The Man Who Died Laughing — David Handler

THIS PEN FOR HIRE.
Once, Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag was the toast of the publishing world and husband of luscious Broadway beauty Merilee Nash. But fame and fortune left him as swiftly and surely as Merilee. Now Hoagy ekes out a living as a ghostwriter of celebrity memoirs and reluctant amateur detective, aided by his cat-food-eating basset hound named Lulu.

This comic used to knock ‘em dead. Now, someone wants to return the favor.

Hoagy and Lulu find themselves in Hollywood, where Hoagy will be ghosting the memoirs of has-been funnyman Sonny Day. Sonny is the man who put the "ick" into "shtick." Sonny made silver screen history as half of Knight and Day, the comedy team who kept the '50s laughing. Now, Knight and Day are history and volatile Sonny is determined to get back into the limelight. He hopes his fiery, tell-all bio will do the trick, and he's counting on Hoagy for some pithy prose. But out there in La-La Land is someone who wants to kill the book, along with Sonny. And when the murderer finally strikes, the corpse points straight to Hoagy. Suddenly ghostwriting isn't a living -- it could get Hoagy killed.