A Death in the Hamptons

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: A Death in The Hamptons is a ribald yet poignant drama starring a cast of characters seemingly cut from the recent pages of today's tabloids and set in one of the most glamorous resort destinations in America.

From a big name movie star (guess who????) who figures into the murder of another actor, to the sniping self-centered gossip columnist (hmmm, I wonder.....), the book is filled with a cornicopia of personalities which are so close to the truth it is chilling.

I promise you it will not disappoint even the toughest skinned readers.

The book moves at a fast pace through to a taught climax and death struggle on the high seas where good and evil play each other out amid the swells and sharks.

A Death in the Hamptons is brash, bold and unforgiving in style, while retaining a genuineness and sensitivity that is truly unique. Matt Bloom is a major talent whose star is on the rise.

Rating:
Summary: Weekend Companion
Review: A taut - sexy - vivid - yarn - of death by beheading - decadence - deceit - debauchery - set against the opulent backdrop of New York City's summer playground - Bloom's mix of grit and gloss keeps the pages turning - Death in The Hamptons - perfect summer far - a must chaise lounge or beach chair companion - read it with a drink in your hand -

Rating:
Summary: Not Only A Great Beach Read!
Review: I just finished reading A Death In The Hamptons by Matt Bloom, and thought it was an excellent book. It was extremely funny and it pulled no punches in poking fun at the Hamptons. I've been there several times before and thought Mr. Bloom paints the scene, the landscape and the characters out there quite vividly. Although there is a murder, A Death In The Hamptons is more of a satire than a mystery. It's the best book I've read all summer and highly recommend it if your on the beach or on the couch.

Rating:
Summary: Take it to the beach--if you dare
Review: I loved this book because it was very dark but at the same time hilarious! The main character is very likable and the minor characters are hysterical. I read it right after I got back from going to the Hamptons for the first time and even though it was completely exaggerated I have to say I thought it was pretty bang-on about a lot of stuff--I think I even met a few of those characters while I was out there! The giant, tacky houses, the manicures and lapdogs, and the constant gossip about who bought what boat or who lives in what house are all spoofed perfectly. It's all magnified a hundred times in this book, which is what makes it so fun to read. It's also got a really juicy plot! So even while you're laughing your...you're sort of drawn into this creepy/glamorous world of debauchery and life in the fast lane, and you really care about what happens to Andrew. I have to say I loved it and I'm recommending it to all my friends. I can't think of a book I've read with more fun per page than this book.

Rating:
Summary: Blue Collar Guy Caught in Rich World
Review: In his new novel, Matt Bloom shows, once again, his enormous skill at portraying likable, well meaning, blue collar guys struggling with tough life choices. Andrew is a fisherman who falls in with the rich and famous when he is befriended by Jack, movie star and consummate jerk. Bloom portrays the richer residents of the Hampton scene with comic contempt (the gossip columnist who talks to her dog, calling herself "Mommy Goddess")and his book skillfully dramatizes the gaping divide between the haves and the have nots. Bloom writes in a straight-forward, readable, yet highly intelligent prose style (no pretentious sentences here) that is a delight to read. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Take it to the beach--if you dare
Review: Matt Bloom's book is a terrific page-turner about a stand-up guy among the East End's dissolute in-crowd. All the Hamptons' rogues are in this gallery: the egomanical movie star, the callow personal trainer, the avaricious art dealer, the hateful gossip columist, the vacuous super-model. And then there's the hero, Andrew Kane, a struggling fisherman haunted by a grisly discovery that drags him off the wharves and into the limelight. Bloom has a rare talent for the morality tale--a toss-up between stark portraiture and larger-than-life satire. I can't wait to see where he goes after Death in the Hamptons.

Rating:
Summary: A Death In Babylon
Review: Once again, this isn't the Hamptons -
Mr. Bloom, who I met at a recent reading and book signing at East Hampton's BookHampton admits that he intended the novel to be more "satirical black comedy than mystery." While those were reassuring words, the publishers intentionally didn't market this book as a "SpoofHampton" novel. So the reader is left lingering somewhere in between, as the dialogue is way too corny and amateurish to support a serious murder mystery plot, yet not in any way humorous enough to be touted as satire.

To the folks that know nothing about the Hamptons but what they read in the tabloids or see in self-proclaimed Hamptons documentaries, it's embarrassing. The message is loud and clear: Once again, we live amongst a superficial backdrop dominated by the self-indulgent, unscrupulous and morally bankrupt rich�.leaving any reader familiar with the "real Hamptons" feeling cheated and desperately in need of a shower.

Rating:
Summary: hitting on the hamptons
Review: This is a breezy, entertaining, funny book with a serious subtext. Set against the natural beauty of the Hamptons, Bloom's witty portrait of the indulgent summer scene, told through the story of a Montauk fisherman-turned-movie star, skewers everyone from nouveaux riches developers, movie moguls, rap stars, gossip columnists, and unctuous maitre de's while also telling a poignant prodigal-son type tale of self-discovery.
It's neither pure mystery nor pure satire but an original and compelling synthesis that deftly straddles multiple genres -- all the better to convey the clash of the sublime and the ridiculous that has come to characterize the Hamptons. This isn't everyone's Hampton's, but regular tabloid readers will readily recognize many of the larger-than-life characters that people this book. It should be noted, though, that Bloom builds the book around the regulars, the weather-beaten fishermen whose rugged labor puts the food on the tables of the fancy restaurants catering to the Upper East Side set.

In tight, readable prose, and sharp dialogue, it's all here. With this book, Matt Bloom establishes himself as a thoughful and incisive social critic who, one hopes, has just begun to sharpen his knives.