A Wickedly Funny Murder in the Big House

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Dead Famous by Ben Elton is one of those books that takes a little while to find its rhythm. The opening feels like you’ve been dropped straight into an episode of Big Brother — full of big personalities, forced banter, and that strange mix of boredom and spectacle that reality TV does so well. It’s a slow start, and at first, I wasn’t sure if the satire would outstay its welcome. But once the murder happens, everything tightens. The mystery sinks its hooks in, and before you know it, you’re just as obsessed as the fictional viewers glued to their screens.

I’ll admit, I kind of figured out where things were heading about halfway through (the clues are there if you’re paying attention) but that didn’t take away from the fun. There are enough twists, turns, and little red herrings to make you second-guess yourself constantly. Elton’s clearly having a blast toying with both the reader and the genre, poking fun at our obsession with fame while still delivering a genuinely clever whodunit. And when the ending finally lands, it’s a great payoff — satisfying, darkly funny, and a little sharper than you might expect from something that starts like a TV satire.

The humour throughout is “wicked”, proper Elton at his best, full of bite, cynicism, and sharp observation. He skewers the absurdity of modern celebrity culture without ever losing sight of the fact that it’s supposed to be entertaining. That said, some of the dialogue grated on me after a while. It’s exaggerated and a bit repetitive in places, but honestly, I suspect that’s intentional. These characters are designed to be irritating, shallow, and overexposed, like the worst reality TV contestants, so it kind of works, even if you want to roll your eyes at them occasionally.

Overall, Dead Famous is a funny, twisted, and surprisingly layered crime novel hidden under a reality TV parody. It’s not perfect, but it’s clever enough and entertaining enough to make the slow start more than worth it. By the end, you’ll feel like you’ve been through one of those ridiculous televised eliminations — only with a lot more blood and far better writing.