I See You've Called in Dead

by John Kenney

“Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo’s Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, and the reinvention of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, Kenney’s vivid prose transforms the mundane into unexpected hilarity.”
—Booklist (starred review)

An Indie Next & LibraryReads Pick for April

The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy in this coming-of-middle-age tale about having a second chance to write your life’s story.

Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a “far more interesting” man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary. The newspaper wants to fire him. But now the company’s system has him listed as dead. And the company can’t fire a dead person. The ensuing fallout forces him to realize that life may be actually worth living.

As Bud awaits his fate at work, his life hangs in the balance. Given another shot by his boss and encouraged by his best friend, Tim, a worldly and wise former art dealer, Bud starts to attend the wakes and funerals of strangers to learn how to live.

Thurber Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling author John Kenney tells a funny, touching story about life and death, about the search for meaning, about finding and never letting go of the preciousness of life.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Audiobook, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Book Club, Adult Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2025

About the author

John Kenney is the author of three novels and four books of poetry, including Love Poems for Married People. His first novel, Truth in Advertising, won the Thurber Prize for American humor. He is also the author of Talk to Me, which received a starred Kirkus review. He is a long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine’s Shouts & Murmurs. He lives in Larchmont, NY, with his wife, Lissa, and two children.

Reviews

[Canadian Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty, cleaver story of Bud, who is a 40 something year old, obituary writer.

One night feeling sorry for himself, he drinks himself into a stupor and accidentally sends out his own obit. Caught between the living and the dead - literally- his employment system recognizing him as dead, when he is in fact, alive. Time merges for Bud and he has the chance to reinvent himself; to break free from the purgatory he has been languishing in- between life and death; living and dying.

Kenney captures the complexity of human nature when dealing with trauma and grief. He tells this narrative through humour and love; through relationships and connections.

This is a story about living - how to escape these ruts we can find ourselves in; Going through motions without any thought; Where we are stuck in the past; stuck in our fear. And how can we move forward and live.

My heart is full. ❤️
5⭐️

A shoutout to Tracy for getting this on my radar and sending me a copy.

[Scott Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This.Was.Brilliant. I absolutely loved it. I laughed out loud, and wiped several tears. Not many books can do both to me… but this did. Mr Kenney writes in a similar way to another one of my absolute favorite authors, Mr. Fredrik Backman. Both these authors write in a way that resonates with me. It’s an art… it’s subtle and not in your face. You’re reading for a while and then they deliver a line that sends goosebumps up your spine. This book may have resonated with me because our main character, Bud, is a middle aged man (like myself), but Bud is really struggling. With his love, his job, and like many of us… finding purpose in his life. There are themes of death, and life, and friendships and what they all mean. I loved this. So much, I loved this. I’ll think about this for a while.

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5-5⭐️ Obituary writer, Bud Stanley, is a man afraid to live. But when he drunkenly pens his obituary one evening, the newspaper that already has him in its crosshairs for poor performance suddenly cannot fire him. After all, you simply cannot fire a dead person. Using this glitch as an opportunity of a lifetime, Bud begins to visit the funerals of strangers in hopes of learning how to really live.

“‘𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦…𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”’

While I’m not usually a fan of satirical novels laced with dark humor, it is very hard not to find Bud, his whacky situation, and the characters that surround him all insanely charming. This character-rich novel focuses on just what it means to truly live, and to live truly, even in the face of hardship and adversity. It also showcases the beauty of unlikely friendships and how out of our grief, something wholly new and unexpected can grow.

🎧 As I am apt to do, I am reading this one with both my eyes and ears. Narrator Sean Patrick Hopkins plays up the satirical nature beautifully, and I have found myself chuckling more than once. But more so, he strengthens the emotional connection between the reader and the characters. For this reason, I highly recommend reading this one with your ears. And at only seven plus hours, this is a very quick listen.

I’ll end by saying that this is one of those books that is worthy of the time it takes to tab and notate. I’d like to leave you with the one quote that completely blew me away and left me with tears in my eyes.

“𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣. 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵-𝘪𝘧𝘴…𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘶𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴' 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

Read if you like:
▪️character-driven stories
▪️satirical novels
▪️emotional reads
▪️quirky and relatable characters
▪️dark comedy
▪️slow burn
▪️unique books
▪️I Hope This Email Finds You Well

Thank you to Zibby Publishing and Libro.fm for the advanced copies.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this ARC from the publisher, Zibby Publishing -- so, thanks Zibby! I always laugh when people say that they are providing the review voluntarily as if the publishers generally have henchmen with garottes standing behind ARC readers until they click "post." If that does usually happen, I attest that no garottes were used in encouraging this review. I did get a few lovely emails from a Zibby employee named Sarah Fradkin when I had some issues with the PDF, and I think she should get a bonus.

This is the kind of book I usually avoid like the plague. It is more than a little syrupy and "life-affirming", but I still liked it a whole lot. Some of my affection may be time-specific. I find myself thirsty for anything that affirms the existence of decency amidst this daily parade of coarseness and the death of empathy. Some of the good feeling might be place-specific. When I first moved to New York in 1986 (I know!) I lived basically where this book took place. I lived a few blocks away in Boerum Hill but my BFF (then and still) lived on a block that seems to be the very Cobble Hill block where the book is centered. I ate several times a week at Sal's Pizza on Court St. (RIP) and drank wine on my front stoop with my neighbors. Brooklyn is a really good place to live, and that area is particularly lovely. Kenney writes beautifully about Brooklyn, and nicely about Manhattan as well. He especially gets the love affair between those of us who arrived in NYC as adults and to whom the city gave lives and experiences we never imagined possible. All of that is relevant to the central story, but also, this helps make for a funny and touching book that is a pleasure to read.

I understood Bud well. I share a few things in common with Bud, and I feel like I know most of his friends (other than Tim, who was too perfect.) Kenney is funny, but he also knows and acknowledges the costs of using humor and sarcasm as defenses. He gives us a relatable view of grief, over the deaths and estrangements of friends and family, yes, but also over the loss of a marriage, and of a seemingly inevitable future life. He frequently gets too cute for my tastes. Making Bud an obituary writer seemed gratuitous. Making the potential love interest a manic pixie dream girl with a history of suicidal ideation was unfortunate. The adorable quirky and wise kid next door could have stood some toning down. Still, I liked this. It had a Jonathan Trooper/Matt Haig feel to me, but I liked it better than I like work by those two writers. All of these writers offer central characters who are sad sacks. Kenney though gives us an interesting nuanced sad sack (which I never see in the work of those other writers) and, as already mentioned, Kenney lets us see how deploying humor to avoid vulnerability comes at the cost of real connection. Also worth mentioning, this is a celebration of male friendship, real friendship with real conversations about real things, not let's grab a beer and watch the game friendship. This sort of friendship among men is underrepresented in media of all sorts, and it was a pleasure to see not just in the central bromance between Bud and Tim, but also between Bud, Howard, and Tuan.

If you are looking for an emotional read that celebrates human connection and generosity with humor and without guarantees for happily ever after this is a great choice.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quiet little book that packs a punch. Not a suspense novel that has you staying up late to finish, not the type of story that has you wondering what's going on, but one that made me happy every time I picked it up. I was happy to be in the lives of Bud, a lovable loser who gets drunk one night and writes and publishes his own obituary, a firable offense for an obituary writer. His landlord Tim is a paraplegic who does extra duty as Bud's best friend. They meet Sarah at a funeral for Bud's ex mother-in-law, and learn that she attends funerals of strangers as a hobby.

Bud is sarcastic and funny, Tim is wise and introspective, and Sarah is a corporate drop out who spent months in a psych ward for depression. These three friends had me laughing and crying, sometimes in the same paragraph. All three are dealing with various types of pain and bad decisions as they try to get on with their lives and find happiness and fulfillment and "the secret of life".

Brooklyn and New York are characters here too. Little six year old Leo is coping with his autism. Tuan is Bud's office partner, an over the top gay man, a friend/foe that you want in your corner. Howard is a corporate boss with an actual heart. All these and more fill the pages of this novel, which will leave you feeling hopeful on dark days. It's all about perspective.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I’m going to tell people about until they either read it or stop asking me what I’ve read lately. I loved it.

I had heard it was funny, and a story about an obituary writer who accidentally publishes his own obituary… I was hopeful that it would be funny enough that I smirked a few times or at least thought to myself that something was funny, but I actually made the noises of laughing out loud repeatedly throughout this book.

And it was also an emotional, engrossing narrative about recognizing life as it happens everyday, filled with a magnetic cast of characters that warms the soul.

I’d recommend this to folks who enjoy Matt Haig or Marianne Cronin.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD
By John Kenney
Read by Sean Patrick Hopkins

I really enjoyed this character-driven book, and the narrator, Sean Patrick Hopkins, did an incredible job capturing the essence of the story. The writing is witty, engaging, and moving—it all felt real. You’ll laugh, even though themes of death, and grief are woven throughout the novel.

The pacing is a bit slow, but for me, it didn’t take away from the experience. Bud, a middle-aged, recently divorced, and depressed obituary writer, drunkenly writes and publishes his own obituary—an impulsive act that sets off a chain of events and leads him on an unexpected journey of self-discovery and learning how to truly live.

I enjoyed all the characters in this heartfelt story, especially the sarcastic banter between Bud and his good friend Tim.

This was a first read by John Kenney, and it won’t be my last.

[lucid-beatnik · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hardly ever rate, let alone review books on here. Even if I didn't quite like something, I just log it and move on. I'm just some asshole, who am I to judge? This book, however, moved me.

You could replace every third sentence in this book with a wet fart noise and you'd end up with a funnier and more poignant final product. I was about a quarter of the way through the novel when I thought, "This could have just been an essay in The Atlantic." Then I noticed Mr. Kenney writes for The New Yorker. Close enough.

Our hero Bud Stanley is a thoroughly mediocre person. Not just a 'mediocre white man,' which turn of phrase I'm sure is the germ of Kenney's next book after he read it in Jonathan Haidt or whatever, but a mediocre person who cannot have a conversation without inserting some smirking bit of self-deprecation. It's one of those out-of-body experiences that makes you question your relation to the world around you, like "Fuck, am I this annoying?" Reading Bud's thoughts, one starts to understand how much Orson Welles hated Woody Allen. Bud is a younger GenX/elder millenial who failed up into a plush gig writing obits for a wire service, and after his *bitch wife* left him for some *chad*, he got real, real sad about it. And so some 20 years late, he has to have himself a nice little Fight Club meets American Beauty meets what I imagine Tuesdays with Morrie was-type of experience about it to learn *how to really live again, maaaan*. Add that up with a manic pixie dream girl who is at least 15 years late and some pronoun jokes that are at least 10 years late, and you have a book that is the perfect symbol of neoliberal nihilism in this country. For as much as Bud wants to find meaning, this book is fucking meaningless. This book reminded me of that joke about how libertarians stop with their crap when they take hallucinogens for the first time and realize that other people exist and have feelings, except Bud Stanley goes to the same funeral for different people instead of dropping acid.

This is one of those wonderful books where tHe CiTy oF nEw YoRk iS aLmOsT a ChArAcTeR. This is a book where every single conversation has the same start and end point. This is a book where character voices change constantly, as if they know the light is dimming around them and the spotlight is coming up and it's time for a half-baked monologue. This is a book about death in New York City published in 2025 that somehow never mentions Covid (check Kenney's browser history, I will bet you anything he's got a trove of articles saved about how remote schooling was the *real* mass casualty event). I truly don't understand how educated people have given the author awards for humor. This is the unique kind of humor that is absurd without aspiring to be so, a work that I'm sure has Nathan Fielder and Tim Robinson punching the air, saying "Shit, why didn't I think of that?" This is the kind of book Brian Griffin would write.

I truly hated this rotten little book. I think less of this community for giving it a 4+ star average. I cannot wait for this piece of shit to start winning awards. Enjoy your slop, dipshits.

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my best book of 2025. Read it. Except for the slew of elderly ladies here who have been trolling me every day for daring to think a book they liked wasn’t very good at all. You don’t deserve to get to know these people.

[Tracy GH · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars ⭐️

This book found me at the right time. It was heartfelt, and oh so funny! I appreciate some good wit in a book.

Bud Stanley, an obituary writer, accidentally posts his obituary after a night of one too many drinks. Bud is freshly divorced, feeling a bit lost in New York City.

I love that Bud had people rally around him when he was in the valley of life. People who stepped up whether it was with a coffee or sarcasm. And sometimes, these people are the ones you least expect. These friends encouraged him to live, so when he does pass away (as we all will do) to make sure your obituary is a good story. That you lived life to the fullest.

I appreciated the insights of New York. The way the city felt, was the way I felt when I visited.
The way it means to have a few close friends…. because if we do aren’t we just living a very blessed life?
Leo, oh sweet Leo…..

So many quotes that will stay with me, thanks Chelsea for letting me borrow ; your borrowed library book.

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protagonist Bud Stanley, an obituary writer, is my kind of guy—funny, funny, funny, even as he's so depressed and removed from his life that were he not so funny, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near him.

And author John Kenney is my kind of writer—a pro.

The story of sad sack Bud, who sabotages his life with a really dumb but hilarious "mistake," is perfectly paced between humor and almost lyrical passages—I say "almost" because "lyrical" often connotes a self-conscious effort and there is none of that here. The narrative flows. The humor erupts just at the right time for relief but there is no showing off or manipulation in the writing. And the observations come so organically that you could miss them if you weren't slurping this up with appreciation for every carefully chosen word:

A kind of theatre, a play, this unending parade of humanity. Pio Peruvian food next to Jalisco Tacos next to China House next to El Viejo Puerto Rican Café next to Famous Original Ray's Pizza next to Fat Albert and Hollywood Discount Furniture. It made no sense. The history of the world is tribes banding together behind large walls, going to war against one another, rejecting other religions, other ways of life. And yet here, on these crowded streets, the world came together. A bit of Spanish overheard here, a bit of Mandarin over there. Farsi, Yiddish, Italian. And yet somehow it worked. Food was ordered, diapers were bought, a flange was sold from a picture someone brought to a hardware store, neither person sharing a language. A neighborhood, a city, held together by a kind of societal duct tape, a New York shoulder shrug, a who-am-I-to-judge? [page NA]

Not since E. B. White's Here Is New York (which Kenney obliquely references by an early explanation of New York City that echoes White's) have I read my city so honestly portrayed.

The book is full of life and death—and since that's all there is, it's about everything. It's moving without being sentimental, funny without guile, an absolute joy to read.

***
I requested an ARC of this book after I read a Shouts and Murmurs piece by Kenney in the New Yorker and I had a collision of jealousy (that magazine has been turning me down for 50 years), admiration, and eventually larceny.

Larceny because once you drop jealousy, there is in Kenney's work an ocean of inspiration and structural and character brilliance to nip and transform into whatever it becomes in your muse's hands.

A note at the beginning of the e-ARC says that it was made from the writer's original manuscript. This is a daring and dangerous thing for a publisher to do. It can [and has] result[ed] in a galley with so many glitches and structural problems (that hopefully will be ironed out by an invisible editor's magic) that I think no ethical reviewer should publish anything about it. But in the case of Kenney's work, even through formatting problems, the writing is so good that it is easy to intuit where line and paragraph breaks should be. The story flows, the characters are full and consistent, and the structure is rock solid.

[Ron Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dozen years ago, John Kenney’s debut novel, “Truth in Advertising,” began with an anecdote about a high school kid who concocted a paraplegic Vietnam vet and passed him off as the hero of his term paper for modern history. Fittingly, that fraudulent young man went on to become a depressed advertising writer.

In Kenney’s new novel, “I See You’ve Called in Dead,” the body drops just a few feet away, at a slightly different angle. This time around, the narrator, Bud Stanley, is a depressed obituary writer at the world’s largest wire service, and the hero he invents is himself.

One cold night, while circling the drain that’s become his life, Bud writes his own ludicrously spectacular obituary under the headline, “Bud Stanley, 44, former Mr. Universe, failed porn star, and mediocre obituary writer, is dead.” After noting that Mr. Stanley was killed in a hot-air balloon crash, he highlights his accomplishments as one of Gladys Knight’s original Pips, the first man to perform open-heart surgery on himself, the inventor of toothpaste and a member of the Jamaican bobsled team. It’s just a lark, a morbid way to get drunk on his own fermented despair. But then — oops — he accidentally publishes his little gag on the wire service, which sends the fake obituary to news organizations around the globe.

That’s a genuinely funny premise, though it chills the already withered heart of any journalist to see how quickly a career can be cremated in a moment of carelessness or rage. Naturally, Bud’s employer is furious. What he’s done might be a felony. His editor likes him — pities him — but this juvenile prank puts Bud beyond salvation. “You know what the crime of it was?” his editor asks. “It wasn’t a very good obit.”

An investigation is launched; he’s suspended without pay. Kenney gets off some easy shots at the usual HR inanity. He’s so cool with the retorts that he never even messes up his hair. As Bud takes one more walk through the newsroom, his officemate notes, “You look well for a dead man.”

Versions of that witty line recur across these pages like gravestones in Mount Auburn Cemetery — the rich variety somehow redeeming the repetition. Which is fortunate because there’s....

To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...

[JanB · Rating 5 out of 5]

The snarky humor had me laughing out loud but then this story grabbed me by the heartstrings and I read (listened) with tears streaming down my face.

Bud is down on his luck, an obituary writer who had more lofty aspirations. His personal life is in a shambles through no fault of his own. Combined with a traumatic event from his past, Bud is depressed. Yet somehow still hilarious.

One night, in an alcohol induced haze, he penned his own obituary….and oops, published it.

What ensues is a comedy of errors which I found delightful.

Bud is now in limbo. He can’t be fired, he’s dead in the system and they can’t fire a dead person.

Bud uses this newfound freedom and free time to connect with his good friend Tim. Tim is a paraplegic, who lost everything in an accident, including the loss of his legs. Bud’s workplace friend Tuan also stands by Bud and is the source of much of the humor.

Bud meets a young woman, who has a habit of attending funerals, whether she knows the person or not. Funerals give perspective on life & living. He begins to tag along.

Bud has much to learn about friendship, living, love & loss. As we all do. Those of us who have had the privilege of living long enough have known loss and heartache. How to go on living in the face of overwhelming grief?

I hesitated to write as much as I did because it sounds like just another “heartwarming” read about life lessons.

This is so so much more than that. It’s nuanced, and the humor kept it from being maudlin. The author never hits his reader over the head, he never preaches.

I grew to love these characters and would love to hang out with them. Their brand of humor is my catnip.

The writing, the structure, the story arc, is all perfection for this reader. Wit and humor, while remaining refreshingly original, it has it all. I don’t have the words to do it justice.

I’m a picky chick, and this is a book I won’t soon forget! 5+ stars.

A buddy read with Marialyce, it ended our book slump and is one we both wholeheartedly recommend.

A favorite of 2025! Don’t miss it!

(The author’s previous book, Talk To Me, was another 5+ read)

The audiobook narrator captured the authors voice and the character wonderfully. He was perfection!

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well then. That was everything and more. I think I have a few more tears to cry. Not sure I will be back to write more.
If that is the case, the narrator was awesome. Need to get that out there. He was just amazing.
Initial thoughts posted immediately after finishing book: 9/21/25

Hours later (9/21/25): I am not sure if this is a 4.5⭐️’s rounded up or a solid 5⭐️‘s. The sadness aspect, and not just for the characters in the book, but the sad feeling it created for real life…..it might be 4.5….not that it really matters to anyone other than me.

More hours later(still 9/21/25): further thoughts in comment section. (Did one of my rambles there)
I also want to add that I found this book incredibly funny. I would have gotten stares if I had been listening to this in public for laughing so hard to myself. Probably would have also gotten stares for the crying so hard to myself🤪.
I can appreciate the random rambles of this man because, shocker, I am a random rambler myself. I too use a lot of words to say very little. I 100% understood some of his random rambling thoughts. Deeply.

Okay and yep, this may or may not be incredibly weird, but I actually have a rough draft of my obituary started. The reason I started it one night is this:
I was reading the obituaries, as I sometimes do, one made me so sad for how short and empty it felt. This was a persons life and there is like a paragraph. Someone else’s seemed so holy cow braggy. And then I thought, well, who the heck is going to get stuck with the task of writing mine. So, I googled if it was weird to write your own obituary, turns out a good handful of people do it. And they do it for the same reason I started mine, so that someone else doesn’t end up with that task. One of my grandma’s had her entire funeral planned out well in advance. What a kind gift to give to your family in their time of complete sadness. Every decision is made for them. She was such a grand lady. Someone once told me I had the same grace and elegance about me that my grandma did. I said thank you and how kind of them that was to say, then I turned to my coworkers after she left and we laughed. Those are not typical words used to describe me, but hey, if that’s how I come across to some people, I’m not going to complain!
Anyways, rambling…I stopped writing my obituary when it started to make me really really sad.
Perhaps some of that sadness was because I was writing it while not being able to live the life I had envisioned for myself (shoot crying now) due to circumstances beyond my control and I don’t know if that will ever change. Don’t get me wrong, there is goodness in my life for absolute sure. Without going into detail, chronic illness takes a toll in many many ways. And can hugely change someone’s life.
That is also what made me so sad about this book. Just thinking about that so intensely. When I try to avoid thinking about it and pretend everything is fine. Totally and completely fine.
So this book made me think. More than I would have liked to. And it made me sad because I get sad very easily sometimes. Does anyone know what I am talking about anymore, if anyone was following along in the first place? Because I am crying really hard again, and that makes the rambles make even less sense. And I just wish that everyone had happy lives. That the happy is so much more than the pain and unhappy parts. But life doesn’t always work that way. So then I get sad for the people who have more sad than happy. People in general, not any specific person. And then I get annoyed with myself for being so sad in general like that for other people, identities completely unknown. And then I think, oh my gosh, does my therapist get paid enough to deal with me? Or my doctor? Because I am so much more of a mess now that I was before the whole chronic illness thing. And seriously what am I talking about. This should be a journal entry not a book review. wtf self.

So I am mad at all of the sad in the book. But it was also so very very funny. And I just don’t do well with all of these emotions and feelings in books and wow. Yeah. So I said all of that. Oh well. If you can’t be honest with people you don’t know in person, who can you be honest with?!

If this ‘review’ made you depressed or sad in any way I am so very very sorry.

I need a recording I can press with someone saying ‘shut up Marta’😂. Or ‘you have surpassed the amount of oversharing allowed’.

I think it might be time for bed. Maybe I should make this 4⭐️’s because of the emotional disaster that came of it.

But the message is to enjoy the now. That your life matters. That you have a story. An important one. You were here and you mattered. Or some such thing, I think? I do better with books about solving murders. They don’t make me feel so much. Curious as to what that says about me?
I probably should have left it as it was. Perhaps tomorrow I will delete the added on hours and hours later parts.

Rating decided upon: 9/22/25
9/10: 4.5⭐️’s rounded up to 5⭐️’s.

[Jonetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

the setup…
Bud Stanley is stuck. He’s a middle-aged obituary writer living in Brooklyn, divorced from a woman who left him for someone unremarkable. Bud is going through the motions of life and even his writing has gone stale. One night after too much to drink, he pens his own obituary and accidentally publishes it. His newspaper wants to fire him but because their records now list him as dead, they have to wait until the system makes him “undead.” While he awaits his fate, Bud embarks on a journey with his friend, Tim and a young woman he meets at a funeral where they attend the wakes and funerals of people they don’t know…learning how to find a way to live again.

the heart of the story…
Bud has a wicked, self-deprecating wit, especially when he’s with Tim, his wheelchair-bound friend who was a former art dealer, and his acerbic colleague Tuan. But they also offer him perspective in those exchanges. As Bud immerses himself in the lives of strangers’s at their wakes, he slowly revives himself, rediscovering his own life. I was inexplicably drawn into this story, finding parallels in my own life and asking myself similar questions. Yes, it’s funny and strange but there’s sunstance to it all.

the narration…
Sean Patrick Hopkins made me believe he was Bud and captured that incredible wit. I loved his performance, funny when it was intended and tender in the right moments.

the bottom line…
There’s an eloquence in the journey, transitioning from the quick comic jabs to self reflection and awareness of the world. Bud represents everyone who’s reached a certain age and been a little broken in the process. His search for meaning touched me deeply and I loved this little gem of a story that wormed its way into my heart.

Posted on Blue Mood Café

(Thanks to Zibby Publishing and Libro.fm for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A middle-aged divorcee and obituary writer has been stuck in a phase of comfortable mediocrity for most of his career. After a bad date where she shows up with her boyfriend, Bud gets drunk and tells the internet he’s dead, which kind of gets him fired and further fuels his state of self-deprecating indifference. We all have a little Bud in us, and if we're not careful, disengagement while going through the motions can become an accepted existence. I'm not saying you should drunkenly publish your own obituary or attend funerals of strangers to snap out of a funk, but I'm also not, not saying that? This book may have prompted me to brainstorm potential gravestone epitaphs for when my time comes. So far, “it was a run-by fruiting” and “how your email finds me” are up there. 4-stars for Esther smacking men when they say something dumb and the crisis hotline that tells you to just leave a message if no one answers. I learned a lot of random facts about death, which was more fun than it sounds, and that Embalmers Monthly was once a real publication. I also cried twice during two objectively happy moments, so I wonder what the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has to say about that?

[Ellery Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect to fall for the book as completely as I did. I knew I'd like it because of the whip-smart satirical voice of the main character, but around them mid-way point, it hit me that I wasn't going to be okay until I knew Bud would be okay.

Open, honest narratives about death are really hard to write, but John Kenney deals with the subject with a wonderful mix of morose humor and heart. Tim has to be the BEST character with a physical disability that I've ever encountered. I loved every scene with him and every scene with Bud's young neighbor.

I listened to this one on audio thanks to @libro.fm. The performance was perfect and I highly recommend this book to everyone.

[Keri Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life isn’t going well for Bud Stanley. He’s recently divorced and struggling with this new reality. He works as an obituary writer, and one night he gets drunk, writes an exaggerated version of his life, and posts his own obituary on his newspaper’s site.

Bud is a quirky and fun character, even if his life isn’t particularly fun these days. He feels alone, but we meet the people in his life that care about him as they lean in to support him. And he meets someone whose hobby is going to wakes and funerals, so starts tagging along.

The rich characters make this very engaging. And what a great title!

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Well, we are all going to die." - Senator Joni Ernst, 6/2/25

And, when we do, obituary writer Bud Stanley will be there to tell the world about our lives, our accomplishments, our peccadillos. Or . . . he would have been had he not drunk-posted his own obviously premature, and fact-free obituary. As he waits for the powers that be to decide his fate, Bud is surprised to discover that he is " . . . an obituary writer who doesn't understand the first thing about life."

Luckily he has a friend who's willing to help him learn that the best way to honor the dead is "By remembering. By living."

This one gave me a lot of laughs, and more than a few teary-eyed moments. For that, I'm giving it five stars.

"It isn't about death. It's about the privilege of being alive."

Many thanks to NetGalley and Zibby Publishing for the read.

[Brent Burch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book with little to no expectations as to what awaited me, besides the brief synopsis I read on this site. To say it surprised me is an understatement. It ranks as one of the best books I've read this year, so far.

I won't rehash what the book is about, but making the main character be an obituary writer was a great way to delve into how we treat death versus life. Plus there is enough humor in it that you don't feel overwhelmed when events take a turn or two for the worst. Definitely one I would recommend.

[Andrea | andrea.c.lowry.reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about a journalist going through an introspective phase.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:

Stream of consciousness
Dark Humor
Introspective look at life
Friendship
Slow Burn

[CarolG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who has too much to drink one night and proceeds to write and publish his own obituary. The newspaper wants to fire him but now the company’s system has him listed as dead and the company can’t fire a dead person. As Bud awaits his fate, he starts to attend the wakes and funerals of strangers with his friend Tim, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair.

A good, humorous book but I think I was expecting it to be funnier. There's a lot of introspection and rumination on what death means to different people. I really liked the main characters and I enjoyed the book but I wouldn't count it as a favourite. I was delighted to come across the word to describe an irrational fear of bridges - gephyrophobia. I still tend to hold my breath when crossing a body of water by bridge. Recommended read for a nice change of pace.

Thanks to the London Public Library for the loan of this book.

[Eryn Reads Everything · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars – A hilariously awkward dive into death, grief, and learning to actually live

I See You’ve Called in Dead follows a wonderfully endearing disaster of a human who stumbles into the oddest job imaginable: writing obituaries… and being absolutely terrible at it. He’s that guy you just know has amazing stories if he could only figure out how to tell them without tripping over his own feet — but somehow, that’s what makes him so weirdly likable.

The tone is exactly what I needed: not too heavy, not trying too hard to be deep. It walks that perfect line between heartfelt and self deprecating humor. The banter is sharp, the dialogue is packed with awkward charm, and instead of dumping loads of backstory, the author breathes life into every character through voice and personality.

At its core, the book is really about someone working in the business of death who has to figure out how to start living. There’s grief in here — not the loud kind, but the kind that hides in the background, that subtle disengagement we all feel when we’re afraid of really connecting or being hurt. But don’t worry — it’s never overly cerebral. The book delivers emotional weight through quirky, real moments rather than long introspective monologues.

If you love dark humor, socially awkward protagonists, and stories that sneak up on your heart, give this one a shot.

Thanks to Zibby Publishing for an ARC of this book.

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

A coming-of-middle-age story for fans of A Man Called Ove.

I See You’ve Called a Bookworm to check if this is worth your time.
A provocative title that tickles you, intrigues you.

What happens when an obituary writer publishes their own death? They get fired from their newspaper, but they can’t be fired as they’re filed as dead.

The writer then attends wakes and funeral of strangers to give his life some zest. To learn to find the ‘life’ of life.

I didn’t find it funny or even truly emotional. Once you’ve read one book in this type of literary vein, you can guess where it’s going.

There is a really insightful child that shows our mc the joys of looking at life in a new way. Then there’s the supportive best friend and the manic pixie dream girl.

What really dragged this rating down was the bad pronoun jokes that should not have been written anytime in the past 15 years.
I found the making fun of people who are considered ‘woke’ very out of tune with current sentiment.

I also didn’t love the audiobook narrator.

The main takeaway? Death could happen at any time so make the most of living.

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[Rachel Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished it because I listened to the audiobook and it wasn't bad or anything. But the first 15% was so much more promising than the rest of the novel...like I just could not find myself caring about a main character who was just kinda pathetic and unlikeable all the way through. The love interest was a boring manic pixie dream girl which was terribly tedious. This just wasn't it for me.

[Seawitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you not love a book with lines like these:

“I read Anna Karenina over July and August. I read Moby-Dick. These books I was supposed to have read in college. I read Ulysses. Fine, that last one is a lie. I tried. I didn’t make it far. I doubt Mrs. Joyce even read it.”


Without spoilers it’s tricky to say just what this book is about. Sure, it’s very funny. The humor is of the gallows variety which as a nurse I tend to enjoy quite a bit.

But there is also an Alfie kind of question here too. What is it all about, Bud? Sometimes that part of the book felt a bit preachy in a way, but not too much.

The Author’s note at the end - wow.

This book surprised me and made me smile and I enjoyed it very much. (Do know I’m a psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in loss and grief.)

[Marialyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some things in life one can escape from that are said to be the most stressful things we can experience. The death of a loved one, divorce, moving, major illness or injury, and job loss are some, but no one mentions the only one none of us escape from....death.

Bud Stanley is a man in crisis. He has had a number of the above mentioned things occur to him, and Bud succumbs to the depression that always seems like a weight pushing him down deeper into the "who cares" realm.

He connects with his friend Tim, a paraplegic, who has been where Bud is and is quite capable of leading Bud on a journey to reconnect with living. Bud also meets a woman whose unusual habit of going to funerals of people she doesn't know entices Bud especially since Bud is an obituary writer until he wasn't due to too much alcohol and a slipped send message. In jest, (or maybe it was a cry for help) Bud writes his own obituary and lands in a ton load of trouble for it.

Bud's in a pit of his own making but as we often realize it is our friends that hold the ladder out to us to climb out.

This wonderful story pulled at all of our emotions and made the point that it is only the act of dying that makes living so wonderful.

Kudos to John Kenny to pull this reader and her best friend, Jan out of the "slump" we were in and made us both love this tender story greatly. We loved his Talk To Me book as well.

[Mali · Rating 2 out of 5]

this reminds me of that tweet that’s like grown men will have these “profound” thoughts and life philosophies in their 30s that girls already discovered when they were 13

[Karly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this so much!! It was funny and it was sad… and It was great!!

Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a “far more interesting” man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary.

The newspaper wants to fire him. But now he’s dead… and you can’t fire a dead man so it would seem. The fallout has Bud thinking that maybe life is living after all…. While he is waiting for his fate at the company he embarks on a weird rebirthing by attending wakes and funerals of strangers with his best friend Tim in an effort to learn how to live… not that he realises thats what he’s doing.

Well, I thought this was going to be a tongue in cheek humorous short novel that would have me giggling my butt off… sure… I did have a giggle from time to time… but this is far more serious and had a far bigger affect on me than I was expecting.

Firstly, the writing is everything I loved it, I really loved how Bud came to life this middle aged grumpy man who did a stupid thing but is really just sad and wants to live life better.

The friendship between Bud and Tim is absolutely gorgeous… its weird and wonderful and its just what a good friend should always be. I loved that they had the kind of friendship they did… Tim calling Bud on his shitty behaviour and Bud feeling like a class A douche but unable to stop himself getting pissed off… its life… its real thats what happens. We say and do things that we regret over time but also almost instantly. This story is about that… and so much more.

I loved the Bud and Clara friendship evolution and the fact that it was ambiguous that was exactly how this story should be. Leo was a treat and so was Tuan… what a beautiful bunch of characters that are all just trying their best to be themselves and live their lives in the only way they know how.

John Kenney is a new author for me and I will be looking for other books by him, I loved this so much… I unexpectedly started crying about 4 chapters from the end and had trouble seeing my kindle through my tears until the pages were done. I was not thinking that this would be so emotional and so raw but it really punched me right in the heart and I loved it.

My good friend Rosh, I think you will love this one but take care and read it when you are in the right frame of mind to be heartbroken but in the best way… it will still hurt though.

Overall, I cannot fault this at all, it is probably my top read of the year so far.

[Sherri Thacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I See You've Called in Dead is an absolute triumph! From the very first page, I was hooked by its incredibly unique premise, which truly sets it apart from anything else I've read. The concept is so imaginative and handled with such skill that it constantly kept me guessing and thoroughly entertained.
I honestly loved everything about this book. The writing is sharp, the characters are wonderfully developed, and the pacing is perfect, ensuring there's never a dull moment. If you're looking for a read that's genuinely different, thought-provoking, and a complete joy from start to finish, then you absolutely need to pick up I See You've Called in Dead. It's a true five-star masterpiece! Looking forward to more books by John Kenney.