Starred review from November 28, 2022
Mallon’s sparkling latest (afterWatergate) draws inspiration from real-life actor Dick Kallman’s career on Broadway and television and his 1980 murder. A pianist named Matt Liannetto, who first met Dick while working on the 1951 Broadway musical Seventeen, provides the narration. Matt had dinner at Dick’s in 1980, the night Dick and his partner, Steven, were killed during a botched robbery. Alternating chapters describe the actor’s career. The “aggressively ingratiating” Dick opens for comic singer Sophie Tucker (who gets in a few good lines); works with Lucille Ball, who has the manipulative and bombastic Dick’s number; and stars in the touring company for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which leads to his ill-fated TV series, Hank. After Seventeen star Kenneth Nelson rejects Dick’s advances, Dick’s decade-long obsession with Kenneth drives the story. Meanwhile, Matt goes to identify a murder suspect in a “vocal lineup,” where he meets and becomes romantically involved with Devin Arroyo, who works with the police. Mallon finds a natural sweetness in his depiction of Matt and Devin’s relationship as the trial and its aftermath unfold—a nice contrast to Dick’s unpleasant story. Peppering the juicy drama of Dick’s ambition and unrequited love with pop cultural references, as well as cameos from Dyan Cannon and Kaye Ballard, Mallon creates a fascinating, page-turning tale. Readers will be swept off their feet. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency.
June 10, 2024
In 1980, former actor Dick Kallman and his boyfriend were murdered during a botched robbery attempt at Kallman's home/antique shop. Lowell Byers immersively narrates Mallon's (Landfall) sensationalized fictional account of Kallman's real life and death. During the 1950s, an ambitious Dick clawed his way to stardom. For every promising theatrical role, there were asinine TV bit parts and sitcoms. He kissed up to those in power and belittled entertainers he believed to be beneath him, including Matt Liannetto, a theatrical pianist who was one of the last to see Dick alive. The audiobook alternates between Dick's past and Matt's present, where he helps with the murder investigation and starts a romance with Devin, a part-time police station clerk. The switch allows Byers to bring out Dick's third-person omniscient smarminess and Matt's wry first-person earnestness. Byers's amusing performance of Dolores Gray, a real-life actress who also didn't become famous, is a hoot. However, Byers's ethnic accents (Chinese, Dominican American, Indigenous) border on stereotypical. Though these moments leave as quickly as they arrive, they may be troubling for some listeners. VERDICT Listeners will delight in hearing Dick schmooze with famous 1950s and 1960s celebrities and enjoy Matt's romance and crime procedural story lines. A treat for book clubs.--Anjelica Rufus-Barnes
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