Hey Kiddos!!! Guess what time it is?!?!? Thaaat’s right! It’s time for The Orzo the Clown Show! Now I know we have some real good stuff in store for you kiddies so just sit back and enjoy Orzo and his sidekick Dumpy Dan as they clown around and make you pee your pants! That’s right kids, and if you don’t pee your pants from laughter, then possibly from something more sinister cause good old Uncle Orzo loves his little fans in a very unconventional way…especially the boys. Oh yes, Uncle Orzo will show a little boy the time of his life he’s not soon to forget. If you are one of the lucky little bastards that gets a personal invitation into his home, then you must be something special…to make it out alive, you become a thing of legends.
Such is the case with Michael Talbot, a struggling musician in a band with a decent cult followin, a girlfriend who stands by his side, a couple of decent guys to call friends and a dark past that he’s tried to forget but won’t seem to forget him. You see, Michael is little Mikey, the seven year old little boy found in Reginald Bent’s basement aka Orzo the Clown. Imagine being kidnapped by your childhood entertainer/hero, shackeled up in his basement while he did god knows what to you….not an ever that is easily forgotten. The best Michael can do is suppress it as deep as he can and hope that nobody makes the connection to him being that little boy, the only survivor of Orzo’s sick acts.
Michael’s world is shaken to its core when he realizes that the Orzo the Clown Show is going to be re-released on DVD by Dumpy Dan’s son, Dan Prescott Jr. The announcement is made by Monty Reigns, the host of Late Talk. When he implores his viewers to find out the name of the little boy that was rescued from Orzo’s home, Michael realizes he’s in some real shit.
The re-release of the show sets into place a series of events that sends Michael on a desperate mission to cover up his past while being confronted with his demons. Once his identity is revealed, all hell breaks loose, and Michael must maintain his innocence as more and more people turn up dead. With the body count rising fast and crazed obsessed Orzo the Clown fans running around, the authorities our faced with what they believe to be a copycat killer…or is it Orzo, back to finish what he started with Little Mikey….
Greasepaint was a quick read and pretty formulaic in the Who Done It? sort of way. I loved the kills, they were entertaining and I really liked Michael as a character. The Epilogue in the emergency room flowed nicely and even the reveal of the murderer was a good classic reveal. Right now Greasepaint is only available through kindle, but it’s worth the download.
David C. Hayes is always a joy to read. I recently read CHERUB from him and my review on that pretty much sums up my feels for this man’s work. Hayes puts a lot of feeling and emotion into his work and it’s felt through the pages. He goes from writing a seriously heart breaking bizarro book like Cherub to a hilarious slapstick bizarro team up with Mark Scioneaux with, Die You Zombie Crackers! to this rather quick read of tortured pasts and present evils. He’s a well rounded writer and definitely delivers a surprising punch in all of his books. Always a treat to see a new David C. Hayes book out for consumption!
MEET THE AUTHOR: DAVID C. HAYES!!!!Davis C. Hayes is an author, performer, and filmmaker that also teaches these subjects at the university level. His films, like A Man Called Nereus, Dark Places and The Frankenstein Syndrome (and approximately 70 more) can be seen worldwide. He is the author of several novels, collections and graphic novels including Cherub, Cannibal Fat Camp, Pegged, American Guignol, Scorn and Muddled Mind: The Complete Works of Ed Wood Jr. As a playwright, David’s full-length and one act plays have been produced from coast to coast with a run Off-Broadway for the comedy Swamp ho and sell-out performances in Phoenix for Dial P for Peanuts (winning a 2011 Ethingtony for Best Show). He is a voting member of the The Dramatist’s Guild and the Horror Writers Association.
BUY THE BOOK HERE!!!!
