The Star Witness

Description

From comedy legend Andy Hamilton comes this consistently hilarious and brilliant debut novel bursting with satire, wit and even a little heart. Kevin Carver is a household name. A popular TV soap star, he's coasting through life in the same semi-detached, slightly smug way he's always done. But when he dumps his much-too-young-for-him girlfriend in the same callous way he's come to treat those around him, he makes the first in a series of mistakes. One poor decision leads to another and, as Kevin wades deeper into a moral grey area, things go from bad to very much worse. The national treasure finds himself the subject of vitriolic press attacks, a police investigation, and so much public loathing he begins to wonder if he has any chance of receiving justice. As the line blurs between his own life and that of the character he plays on TV, Kevin must face the consequences of his actions if he is ever to right his sinking ship. The Star Witness is the story of one self-regarding man's descent into disgrace and his journey back to join the human race. A pin-sharp satire on the shallows of modern media culture and the dysfunctional relationship we all have with the idea of `celebrity', it will keep you laughing, cringing and guessing until the very last page.

Andy Hamilton is a comedy scriptwriter and performer. He regularly appears on QI and Have I Got News for You. His writing credits include Outnumbered, Drop the Dead Donkey, Not the Nine O'Clock News, Trevor's World of Sport, What We Did on Our Holiday and many others. He plays Satan in the Radio 4 comedy Old Harry's Game, which he also writes.

"Like its author, this book is funny, poignant and too short." -- Jack Dee "A story that gets darker and more gripping with every page. This book should be issued free on the NHS to anyone who claims they want to live a `celebrity lifestyle'." -- Sandi Toksvig "The story unfolds with a brisk inevitability, but what I liked most was the steady moral good sense at the heart of it: an unusual and attractive quality." -- Philip Pullman "Dark twists, murky turns and laughs throughout." -- Alan Davies "A funny but salutary romp that will have every TV celeb squirming with embarrassment." -- Tony Robinson