Comedy legend Dave Thomas, author Max Allan Collins release new crime novel

SCTV star Dave Thomas and acclaimed crime novelist Max Allan Collins have collaborated on a new sci-fi mystery novel, The Many Lives of Jimmy Leighton.

Thomas, who is also an award-winning actor and producer, joined us on Morning Live to talk about the book.

The Many Lives of Jimmy Leighton tells the story of a small-time Boston thief who is on the run from a Vietnamese drug lord.

The Boston thief then breaks into the basement of a physicist who is working on an experiment.

Jimmy accidentally turns on a quantum machine at the same time as getting shot by another intruder. This sends him to two places at once– in a coma at a Boston hospital and in a Chicago penthouse in another version of his life, and then many more places after.

Thomas said the book is based on the Many Worlds Theory, which suggests that every possible outcome of quantum measurements happens in some universe. For example, if a driver is at a stop sign and chooses to turn right, the option they didn’t choose (turning left) would still happen in another universe.

Just as the synopsis of this book sounds interesting, the way Thomas and Collins connected is too.

The co-authors met through a mutual friend named Tom Kenny, better known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.

“We started talking and then next thing you know, we started writing this book,” Thomas said.

To purchase the book, click here.