THE RABBIT FACTORY

Welcome to Lamaar Studios. Once a small 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 public image 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.

Singing the praises, on occasion, is the reviewer’s happy lot and, on this occasion, the praise comes from the heart. The Rabbit Factory is stunning. From first line to last, Marshall Karp has created a world that the reader plummets into, head over heels, and without wishing to stop.

With Lomax, Biggs, Big Jim, Joanie, Diana and even Andre the dog, Karp has created characters so “normal” and so real their rounded, well-adjusted “ordinary-ness” acts like a splash of cold water on a hot day.  Just two regular guys dedicated to what they do as best as they possibly can.  Yes they have problems, but the difference with Lomax, Biggs and the rest is that though their personal dilemmas might be of the everyday variety, it doesn’t make them any less compelling to read. With enough pace to drive an executive jet, enough poignancy to satisfy Danielle Steele and enough acerbic wit and humour to keep even the biggest Jon Stewart fan happy, The Rabbit Factory covers all the bases.

Margaret Murphy

Eddie Elkins is not a happy bunny. He should be ecstatic. As a sleaze with a penchant for little kids, he’s the eight-foot furball all the children come running to when they visit Lamaar Studios. For a guy like Eddie this is a plum job – in the guise of Rambunctious Rabbit, the icon and emblem of the firm – he’s been given a licence to perv. But someone is out to destroy Lamaar and all it has come to represent, and Eddie is first on their list.

Not too many tears are shed for Eddie’s passing, but the next victim is not so easy to discount. Or the next.

The Rabbit Factory introduces Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs, an engaging and likeable duo who complement each other in style and approach. Ordinary men with ordinary problems – not counting the brother with a contract out on him.

As the murders escalate, there are plenty of suspects, and some cheeky parallels are drawn between Lamaar and other entertainment conglomerates, which all adds to the fun. The Rabbit Factory isn’t out to make a political point – its purpose is to entertain. And that’s just what it does, from start to finish. It’s funny and fast, but with some poignant moments woven deftly into the furious pace. This is Marshall Karp’s first novel – though he has been a writer all his life. Commercials, TV sitcoms, a play, and a movie. A long apprenticeship, but one that shows in the quality of the writing.

This is a sure-fire winner.