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Whispering Bodies: A Roy Belkin Disaster
A San Francisco shut-in is forced to leave his apartment to investigate the murder of his maintenance man in this "offbeat mystery that, at its heart, is an in-depth character study (Foreword Reviews).
At forty-seven, balding, and mildly agoraphobic, Internet troll Roy Belkin is a man without direction. He rarely leaves his apartment (he refers to the outside world as The Pounding), and when he must leave, he meticulously recounts the day in his Thunder Book; a journal where he lists all that repulsed him that day.
But everything changes the day Belkin returns to his apartment to find the building ablaze along with the suspected murder of the apartment building’s maintenance man. As police question him, Belkin meets the mysterious Pernice Balfour, the alluring, religiously obsessed neighbor accused of the crime. Soon, Belkin has no choice but to come out of his shell (and his apartment) to try to clear her name. But the more Belkin investigates, the muddier things become. Wandering through San Francisco’s seedy Tenderloin district, Belkin begins to unravel the truth behind the murder, and encounters a bizarre series of characters and “pansexual” crime-scene photographer, an idiot detective, and an all-knowing government operative.
“ Whispering Bodies perfectly tangles comedy and pathos. I’ve talked to a few heads who have compared it to A Confederacy of Dunces , and that makes sense.” — The Rumpus
“Jesse Michaels’ debut novel is a unique and side-splitting performance, punctuated by a whip smart narrative and magnetic prose. A dizzying combination of Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman and Kurt Vonnegut, if he were a hostile agoraphobic.” —Alex Green, Caught in the Carousel
At forty-seven, balding, and mildly agoraphobic, Internet troll Roy Belkin is a man without direction. He rarely leaves his apartment (he refers to the outside world as The Pounding), and when he must leave, he meticulously recounts the day in his Thunder Book; a journal where he lists all that repulsed him that day.
But everything changes the day Belkin returns to his apartment to find the building ablaze along with the suspected murder of the apartment building’s maintenance man. As police question him, Belkin meets the mysterious Pernice Balfour, the alluring, religiously obsessed neighbor accused of the crime. Soon, Belkin has no choice but to come out of his shell (and his apartment) to try to clear her name. But the more Belkin investigates, the muddier things become. Wandering through San Francisco’s seedy Tenderloin district, Belkin begins to unravel the truth behind the murder, and encounters a bizarre series of characters and “pansexual” crime-scene photographer, an idiot detective, and an all-knowing government operative.
“ Whispering Bodies perfectly tangles comedy and pathos. I’ve talked to a few heads who have compared it to A Confederacy of Dunces , and that makes sense.” — The Rumpus
“Jesse Michaels’ debut novel is a unique and side-splitting performance, punctuated by a whip smart narrative and magnetic prose. A dizzying combination of Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman and Kurt Vonnegut, if he were a hostile agoraphobic.” —Alex Green, Caught in the Carousel
218 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
9 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 27, 2013
You know you totally want to read a somewhat surreal mystery thriller by the dude from Operation Ivy.
September 10, 2015
Overall, this book rubbed me wrong. I found the self-hating, world-hating protagonist (Roy Belkin) totally unlikeable; he's all the fussiness of Ignatius J. Reilly, but with none of the clueless charm or clever lines. I found Belkin's internet past time of mocking religious folks emotionally nauseating. I found the world he lived in hellish, especially the many ways the author showcases how dumb and inept everyone is, most annoyingly by having characters speak in broken English. I felt the protagonist's self-assigned quest to solve a mystery of little concern to me as a reader. Surprisingly, I found the protagonist's personal resolution actually pretty clever.
What is the book about? At times, it feels like it's about how the power of personality can influence others to do and believe anything. But this casts the world as gullible automatons. (Hardly an audience-winning estimation on the author's part.) This may have meant to be a comment on religion...
I found the pervasive incorporation of religion to be distracting; it usually just felt like cruel, targeted mockery (as opposed to the more general mockery inflicted on the rest of the cast of dim characters)...but part of me also wondered if it was mocking how the anti-religious perceive people of faith. Belkin, for example, mocks the religious, but then has self-created rituals that are far stranger and more arbitrary than any mainstream religion I've heard of. The question is: does Belkin symbolize the arbitrary nature of religious ceremony or does he symbolize how all of us submit ourselves to bizarre ceremony, even if we don't consider ourselves religious? This sort of unanswered question makes the book challenging, but it did not make it rewarding; when all of the main characters are unlikeable, I didn't find myself identifying with any of them, much less deriving some lesson to apply to my own life. As a result...
Reading this book felt like the author was laughing at us, not inviting us to join in on or to understand the joke. (I feel the same way about Alexander Payne films.) Maybe I just took it all too personally, but the whole thing felt like a mean-spirited criticism of humanity. (Ditto, for Payne.)
What is the book about? At times, it feels like it's about how the power of personality can influence others to do and believe anything. But this casts the world as gullible automatons. (Hardly an audience-winning estimation on the author's part.) This may have meant to be a comment on religion...
I found the pervasive incorporation of religion to be distracting; it usually just felt like cruel, targeted mockery (as opposed to the more general mockery inflicted on the rest of the cast of dim characters)...but part of me also wondered if it was mocking how the anti-religious perceive people of faith. Belkin, for example, mocks the religious, but then has self-created rituals that are far stranger and more arbitrary than any mainstream religion I've heard of. The question is: does Belkin symbolize the arbitrary nature of religious ceremony or does he symbolize how all of us submit ourselves to bizarre ceremony, even if we don't consider ourselves religious? This sort of unanswered question makes the book challenging, but it did not make it rewarding; when all of the main characters are unlikeable, I didn't find myself identifying with any of them, much less deriving some lesson to apply to my own life. As a result...
Reading this book felt like the author was laughing at us, not inviting us to join in on or to understand the joke. (I feel the same way about Alexander Payne films.) Maybe I just took it all too personally, but the whole thing felt like a mean-spirited criticism of humanity. (Ditto, for Payne.)
May 16, 2023
Okay, I wasn’t quite prepared for this.
Before I start, I should reveal that I am a huge fan of Jesse Michael’s music (Common Rider, Op Ivy, Classics of Love) and I was always interested in checking this book out when I heard he wrote a book. It wasn’t until recently when Jesse posted on his Instagram about the 10 year anniversary of this and suggested John Fante was one of the influences that I finally picked this up. With Ask the Dust being one of my top 3 favorite novels of all time and all.
I was really impressed. First of all, it’s very funny. And in a few different away. But that’s not all this novel has going for it. Intriguing mystery, colorful characters and situations, interesting weirdness, surprisingly sentimental moments, intelligent commentary of mental illness, religion and modern society, accessible yet impressive prose.
If I’m comparing it to anything, it would be a mix of Raymond Chandler style Marlow mystery and prose, with the lighter side of David Mitchell in terms of modern weirdness and intelligent/ accessible story telling (like Number9dream), with just a bit of Chuck Palahniuk like Fight Club in terms of dark bluntness but without going that far. All of that but with a lot of funny moments.
This is definitely not just intended for fans of Jesse’s music. If a weird funny mystery with some substance to it sounds like something you would enjoy, 100x I recommend this.
Before I start, I should reveal that I am a huge fan of Jesse Michael’s music (Common Rider, Op Ivy, Classics of Love) and I was always interested in checking this book out when I heard he wrote a book. It wasn’t until recently when Jesse posted on his Instagram about the 10 year anniversary of this and suggested John Fante was one of the influences that I finally picked this up. With Ask the Dust being one of my top 3 favorite novels of all time and all.
I was really impressed. First of all, it’s very funny. And in a few different away. But that’s not all this novel has going for it. Intriguing mystery, colorful characters and situations, interesting weirdness, surprisingly sentimental moments, intelligent commentary of mental illness, religion and modern society, accessible yet impressive prose.
If I’m comparing it to anything, it would be a mix of Raymond Chandler style Marlow mystery and prose, with the lighter side of David Mitchell in terms of modern weirdness and intelligent/ accessible story telling (like Number9dream), with just a bit of Chuck Palahniuk like Fight Club in terms of dark bluntness but without going that far. All of that but with a lot of funny moments.
This is definitely not just intended for fans of Jesse’s music. If a weird funny mystery with some substance to it sounds like something you would enjoy, 100x I recommend this.
January 25, 2021
Mainly, this is a good darkly humorous read. Great main character and plot set up. A blurb compares it to Confederacy of Dunces & I think there’s some truth to that comparison. I felt like things kind of get fizzy in the end, oddly too prosaic on the one hand - wildly neurotic character becomes a detective (to become running series?) & too goofy at the same time - feverish religious zealot disappears into/becomes part of her Bible.
That said, the writing was funny enough & insightful into grotesqueries of modern life, that I would read a sequel/series with the character.
That said, the writing was funny enough & insightful into grotesqueries of modern life, that I would read a sequel/series with the character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2023
This is a great quick read, a throwback to Black Lizard Press-style mysteries but with a strange, modern-day internet troll on the murder case. I found the stories and characters to be clever and quirky in a way that works (i.e., not grating or obnoxious). Plenty of suspension of disbelief is needed to navigate the story, but it's worthwhile. I feel like Michaels uses the wacky characters and outlandish story elements to bring the reader to very human, very relatable moments of reflection. Plus, the murder mystery plot (and resolution) is quite good.
July 19, 2017
It wasn't boring a second, I just couldn't stop reading it. It is funny, surreal mostly, partly realistic, reminds of Kafka in a part. It has a time error and some missprints, and a little bit before the end the story falls in rhythm, but the end saves everything.
And yes, the fact that Jesse Michaels was in Operation Ivy pushed me to buy the book.
And yes, the fact that Jesse Michaels was in Operation Ivy pushed me to buy the book.
April 28, 2020
This book cracks me up every time I read it. A disaster shouldn't be this funny.
If a genie pops out of the next lamp I rub to grant me three wishes, I'm asking for 1) an end to the coronavirus pandemic 2) for peace on earth, and 3) for Jesse Michaels to write another book.
If a genie pops out of the next lamp I rub to grant me three wishes, I'm asking for 1) an end to the coronavirus pandemic 2) for peace on earth, and 3) for Jesse Michaels to write another book.
June 28, 2021
This was witty and humorous, but the pacing was rushed at the end and resolved too soon. Could've expanded and made this so much more than it was and fell short for me. Writing wasn't too bad, just wish it didn't end so soon.
December 24, 2023
My experience with this book was everything I could have wanted. It had me laughing, it had me crying, and, perhaps most importantly, it held my attention with ease. I don't read all too much these days but I loved what Jesse Michaels did here.
December 29, 2019
This was a unique book with unique characters but I couldn't get into it. There didn't seem to be rhyme or reason behind the characters' unexplainable actions.
July 2, 2020
This is a weird book. I went through the whole thing both really enjoying it and wondering why I was. In the end, I’m glad I read it and sad there’s not more.
July 7, 2022
Jesse Michaels channels Kurt Vonnegut... quite successfully.
December 27, 2025
What a strange book. I wasn’t sure if I liked it for most of it. It was definitely interesting. But it all came together nicely at the end. I think Jesse needs to write some more.
March 12, 2017
loved this.
loved roy belkin.
i hope there are more of his disasters in the making.
absolutely wonderful voice.
loved roy belkin.
i hope there are more of his disasters in the making.
absolutely wonderful voice.
Read
June 9, 2014http://www.full-stop.net/2013/10/15/r...
Review by Matt Orenstein
I spent my adolescence playing in punk bands, like plenty of people in my age bracket. It should be easy to understand the appeal: we were weirdoes within the walls of our schools, and we felt like strangers to our folks, but playing music offered us access to the people who felt the same way we did. We were a community of loners. As a member of Operation Ivy, Jesse Michaels did the same thing, though he was much more successful than I will probably ever be. Though plenty of us outgrew playing punk music (I did, so did Michaels), it’s hard to deny its importance in terms of nascent consciousness. However ironic, one of punk’s hallmarks is defiance by way of personal liberation. While it is important to see Michaels’ debut novel, Whispering Bodies, as a project distinct from what he was doing in Operation Ivy, where the two connect is in the way the novel echoes the experience of being a part of a counterculture and the attempt to create meaning out of the morass.
In a punk scene (and in rock music more generally), bands, songs, and places all adopt a totemic quality for devotees. It’s for that reason that I insisted that my Dad and I visit Op Ivy’s old haunt, 924 Gilman Street, on a family trip to the Bay. It’s for that reason that pilgrims stand slackjawed in front of David Bowie’s costumes and Bo Diddley’s guitars at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It can’t be lost on Michaels that there’s something vaguely religious about all of this, and in Whispering Bodies this sense of religiosity is taken to absurd lengths. The protagonist Roy Belkin’s personal rituals often cross the threshold from rituals to compulsions. Rituals are repetitive and regenerative, so they are the lifeblood of organized religion (or countercultures, in some cases). Compulsions are harsh captors. While rituals imbue a life cycle with an added significance, compulsions tend to foster a certain stasis. Roy spends his mornings trolling a Christian message board, called Helping Hands, posting bizarre screeds on whatever topic he sees fit. A highlight includes a post on a gospel called “The Book of Lazarus,” which mentions that “Jesus could fly […] he could not wilk [sic] on water […] he loved the lady from the well […] he was not a carpenter, more like magician or doctor.” He calls this trolling “The Service.” When he can muster the courage to leave his apartment — usually after throwing about sixty wet paper towels into a cup of cold coffee (“Thuds”) – he wears a sheet of paper around a necklace (“The Shield”) to protect himself from the horrors of the external world (“The Pounding”). He only really leaves to go visit his father, a savant code breaker in some kind of nursing home run by a shadow-organization within the US Government.
Read more here: http://www.full-stop.net/2013/10/15/r...
Review by Matt Orenstein
I spent my adolescence playing in punk bands, like plenty of people in my age bracket. It should be easy to understand the appeal: we were weirdoes within the walls of our schools, and we felt like strangers to our folks, but playing music offered us access to the people who felt the same way we did. We were a community of loners. As a member of Operation Ivy, Jesse Michaels did the same thing, though he was much more successful than I will probably ever be. Though plenty of us outgrew playing punk music (I did, so did Michaels), it’s hard to deny its importance in terms of nascent consciousness. However ironic, one of punk’s hallmarks is defiance by way of personal liberation. While it is important to see Michaels’ debut novel, Whispering Bodies, as a project distinct from what he was doing in Operation Ivy, where the two connect is in the way the novel echoes the experience of being a part of a counterculture and the attempt to create meaning out of the morass.
In a punk scene (and in rock music more generally), bands, songs, and places all adopt a totemic quality for devotees. It’s for that reason that I insisted that my Dad and I visit Op Ivy’s old haunt, 924 Gilman Street, on a family trip to the Bay. It’s for that reason that pilgrims stand slackjawed in front of David Bowie’s costumes and Bo Diddley’s guitars at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It can’t be lost on Michaels that there’s something vaguely religious about all of this, and in Whispering Bodies this sense of religiosity is taken to absurd lengths. The protagonist Roy Belkin’s personal rituals often cross the threshold from rituals to compulsions. Rituals are repetitive and regenerative, so they are the lifeblood of organized religion (or countercultures, in some cases). Compulsions are harsh captors. While rituals imbue a life cycle with an added significance, compulsions tend to foster a certain stasis. Roy spends his mornings trolling a Christian message board, called Helping Hands, posting bizarre screeds on whatever topic he sees fit. A highlight includes a post on a gospel called “The Book of Lazarus,” which mentions that “Jesus could fly […] he could not wilk [sic] on water […] he loved the lady from the well […] he was not a carpenter, more like magician or doctor.” He calls this trolling “The Service.” When he can muster the courage to leave his apartment — usually after throwing about sixty wet paper towels into a cup of cold coffee (“Thuds”) – he wears a sheet of paper around a necklace (“The Shield”) to protect himself from the horrors of the external world (“The Pounding”). He only really leaves to go visit his father, a savant code breaker in some kind of nursing home run by a shadow-organization within the US Government.
Read more here: http://www.full-stop.net/2013/10/15/r...
November 22, 2013
my amazon review:
Jesse Michaels proved to me he is a brilliant writer a long time ago with Operation Ivy and Classics of Love. Musically he is a hero to me and many of his lyrics have helped me form my own views on politics and society in general.
So maybe I set the bar far too high when I started reading Whispering Bodies. What I did like about the book was that there was plenty of humor and I especially enjoyed seeing the growth in Roy Belkin as a person by the end of the book. In fact, I am actually very likely to read a sequel to Whispering Bodies because the ending does leave you curious what happens as Roy moves into a new chapter in his life.
My problem with the story is that I was not impressed with the actual mystery. I didn't find the twist all that surprising and I thought everything came together far too easily with almost no investigation (let's be honest LeCroix basically gives him everything). Also I felt that Pernice was really just an afterthought, she served the purpose of getting Roy out of the house and that's pretty much it. She could have been a ghost.
Originally I was going to rate this 2 stars but in the end Roy Belkin does sort of grow on you and Jesse's writing is strong enough that you really do relate to Roy's frustrations and uncomfortabilities. I also found it hard to only rate the book a 2 and still admit that I would read a sequel. So for a first effort its decent enough to read and I hope if this becomes a series Jesse's strength as an author will catch up to his brilliance as a song writer.
Jesse Michaels proved to me he is a brilliant writer a long time ago with Operation Ivy and Classics of Love. Musically he is a hero to me and many of his lyrics have helped me form my own views on politics and society in general.
So maybe I set the bar far too high when I started reading Whispering Bodies. What I did like about the book was that there was plenty of humor and I especially enjoyed seeing the growth in Roy Belkin as a person by the end of the book. In fact, I am actually very likely to read a sequel to Whispering Bodies because the ending does leave you curious what happens as Roy moves into a new chapter in his life.
My problem with the story is that I was not impressed with the actual mystery. I didn't find the twist all that surprising and I thought everything came together far too easily with almost no investigation (let's be honest LeCroix basically gives him everything). Also I felt that Pernice was really just an afterthought, she served the purpose of getting Roy out of the house and that's pretty much it. She could have been a ghost.
Originally I was going to rate this 2 stars but in the end Roy Belkin does sort of grow on you and Jesse's writing is strong enough that you really do relate to Roy's frustrations and uncomfortabilities. I also found it hard to only rate the book a 2 and still admit that I would read a sequel. So for a first effort its decent enough to read and I hope if this becomes a series Jesse's strength as an author will catch up to his brilliance as a song writer.
December 29, 2016
I had a rare chance to spend an hour in a used book store a few months ago, and in my browsing happened to notice the name "Jesse Michaels" on the spine of a book. That caught my eye because it happened to be the same name as the singer of one of my formative bands, Operation Ivy. I thought nothing of it, and then ten minutes later, passing by the same section, glanced at the book again, realized that it had the Soft Skull Press logo on it, and realized it was probably the same guy, and pulled it down. A few seconds skimming the back and I added it to the purchase pile.
Now that I've read it, I can say it's much more than a curiosity, or an interesting project -- it's a legitimately well-written debut, crafted with a distinct voice and a viewpoint. The story takes the form of a murder mystery, which lends it a narrative framework, but it's a pretty sideways one, featuring a protagonist who's both deeply damaged and deeply at odds with the modern world. Roy Belkin has to undertake many rituals and practices (the funniest repeating one involves trolling a religious message board) just to get through the day. I'd place it in the same terrain as Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn, Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice, and maybe some Philip K. Dick.
The characters are almost all outsized, there are twists that aren't possible in the real world, and there is a lot of weirdness. But that's all to the good -- that's what makes it worth checking out. I responded to the off-kilter approach, humor, and language, but it's definitely not for everyone.
Now that I've read it, I can say it's much more than a curiosity, or an interesting project -- it's a legitimately well-written debut, crafted with a distinct voice and a viewpoint. The story takes the form of a murder mystery, which lends it a narrative framework, but it's a pretty sideways one, featuring a protagonist who's both deeply damaged and deeply at odds with the modern world. Roy Belkin has to undertake many rituals and practices (the funniest repeating one involves trolling a religious message board) just to get through the day. I'd place it in the same terrain as Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn, Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice, and maybe some Philip K. Dick.
The characters are almost all outsized, there are twists that aren't possible in the real world, and there is a lot of weirdness. But that's all to the good -- that's what makes it worth checking out. I responded to the off-kilter approach, humor, and language, but it's definitely not for everyone.
August 7, 2016
I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway, and here is my review:
4.5 stars
A neurotic recluse, Roy Belkin spends his days preforming The Service (trolling on religious forums) and constructing energy-building exercises to deal with chores. Disinterested with the lives of other people, he is surprised to find himself thrust into a murder and arson investigation when he meets the main suspect.
As an intriguing detective story with a noir feeling, I very much enjoyed Whispering Bodies and found myself loving most of the bizarre characters. It’s very well written and doesn’t leave loose ends.
The only complaint I have is that religion has a large part in the story. At the beginning it was well enough integrated that it didn’t bother me, but towards the end it felt like any character we meet has to mention something about what religion has to say about the most insignificant of occurrences.
It’s a book I’m definitely intending to reread, but I’m not looking forward to having the religion part shoved down my throat again.
4.5 stars
A neurotic recluse, Roy Belkin spends his days preforming The Service (trolling on religious forums) and constructing energy-building exercises to deal with chores. Disinterested with the lives of other people, he is surprised to find himself thrust into a murder and arson investigation when he meets the main suspect.
As an intriguing detective story with a noir feeling, I very much enjoyed Whispering Bodies and found myself loving most of the bizarre characters. It’s very well written and doesn’t leave loose ends.
The only complaint I have is that religion has a large part in the story. At the beginning it was well enough integrated that it didn’t bother me, but towards the end it felt like any character we meet has to mention something about what religion has to say about the most insignificant of occurrences.
It’s a book I’m definitely intending to reread, but I’m not looking forward to having the religion part shoved down my throat again.
June 5, 2015
As someone who likes weird books, I gotta say: that was pretty weird. Although I did ultimately enjoy it. Very Pynchon-esque in its paranoia and neuroses. There were some aspects of it that left me feeling unsure if they were symptoms of poor (or at least, inexperienced) writing, or if they were done intentionally. For example, the initial setup of the mystery is hard to buy into. We're told that There's Something About Pernice that compels Roy to overcome his agoraphobia...but it's never demonstrated convincingly. On the other hand, that's...also a pretty common noir trope, the Mysterious Beautiful Damsel In Distress. And in that way, it's a clever inversion when we find that Pernice is not exactly a Femme Fatale. Overall, an enjoyable (and short) read, and I'd be curious to check out some more Roy Belkin mysteries (I'm personally hoping he gets together with LeCroix).
October 19, 2013
I won this through goodreads. Thanks, Jesse!
Have you read any murder mysteries, ever? They're so formulatic. They all follow the same formula (because it works, for the most part) but this leaves them all with the same.. aftertaste, if you will.
This book breaks free from that formula with a character who strikes me half the time as retarded, but half the time as clever. I'm not really sure which he is. Either way, this is a refreshing change from the genre.
Well written, and it has witty humour (though it was lost on me, I could still recognize it.)
Overall, I enjoyed the book.
Have you read any murder mysteries, ever? They're so formulatic. They all follow the same formula (because it works, for the most part) but this leaves them all with the same.. aftertaste, if you will.
This book breaks free from that formula with a character who strikes me half the time as retarded, but half the time as clever. I'm not really sure which he is. Either way, this is a refreshing change from the genre.
Well written, and it has witty humour (though it was lost on me, I could still recognize it.)
Overall, I enjoyed the book.
May 20, 2014
I have been a huge fan of Jesse ever since I first heard Operation Ivy, I always admired in bitting social commentary in his lyrics for all his projects. I guess I am not that surprised that Jesse has taken the jump to author; and I am already excited to read his next work. Great imagery, great characters, and a story that is well developed and strays for the normal dribble that you find these days. Great job Jesse! Highly recommended for anyone looking for a book not part of the norm...
February 3, 2015
I'm a friend of Jesse so it's hard to review this book fairly. I really enjoyed it, and was impressed with how readable it was. The main character was such a treat to follow. And I found myself measuring my own neuroses through his reactions. It reads like a film noir novel filtered through the mind of Ignatius J. Reilly, the main character of Confederacy of Dunces.
July 23, 2014
Great debut novel from Jesse Michaels. Looking forward to reading more from him. For me, Belkin's self-awareness was completely unexpected from the descriptions of him in previews. I really enjoyed this trait and how it influenced not only the character's development, but the book as a whole.
September 2, 2013
Excellent first book by a young new author. An untraditional mystery. Very funny and well written.
August 30, 2014
This was a hell of a read. I can only hope that Mr. Michaels will bring Roy Belkin back for further disasters.
January 4, 2014
This book was hilarious. I don't know if I've ever read a book with a more neurotic protagonist. The end got a little unbelievable, but it was still a fun read.
May 10, 2014
Very pleasantly surprised by Jesse Michaels first book. I love a book told from a different perspective, and main character of this book fits that bill. I hope there will be more.
March 12, 2015
Brilliant.
Read
April 5, 2023Did not finish.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews