Fist I will begin with a description from Marshall Karp's website.  This is the intriguing blurb he has on www.lomaxandbiggs.com about his debut novel, The Rabbit Factory.

Welcome to Lamaar Studios. Once a small Southern California animation house, it has grown into an entertainment conglomerate encompassing movies, television, music, video games, and a sprawling theme park called Familyland.

When an actor portraying Familyland's beloved mascot, Rambunctious Rabbit, is brutally murdered on park grounds, Lamaar executives fear that their idyllic image of '50s America will be shattered. Feeling pressure from the studio, LAPD Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs must conduct their investigation while avoiding the public eye.

But as more murders are committed, Lomax and Biggs uncover a sinister plot.

Someone has a vendetta against Lamaar, a vendetta worth killing for. With the media closing in and political pressure mounting, the partners must race to discover the Lamaar-hating madman before he brings the family entertainment giant to its knees.

Since, I have never done a review before, I don't know if this is allowed or not.  If not and you are looking Mr. Karp, please forgive me.

On to the review.....

I waited weeks to get this book.  It was so worth the wait.  This involved a lot of firsts for me.  The first time I ordered at Amazon, the first time I have been drawn into way more of Mr. Karp's network (I will give you some great blogs to follow soon) than I am sure he appreciates, the first time I have followed a blog tour, the first time I have uhhmm, cyper-stalked an author, the first time I have won a signed hardcover first edition of a book.

Opps, got side tracked, again.  Typical me.

The Rabbit Factory was wonderful.  I stayed up all night reading this book.  It arrived on a Friday night and that was perfect timing.  I could not put it down.  I ate one-handed, I ignored the phone, hubby, and kids.  I ummm even carried it around the house.  You know what I mean.  If this were an episode of Sienfeld, I would not be allowed to return the book.  (blushing furiously)

Karp's writing style reminds me of Patterson and Evanovich tied together nicely with his own brand of twist tie.  The similarities to Patterson (his friend and cheerleader) are in his short, fast-paced chapters.  I think the guys do it this way for the ADD in all of us.  He has the laugh out loud quality of Evanovich.  There were times I laughed 'til I cried.  I had the bed to myself the night I read this, thanks to all the guffaws and snorts.  Then there is Karp himself, in touch with the characters and making the unbelievable somehow believable and it seemed to take little convincing to tie it all together.  Sure hope he gets that brand of twist tie pattened.

I will never ever look at a costumed character the same again.  I will have tight reign on my kids at all amusement parks, carnivals, pizza parlors, etc.  Karp does an extremely scary and excellent job in getting into the psyche of some very scary and repulsive characters.

There are more twists and turns than a Californaial Coastal Hwy.  But somehow, Karp pulls them off.  The unexpected and cliched somehow seems fresh, believable, and workable throuhgout the plot.

The relationship between Lomax and Biggs is hilarious, quircky, and endearing.  Often times, I thought of them more as brothers rather than partners.  The supporting characters are strong and lifelike.  I want my own Big Jim.

So, my final word is even if you are not an avid reader pick up this book.  It might seem heavy enough to lift with, but it is a fast-paced enjoyable read.

So, now that the review is finished I will tell you while cyber stalking Mr. Karp and faithfully following his blog tour, I found all of the blogs that I now visit on a daily if not multi-daily basis.

His friend and adopted son Chris at www.rudecactus.com and Chris' wife Beth at www.sothefishsaid.com

Also, Mr. Karps daughter is hilarious at www.ifthataintcountryillkissyour.blogspot.com
and some random connection to all of these at www.whiskeyinmysippycup.com

This double D strongly encourages you to order the book and set these blogs to your favorites.

BTW, if you know how to spell check these posts.....please let me know.  Thanks for dropping in.