Product Description

His name is Jack. And hes a nineteenth-century serial killer. But this Jack doesnt riphe thwacks. Jack the Jolly Thwacker is how hes known to history. Set in New York City in 1882, the story hilariously chronicles the adventures of police chief Caleb Spencer and his two cohorts, Evening Post reporter Liz Smith, and mayor Teddy Roosevelt, as they unravel the mystery of the worlds first (and most bizarre) serial killer. The elusive Thwacker dresses his victims in outlandish costumes, leaves behind taunting poetry, and leads the authorities on a wild chase through New York streets and scenes (complete with gas- powered wooden cell phones, carriages, gaslights, and Original Rays Pizzeria). Hot on the killers trail is, in a bizarre twist, Chris Elliott himself. Using historical records, he finds increasingly curious evidence that the killer might well be from the twentieth century. These investigations draw him literally into the case, as, in true Chris Elliott fashion, actual time travel comes into play.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #471961 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-05
• Released on: 2005-10-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The book debut from the Get a Life and Cabin Boy star is billed as a parody, but this murder mystery wrapped in laughter is simply straight-up enjoyable. Jack the Jolly Thwacker is leaving dead bodies all over 1882 New York City. Chris Elliott, a modern-day researcher, is tracking the serial killer through time. Elliott's wry humor fastens on the burgeoning, Boss Tweedified city, giving it a hilarious and vividly imagined set of anachronistic technologies and accoutrements (New York's Mayor Teddy Roosevelt, who has mysteriously disappeared, has a navel piercing). The narrative leaps back and forth in time, as 1882 police chief Caleb Spencer chases the Thwacker through the streets, and Elliott, convinced the killer is from the 21st century, chases him through time. Elliott's ability to time travel is facilitated by Yoko Ono (don't ask) and a willing suspension of disbelief, but the results are very amusing (if often infantile in the style of There's Something About Mary), with asides on every page that bring in everyone and everything from Typhoid Mary to Skyy Vodka. If Shroud feels like an extended, Americanized Monty Python skit, it's also a rousing good yarn.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Elliott is best known for his madcap appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and his small but juicy roles in such films as Groundhog Day. In his debut as a novelist, his veteran comedy-writer's skills come to the fore in a wacky murder mystery that sends up best-selling thrillers such as The Alienist and The Da Vinci Code. With all of New York City, circa 1882, as his playground, Jack the Jolly Thwacker is a demented serial killer with equally demented tactics. He dresses his victims in bizarre clothing and leaves behind poems taunting his pursuers. Hot on his trail are the city's police chief, an Evening Post reporter, and mayor Teddy Roosevelt, who actually was police commissioner then. Somehow, after blundering into a time machine while researching the unsolved mystery, Elliott himself gets entangled in the chase, and the real identity of the Thwacker is revealed. The time-travel element nudges Elliott's spoof into sf, but that doesn't mean fans of historical crime fiction won't get their kicks. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A demented spoof." -- The New York Post

"A rousing good yarn." -- Publishers Weekly

"Relentlessly silly." -- The Washington Post

Customer Reviews

Chris Elliott
I don't enjoy or fancy any celebrity writing bio's about themselves or how they DO IT, so you should too books...Give me a break! If you're looking for something ridiculous, this is for you. The fact that it's written by a infamous comic and it's a work of fiction, I had to read it. I admit I only read it 'cause it was by a celebrity. But I'll take a piece of their twisted imagination over I'm such a wonderful person cause I'm famous any day!
:)

Bad, bad,bad...
Ok, so maybe I am a purist when it comes to books. I actually bought this book after hearing it recommended on the Bob & Tom radio show one morning. And I do think Chris Elliot is hilarious--I really enjoyed Cabin Boy and Get a Life.
This book has a lame plot, no character development whatsoever, and frankly, the same dirty jokes get really old when they're reused every few pages. Comparing this to Monty Python is a travesty--I've read Eric Idle's books, and while they aren't Nobel winners, they're better than this.
I can usually become absorbed in a book rather quickly, even if it is so-so; I literally had to force myself to read it. (I rather regret that now, in hindsight, but I figured I had spent the money....) I would pick it up the next time not remembering what happened because the characters were so disengaging and lame, then have to skim the past few pages to try to get back into the story.
Unless you want inane drivel and are entertained by it, don't read this. Or at least pick it up secondhand, that way the investment won't be so great. In short, the biggest piece of literary excrement that I have ever had the misfortune to read.

A must for people who do not sit on upright corn cobs!!!
I've always been a Chris Elliott fan, and this book does not disappoint! As I was reading, I could almost hear Chris narrating the book. I laughed out loud so many times that my wife would call into the room and ask what show I was watching. His account of Teddy Roosevelt was hysterical!

I read some of the negative reviews, and it seems as if they were expecting a James Patterson or Michael Crichton novel. I sincerely wonder about these people who do not know how to have fun or enjoy a laugh at a wonderfully written book full of absurdities but backed up by a complicated plot.

5 stars for a fan of comedy. 0 stars if you do not have a pulse.