMY.