Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers’ Favorite

Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May is a fun murder mystery. Alan Benning has been arrested for the murder of his billionaire boss, Barron Fisk. There’s plenty of evidence, and it’s all pointing straight at Alan. Except he didn’t do it, much as he might have wanted to, and it’s down to him to clear his own name. The problem is, he’s not the only one who might have wanted Fisk dead, and Alan has to work his way through a very long list of potential suspects. When he’s offered help from an ex-colleague, he jumps on it, but they’ve got their work cut out for them. If they can’t solve this quickly, Alan will go down for a murder he most certainly didn’t commit. The truth, though, is far more shocking, and it will change everything. Who killed Barron Fisk, and why did they frame Alan?

Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May is one of the funniest murder mysteries I’ve ever read. It’s set slightly in the future, in a time when AI surrounds us, and it’s packed with sharp humor and delightful sarcasm that will have you in stitches. It is incredibly well-written with amazing characters, developed in such a way that you’ll feel like old friends, and you’ll find them very easy to relate to – you may even see yourself in there somewhere. May has definitely got a way with words, and his descriptive prose will draw you right in. There’s plenty of action, right from the first page, lots of twists and turns, and you’ll be 100% invested in getting to the truth of the matter. If you love a murder mystery with a difference, this is one book you’ll want to read.

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers’ Favorite

Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May is a murder mystery that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the end. The story follows Alan Benning, a regular employee who hates his tech billionaire boss, Barron Fisk. Alan’s life spirals out of control when his powerful and infuriating boss is found dead in his luxurious office. To make matters worse, all the evidence points directly to Alan as the prime suspect. In a desperate race to prove his innocence, he dives deep into the cutthroat world of big tech, uncovering a tangled web of greed, secrets, and betrayal. With a long list of people who had reason to kill Fisk, Alan must somehow find the truth before time runs out. Or else, he will take the fall for a murder he didn’t commit.

Tucker May makes sure readers get to enjoy an honest-to-goodness murder mystery, keeping them entertained for hours. I don’t remember the last time I read a proper murder mystery. I loved Alan and his charming yet slightly erratic personality. He was endearing, yet very sharp at the same time. Sure, I wanted to shout at him at times, but that just made him more relatable. The author does an excellent job of creating a story that feels both thrilling and believable. I loved the narrative style, the pace, the wit, and the traces of humor in the plot. There was never a dull moment in the story; every chapter made it more interesting and entertaining for me. To say that I loved Death of a Billionaire would be an understatement.

Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers’ Favorite

Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May is a murder mystery that will also amuse, due to the author’s unique writing style. When Alan Benning, a mild-mannered financial expert, is accused of murdering his mega-wealthy tech-billionaire boss, Barron Fisk, his life quickly begins to fall apart. With an incredible amount of physical evidence pointing directly at Alan being the perpetrator of this heinous crime, it seems inevitable that he will spend the rest of his natural life in jail. There is only one problem, though; Alan did not murder Barron Fisk. He couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone pull the trigger of a gun and blow his boss away. There is only one way for Alan to escape the inevitable, and that is to find out who actually did kill Barron Fisk – but how? With the help of Fisk’s personal assistant, Sharla Johnson, Alan must wade into the high-flying world of tech-billionaires and the mega-wealthy to discover who might have committed the crime. The pair find no shortage of suspects and people who would have loved to have seen the back of Barron Fisk, but which one actually did it? The answer will shock, surprise, and possibly even delight readers.

Death of a Billionaire is a delightful read, full of twists, turns, and clever writing. Tucker May’s tongue-in-cheek style of writing gave the story a comedic turn on top of the murder mystery that lifts it above the usual genre plots. I particularly appreciated the sharply developed and delineated character development of the two main protagonists. Alan was the perfect, mild-mannered accountant who had to dig deep to find even a smidgen of courage to get out there and clear his name. Sharla was besotted with her boss and determined to uncover the true miscreant. That the author managed to create such depth of character is a tribute to his writing ability. I appreciated the narrator's asides in the story, which break up the intensity and allow the reader to gently chuckle at the sometimes inane circumstances. The story was well plotted and, of course, the conclusion was both surprising and immensely satisfying. I enjoy an author who doesn’t take his work too seriously, and this story has a ring of gentle farce that I adored. This is definitely a little different from your average murder mystery, but, in my opinion, it is all the better for that difference. I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it.

Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers’ Favorite

There are suspects aplenty in Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May. The richest man in the world, Barron Fisk, is found lying in a pool of blood in his office, and the main suspect is Alan Benning, whom everyone agrees would not have the courage to squash a spider. The detectives on the case are at first unwilling to consider anyone else, but as more facts come to light, even they begin to wonder. The evidence is damning: an employee who disagreed with his boss, a shoe print belonging to him, his fingerprint on the gun registered in his name, and camera footage taken minutes before. It is not the usual perfect murder. To clear his name, Alan and his colleague work against the clock to find the real culprit. As they enter the world of the super-rich, there are more startling surprises in store.

What a great book! Tucker May introduces the reader to a narrator who has a very unpolitically correct view of the world. He despises the poor, sees them as lazy failures, and his words of wisdom made me laugh out loud. What an amazing cast of characters, from the second-richest man in the world feeding his pet sharks to the late boss’s drunken wife, who may have killed her first husband. There is the wimpy hero who runs at the first sign of danger, the suspect doctor, and the clueless detective, among others. It was difficult not to giggle as I turned the pages, but I did not see the end coming at all and was taken aback at the final resolution. Set in 2028, we are introduced to autocopters, self-driving cars, and even the all-powerful ePhone. We are also treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the houses inhabited by the super-rich, and how they entertain themselves. What a delightful book! A joy to read, beautifully written, and not for one moment did I stop reading. For me, that is the sign of a good book.

Reviewed by Olga Markova for Readers’ Favorite

Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May is a marvelous cozy crime mystery. It is June 8, 2028, in Silicon Valley. The world’s richest person, tech mogul Barron Aloysius Fisk, is shot dead in his office. Detectives Tanner and Reyes discover evidence pointing to Alan Benning, the Chief Financial Officer of Fisk Enterprises. In addition to the clues found on the crime scene, the standoff between Fisk and Benning was a well-known public feud. Barron Fisk wanted to acquire the virtual reality startup VigRig to complete Fiskiverse, his grand virtual reality project. Alan Benning objected to the acquisition as financially imprudent, and Fisk subjected him to widely publicized derogatory comments. Alan Benning denies the accusations. But then, who killed Barron Fisk?

Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie can step aside, as Tucker May’s Death of a Billionaire is here to steal the crime fiction scene! It was a delightful treat for me, a crime mystery fan. Twisty, fast-moving, and unpredictable, this is entertainment at its best. Every scene and chapter brought surprises. I also liked the lightly-pitched characters—they were just elaborate enough to be relatable and fitted perfectly into the story’s dynamics. The humorous banter between the detectives momentarily offset the tension, only to lead to a new breathtaking discovery. But what made this story stand out for me was the plentiful food for thought it offered about the perks and perils of emerging technologies. If you like cozy crime mysteries, you will love this story!"