Synopsis

When we last left Murphy Murphy, the Department of Redundancy Department detective had just solved a mystery that revolved around the popular rock band, Serious Crisis. That success made headlines and sent Murphy’s world spinning. Acclaim followed in the form of TV network interviews, a book deal, and ultimately a call from Hollywood.

Now, back in Los Angeles our intrepid detective goes from movie set consultant to crime solving detective with one, out of the blue, phone call. The Commission on Cliches is in crisis and only Murphy Murphy can solve the case. Murder, mayhem, and a motive as old as the hills ensue as redundancies and cliches abound. Can Murphy crack the case? Only time will tell.

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Praise Murphy Murphy and the Case of the Commission on Cliches by Keith Hirshland

“Murphy Murphy and the Case of the Commission on Cliches by Keith Hirshland is another grand adventure for fans of this detective. Filled with intrigue and humor, readers get the best mystery from this talented writer. If you love mystery, music, and drama, then this is for you! Think of Pink Panther and Anthony Horowitz’s novels had a baby…this book would be it. It keeps you glued into the story, wondering what’s next. The suspense of what the characters will do or say is the key that keeps me coming back for more. Keith Hirshland is also gifted in not only wonderful characterization but also in dialogue. Just like the keyword in the title of this read, readers will find popular cliches inside that will make them laugh. Detective Murphy Murphy will win me over every time. Quirky, clever, and hilarious Murphy Murphy and the Case of the Commission on Cliches is a must read for all.”- Danielle Urban

Excerpt

The gate to the elephant exhibit was unlocked as promised. A-OK wasn’t sure if that meant his adversary had arrived before him or just arranged earlier in the day for the coast to be clear. Not caring he stepped into the area and stopped. His rather pronounced proboscis was assaulted by smells of grass, dirt, and a musty scent which he assumed came from piles of elephant dung which he noticed. He made a mental note not to step in any of them. He also was sure he got a faint whiff of honey in the air. Katterwomp was slightly surprised he found none of it unpleasant. He avoided the poop and made his way toward a large tree.

“That’s far enough!” a sinister, electronic, voice commanded.

Startled, Katterwomp stopped dead in his tracks. “Roger?”

“Don’t talk!” the voice boomed.

“Why the bag of tricks, old friend?” A-OK asked.

“I said don’t talk!”

“Wait a second, your voice sounds familiar. Are you supposed to be Darth Vader?” Katterwomp couldn’t help but give a little giggle. James had indeed purchased a voice altering mask on the internet to add to the intrigue.

“I guess you’re going to just keep on talking,” James said, “and it’s Kylo Ren, not Darth Vader.”

“In the long run it makes no difference. Now it’s time to fish or cut bait,” Katterwomp raised the briefcase. “I came prepared to offer just compensation. I get my book back, you get the money and a one way ticket out of town. Now, where’s the book?”

“The best laid plans as they say my old friend. I’m not going anywhere. Now, what’s that in your other hand?” the voice of Kylo Ren asked knowing the answer.

“I see you kept your eyes peeled,” A-OK said with a certain amount of appreciation. “It’s just a little insurance.”

“Insurance my foot,” James rasped through the mask. “There’s only one reason a man brings a gun to a book exchange.”

“You’re right, of course,” Katterwomp admitted. “I’ve come to settle old scores.”

“You know you never fooled anyone you dunderhead. You wore your disdain for me and your obsession for Bonnie on your sleeve. But you could never pull that particular rabbit out of your hat because you always had your head in the clouds. So, put that in your pipe and smoke it!”

“You’d know about having your head in the clouds, Roger. You and that silly cloud society. But you’re off base, my Bonnie will see the error of her ways,” Katterwomp countered. “As soon as you’ve met your maker.”

“No. She won’t!” James roared. “Your delusions of grandeur are going in one ear and out the other. They’re nothing but a pipe dream! I intercepted your sophomoric love letters. Bonnie never saw them. She’s head and shoulders above your station. Your chances with her were always as scarce as hen’s teeth.”

“ENOUGH!” the commissioner screamed back. “Your arguments are as dull as dishwater and equally useless.” Katterwomp tried to fight back but James was on a roll.

“Despite never laying eyes on your childish attempts at romance Bonnie knew you were a creep the minute she met you and she still thinks you’re a creep today,” James continued his verbal assault. “She knew what you were up to. We all did.”

Katterwomp didn’t counter the claim this time. His mind raced. Something about what James said made him think. What did he mean ‘we all knew’? he wondered. Why would the man say ‘we all knew’? and not “I knew”, or Bonnie and I knew”? Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning.

©Keith Hirshland

Guest Review by Nora

“He was, as of now, the last in a long line of Murphy Murphy’s. As far back as he could remember, and even further back than that, each male offspring in his Murphy family tree was named Murphy. Every. Single. One. Not the first-born male, every born male.”

Just the thing for a rainy afternoon, ‘Murphy Murphy And The Case Of The Commission On Cliches,’ is a riotous mystery surrounding a missing person and a sacred text that he created.

Murphy Murphy hates redundancies. As a man with a repeated name, you would expect that he gets tired of hearing comments about it, but in his world, maybe a strange name is not that unusual. Murphy Murphy works for the Department of Redundancy and he has just completed a case that involved a rock band.

Because that case is now being made into a movie, Murphy is spending a lot of time in Hollywood with his girlfriend, Charlie Carlucci. It is while he is in California that he gets a phone call about a case from a man with the unwieldy name of Adalindis Orval Katterwomp. Katterwomp –whom insists on going by A-OK for short– informs Murphy Murphy that he is in need of his expertise in the area of missing persons. See, A-OK works for The Commission On Cliches, a group that was set up by former president Gerald Ford when he was in office.

The Commission has a sacred text full of every cliché known to man, but, much to A-OK’s horror, the book appears to have been stolen, along with the man who wrote it. Roger James, the writer, has also gone missing.  A-OK is desperate for the safe return of both the man, and the book and asks for Murphy Murphy’s help in getting them back.

I devoured this zany and fun read in one afternoon, and I think any reader will love it!

About the Author

Award-winning author Keith Hirshland is an Emmy Award-winning sports television producer with more than three decades of experience producing shows that aired on ESPN and ESPN2. Among the first forty people to be hired by the Golf Channel in 1994.

Cover Me Boys, I’m Going In: Tales of the Tube from a Broadcast Brat is a memoir about his experiences in the television industry. It was recognized as Book Talk Radio Clubs Memoir of the Year. Big Flies, his first mystery novel, was published in 2016 and is the recipient of the New Apple Awards “Solo Medalist Award. His fourth book was Murphy Murphy and the Case of Serious Crisis, published by Beacon Publishing Group in 2020. Murphy Murphy was named Book Talk Radio Club Book of the Year. Murphy Murphy and the Case of the Commission on Cliches is his sixth book.

​Hirshland lives in Colorado with his wife, Sarah, and their two dogs.

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