Two Bloggers One Books 2019 - Who Killed the Fonz?

So it's no secret Stormi and I liked reading the same books.  Heck we are now doing two buddy reads each month and truth be told, there have been months where we've actually read some of the same books unplanned.  She's always enabling me and vice versa.  So we knew from the beginning we would end up reading this month's book together, it was just a matter of waiting until it closer to publication.  So continue on to see my thoughts on this month's selection and then head over  to Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and see what Stormi thought.

TITLE: Who Killed the Fonz?

AUTHOR: James Boice

PUBLISHER: Simon Schuster

PUBLISHING DATE: February 19, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: Late October, 1984. Prince and Bruce are dominating FM radio. Ron and Nancy are headed back to the White House. Crockett and Tubbs are leading men everywhere to embrace pastels. And Richard Cunningham? Well, Richard Cunningham is having a really bad Sunday. First, there’s the meeting with his agent. A decade ago, the forty-something Cunningham was one of Hollywood’s hottest screenwriters. But Tinseltown is no longer interested in his artsy, introspective scripts. They want Terminator cyborgs and exploding Stay Puft Marshmallow men. If he isn’t interested in that sort of thing, his agent tells him, he’s gonna have to find new representation. Then later that same day he gets a phone call with even worse news. His best friend from childhood back in Milwaukee, back when everyone called him Richie, is dead. Arthur Fonzarelli. The Fonz. Lost control of his motorcycle while crossing a bridge and plummeted into the water below. Two days of searching and still no body, no trace of his trademark leather jacket. Richard flies back for the memorial service, only to discover that Fonzie’s death was no accident—it was murder. With the help of his old pals Ralph Malph and Potsie Weber, he sets out to catch the killer. Who it turns out to be is shocking. So is the story’s final twist. Who Killed The Fonz? imagines what happened to the characters of the legendary TV series Happy Days twenty years after the show left off. And while much has changed in the interim—goodbye drive-in movie theaters, hello VCRs—the story centers around the same timeless themes as the show: the meaning of family. The significance of friendship. The importance of community.

MY THOUGHTS: I had such high hopes for this read and while it didn't really disappoint me, it wasn't exactly everything I wanted either.  Richard (don't call me Richie) Cunningham is living in California with his family and is trying once again to write and direct a critically acclaimed film.  Despite having previous success, he is currently struggling when he returns home one day to discover his childhood best friend, the Fonz, has died.  Richard returns to Milwaukee for the funeral and once he arrives, he starts questioning if Fonz's death was actually an accident.  So he, Ralph Malph and Potsie team up to find out what really happened.  

Let's get the main issue out of the way so I can gush about the rest.   Overall, I felt "Who Killed the Fonz" had a pretty weak mystery.  In fact, it was almost downright predictable.  And while there were a couple of twists thrown in for good measure, one I guessed before I even cracked the spine (or in my case, turned on the Kindle).  That being said, this books was crammed full of nostalgia and 80's references.  There were numerous pop culture references and considering I grew up watching Happy Days (and may have even had a crush on Fonzie for awhile) there were some aspects I had a blast reading.   I was sorry that Pinky Tuscadero was never mentioned those because I ALWAYS wanted to be Pinky.

So if you are looking for a wonderful mystery, then you're expectations may be a tad high.  However, if you are looking for nostalgia and pop culture references, then you can't go wrong with "Who Killed the Fonz." 

MY RATING: 3 PAWS