Big Al Washington, patriarch of a car dealership empire, is dead and his estate is tied up until the killer is found. The characters are all overblown caricatures that you might equally find in an evening soap opera / drama like Dallas or FalconCrest. I shook my head so often at their ridiculous antics that only the incredibly rich and spoiled could ever hope to get away with. As for Big Al himself, he so resembled the flamboyant dealership legend, Cal Worthington (and his dog Spot) that I had to see if this was somehow based on his death and legacy. As far as I could tell, it wasn’t. If you want an over the top story where even the “good” characters are somewhat bad, this is a great escapist read.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s a murder mystery, but in some ways the murder is the least interesting part. The Washington family members are all so inept & ridiculous that I was much more invested in what dumb move they’d make next instead of actually trying to figure out the crime. It’s quirky, but not too quirky & gave me definite Fargo vibes

"Dynasty" set in the near future.

It's 2028. Cars can drive themselves, and Big Al is holding onto the last vestiges of his automobile empire. He's still selling the ones you've got to drive yourself, and he's reticent to embrace the new hip way. Big Al - true to the book's title - dies, and the circumstances are far from straightforward. Which of his money-grubbing relatives could be responsible? Or are they just the unwitting benefactors of circumstance?

Overall, I liked the book. The characters are quirky and the twists are intriguing, sort of in the vein of "Righteous Gemstones." Fun!

I didn't know what to expect from this book, and I have to admit it kept me guessing in the best way. The characters all felt sharp and distinct and necessary. This was a refreshing read for these times.

The debut work by Collin Brantmeyer is a story of the death of a millionaire set in 2028. Told in the perspective of different characters, the plot has suspense and wry humour which I really enjoyed. The prose is easy and though the suspense could be guessed, that doesn't let down the narrative in any way. The nature of the human mind is well brought out. I will be looking forward to future works by this author. A joy to read. 😄

Thank you NetGalley, Collin Brantmeyer and Ready Demolition Books for the ARC of Death Of A Car Salesman
Al Washington was a well-known car salesman and he had decided he wanted to retire after his 47 years in the career. He was well known for his commercials and he was doing his final commercial just before he turned his business over to his grandson. He was so looking forward to his retirement but that was not to be what happened.
He was murdered and now the police had to find out who killed him. This was turning out to be a case that was not going to be easy to solve. He was worth over 200 million dollars and there was a long list of people who wanted his fortune.
This book had everything in it to keep me reading- humor- mystery and a big list of suspects!

Although I did not dislike Death of A Car Salesman, my reaction to it is pretty lukewarm. There is not a single likable character, and for me, that's a flaw. It gets downright tiresome when all you are reading are despicable acts by despicable people. Even the little 5 year old is always crying and screaming. The characters are only fleshed out enough to give them their bad traits. So much more could have been done with Luke. Eve could have been dropped entirely. Some of the despicability is entertaining. Just not enough. And how did things end? Did Larry's scheme carry the day? The author just lets it drop. Did Larry go to jail or did he own the dealership and turn it around? We'll never know absent a sequel, and I don't encourage that.
Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From the beginning when I found out it was set in the year 2028 to the last chapter that took me back through the opening chapter, I loved every small surprise that popped up.
The characters were totally believable and easy to imagine. Even the ones I expected to be flat stereotypes turned out to have an edge that made them less of an archetype.
An amazing mix of mystery, humor, and fantasy, it kept me wrapped up to the last word.

DEATH OF A CAR SALESMAN by Collin Brantmeyer

Al Washington was probably the most well known car dealer in the United States and he was finally going to retire after 47 years in the business. Everyone knew of him, he was the tall thin dude that always wore jeans, western shirt, boots, his 10 gallon hat and made his commercials with his dog Teddy. Now Teddy was never a dog, but was a tiger, rhino, or some other animal. Gee, seems like Teddy should have been named Spot, but I digress.
Anyway, Al was making his last commercial where he was turning the dealership over to his grandson. Al was 85 and looking forward to finally living a little when next thing he knew ...... he was dead.
Turns out that Al was worth about 212 million dollars and was ,.... wait for it, murdered. During a murder the police usually have a hard time finding the culprit but this time there is no shortage.
There is:
* his second wife Kelly
* his current wife Eva and his young daughter Margret
* his grandson Luke
* his daughter and daddy’s girl Courtney
* his finance manager at the dealership, Chad
* disinherited and estranged daughter, Alice
* and his lawyer and right hand man Larry Bridges
and a few others, so this won’t be easy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves a whodunit that is not dark and intense but just keeps you guessing until the very end.

A very interesting read. Told by many of the characters in different chapters. I enjoyed getting to the end though I kind of guessed at the guilty parties mid way through the book. I still recommend this as something very different!

<i>Death of a Car Salesman</i> is part murder mystery and part dysfunctional family scenario. Big Al Washington is a flamboyant eighty-five-year-old car salesman who won’t acknowledge that his time has passed. <i> Death of a Car Salesman </i> is the first novel by Collin Brantmeyer.

Big Al drives up to favorite car dealership just as his grandson is about to film a commercial against Al’s wishes. Al takes a tantrum, fires his grandson, and does the commercial himself. As the camera’s start to role Big Al collapses and dies. Al’s favoured lawyer, Larry, takes over and reads a surprising will to the family. The one proviso in the will is that nothing will be distributed until Big Al’s murderer is found. Thus begins a struggle between the two daughters, the grandson, the ex-wives and the lawyer. Who did it and why?

The character development is excellent. Big Al is bigger than life, or at least he thinks he is. The author does a great job of slowly revealing who Big Al really is and why the family is so dysfunctional. The same can be said for all of the characters. The reader slowly understands why the characters behave as they do. Brantmeyer has a great style for character development.

Unfortunately, I don’t not find the story very interesting. The family is definitely dysfunctional but the reader is not held captive by their story. The murder mystery exists but the reveal is so late it’s almost part of a different story. I feel there are too many unrelated mini-stories going on to make the book interesting.

I recommend this book who are interested in unique characters but it is not for those who enjoy a spellbinding story. I give it a 3 on 5. I want to thank NetGalley and Ready Demolition Books for providing me with a digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.