Columbo: The Game Show Killer

William Harrington's compelling new novel in the successful Columbo series, The Game Show Killer, pits the famous TV detective against one of the most brilliant and flamboyant lawyers in the country.Realizing that an acquitted celebrity, even a minor one, can be worth millions, high-powered LA defense attorney Grant Kellogg decides to create his own.He enlists Erika Bjorling, who was the co-host or "squealer" for "Try It Once," a popular prime-time game show that ran for nineteen years. Since the show's recent cancellation her career has been in a tailspin. If she can survive a few months in jail, Kellogg guarantees Bjorling an acquittal and enough money for both of them to retire in luxury. When she finds out who the victim will be, she readily agrees to the plan.Legendary film star Tim Wylie has a sterling public image and millions of adoring fans. Privately, though, he has seduced hundreds of hopeful young actresses, including Erika Bjorling. Twenty years ago, she had fallen in love with Wylie and had his child. On learning of her pregnancy, Wylie dumped Bjorling - something for which she has never forgiven him.Enter the famous Lieutenant Columbo, with his cigars and wrinkled raincoat, asking, "Who got dead?" Wylie's bullet-ridden body on the floor and the missing paintings point to a simple robbery. But as Columbo begins the methodically slow investigation he's noted for, he finds the parts of this case fit together too neatly, almost seamlessly. It seems like the perfect murder, but if there's the tiniest flaw, the tenacious Columbo will find it.