Totally Killer: A Darkly Funny Noir Thriller Where 90s Conspiracy Collides with Savage Humor

by Greg Olear

“Smart, unexpected, and wonderfully savage in its humor. Totally Killer nails, without mercy, the mood and minutiae of a weary America at the end of the 20th century.”
—Brad Listi, author of Attention. Deficit. Disorder.   Debut novelist Greg Olear gets nostalgic for a recently bygone era with Totally Killer —a quirky, darkly funny, and fiendishly clever noirish tale of intrigue and suspense. The ’90s are back in this brilliant collision of conspiracy theory and pop culture that ingeniously blends assassination, politics, paranoia, Dick Cheney, CIA duplicity, and Duran Duran. The raves are already rolling in for this wonderfully twisted tale of an innocent and beautiful young Midwestern girl who finds a “totally killer” job through a most unusual employment agency in New York City. Jerry Stahl, bestselling author of Permanent Midnight, says, “The title doesn’t lie— Totally Killer truly is.”

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2009

About the author

New book Dirty Rubles: An Introduction to Trump/Russia is a primer on the greatest political scandal in US history.

"If ignorance is your bliss, Dirty Rubles isn't for you. Greg Olear deliciously tears down that barrier Trump has erected between the truth and the American people.
—Cheri Jacobus, USA Today columnist, political pundit and Trump target

“While Donald Trump represented the greatest threat to the United States since the Civil War, the US Media abdicated its duty to tell the American people the truth. Luckily, skilled writers and patriots like Greg Olear stepped into the fray, keeping readers rapt as he helped condense complex conspiracy into lucid narrative. Dirty Rubles is a long-form version of that lucidity, a cogent book that will catch people up to speed as they realize the story of the century was kept from them. To help America get back on track, read this book and share its insights with family and friends.”
—Eric Garland, strategic analyst, author of Future Inc: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit from What’s NEXT and How to Predict the Future and Win.

Author of the novels Fathermucker and Totally Killer.

Founding editor, The Weeklings.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the downsides of requesting review copies is the potential to become overwhelmingly bogged down and backed up... In my case, books are coming in faster than I can read them. This one was calling me from the top of my bookcase for quite awhile, and I was so happy to finally start it. I nearly squealed with joy when I opened to the first page and saw a photocopied list of some of my favorite songs from that decade!

The story takes place in NYC during the early nineties - where the 80's style and music are slowly taking a back seat to the grunge movement, and GenXer's are stepping up to the employment plate. Mixed tapes are all the rage, call waiting and caller ID are still a few years away, and MTV is about to turn the world of television upside down with our first ever unscripted reality show.

We are introduced to our loyal narrator Todd, who shares his apartment with our leading lady Taylor, a NYC implant who dreams of working at a publishing company. After some pretty lame interviews that get her nowhere, she is mysteriously recommended to Quid Pro Quo, a super secret, super posh employment agency that promises to land you the job of your dreams...Though, should you decide to keep it, there is a price to be paid.

Just how does Quid Pro Quo manage to place all of their customers into such great high paying, amazingly hard to come by, dream come true positions? Well... let's break it down, shall we?

For starters - Our main characters are the children of the Baby boomers. Baby boomers are known to be a very hard working, let me show you what I can do for you, generation. A generation of people who, at the time our story takes place, were currently holding down all the available, desirable jobs. And rightly so, they put thier blood, sweat, and tears into attaining them. And there they planned to stay. They were standing in the way of the hopeful new GenX graduates, who pooled out into the workforce with a diploma in hand, but no experience to back it all up. And these poor GenXer's were struggling to find employment - there were just no jobs to be had.

Now take the Quid Pro Quo agency, who cleverly named themselves after the Latin term "Something for Something" or more commonly translated as "This for That". A term that tends to be used as a form of bribery or... in this case, for our innocent and unknowing friends Todd and Taylor...blackmail.

So... You want a dream job? You go through Quid Pro Quo. You think the positions they offer you are too good to be true? Perhaps they are. Perhaps they ask you if it is a job worth killing for. Just how far would you be willing to go to keep that incredibly awesome, once in a lifetime job? What might happen should you not be willing to comply with their terms of service?

Described as "part thriller, part satire, part period piece"... Greg Olear manages to make Totally Killer grab you on multiple levels. Nostalgic, noirish, covered in conspiracy and historical drama... this is a book that all GenXer's can appreciate.
But please don't take my word on it. Grab a copy and check it our for yourself. (I would hide it away from any baby boomers though - we wouldn't want to cause them any unnecessary concern!)

Stay tuned for an author interview on my blog http://thenextbestbookblog.blogspot.com with the author. And in the meantime, check him out in The Nervous Breakdown and play around with the cool links, novel soundtrack, and videos on the Totally Killer website!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Good: Totally Killer is set in the 1990s, which leads to some fun references for those of us who experienced them firsthand. It's very premise, set around the employment agency, is a wonderful idea and could have been gold if handled differently.

The Bad: The characters aren't the least bit sympathetic, which is unfortunate in a novel where we should care that one of them is dead. Telling the story from Todd's point of view well in the future, looking back on the events, was risky and never worked for me. It makes no sense, his tone while telling the story doesn't betray the ending. While it keeps the suspense, it's not plausible he'd tell the story the way he did given his own experiences. Never mind the fact that one would expect a storyteller to make himself seem less like an complete loser. He speaks of all the creepy things he does in his lust for Taylor, all the ways he completely ruined his life just to get to know her better and more, all without a whiff of the shame one would expect years down the line. This was a great idea that just took every wrong turn it could find.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something so strange in reading a novel set in 1991 as historical fiction and yet it's pretty much how Olear sets it up. Almost like a narrated guide to NYC in 1991, it's enough to make anyone who gets all of the references to feel old. But this isn't a mere nostalgic trip down the memory lane, it's also a severely messed up (as if any other kind is worth writing about) love story, a murder thriller with serious conspiracy theory undertones and a very nice ending twist. New York is as great of a story setting as it is a terrible place to actually inhabit. Here it's very much a character of itself, alongside with a lively bunch of weirdos and psychopaths, particularly Asher Krug, a frighteningly vivid American Psycho in his own right. For a completely random library selection, this was surprisingly good. Well written, darkly humorous, thought provoking, clever and original. Excellent social satire that given the recurring patterns of politics and economics can be made to work in 1991 (when the story is set) , 2009 (when the story was completed) and present time. Very quick read too and thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended.

[Lizzy Gadbaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lmao what the fuck!

[Lell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has an interesting story line, but unconvincing writing and weak editing leads me to rate it with two stars.

At first, I was eager to enjoy a flashback to the early 1990s, but I quickly found the references to be way too obvious. I kept wishing the author didn't feel the need to explain in detail that Starbucks wasn't as ubiquitous, "The Firm" was a hit, and that "90210" was a popular show back then. If the 1991 references had been more subtle, it would've felt more genuine rather than a contest of 'how many 1991 references can you name-drop'.

The other complaint I have is the pacing of the story. The plot picked up very quickly towards the end and it felt rushed, which was unfortunate because there were some interesting ideas with the story and minor characters that could've been fleshed out some more.

Given that this is a first novel, it's understandable that the writing might be a little unpolished but with the creativity of the plot, the author shows some promise.

[Alexandre Bazzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great novel, it grows on you and once you pass the first chapter you can't stop until the end.
Every good book I finish gives me a sad feeling, like losing a friend and totally killer was a good friend

[carmiemo mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

this fucks tbh

[Cayla Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish it because it was terrible.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've graduated from college in the past couple of years and are living in New York City, there's a very good chance that life sucks for you right now. Why? The economy. Kinda seems like a cliché reason, but it's true. Huge numbers of recent grads are unemployed or holding a part-time job that pays minimum wage and has nothing to do with that degree they just spent thousands of dollars on. But guess what? You're not the first group this has happened to! Back in 1991, things were just as bad—back when a Bush was in office, the US was involved in another war in the Middle East, and NYC was just a little seedier.

This is the historical setting for Greg Olear's debut novel, Totally Killer. The story focuses on Taylor, a 23-year-old single and jobless graduate from Missouri. We hear the story, however, from Taylor's roommate Todd, who tells us in the very beginning that Taylor is dead and we're going to learn why. Taylor comes to the Big Apple with glitter in her eyes, and she's anxious to live the New York City dream. After months of searching for a job and nothing to show for it, Taylor is understandably frustrated. When an invitation for a mysterious employment agency called Quid Pro shows up in her mailbox, Taylor figures it can't hurt to give them a call. Quid Pro Quo proves to be quite different from any other employment agency Taylor has visited—a nice building, expensive decor. She easily lands a perfect job and, even better, a perfect boyfriend, but [as the publisher blurb states, and I have to steal its dramatic teaser:] "perfection as its price."

Totally Killer is essentially a piece of historical fiction, just using a history that isn't too remote. The author does a fabulous job of setting the scene as New York in 1991. I didn't live here then [I was six years old:], and neither did Olear, but I certainly got a feel of the setting from his descriptions—sentences that reiterate how there was no email or internet or cell phones, and how employment agencies and classifieds were the main ways to find a job. It reminds you that not only has technology changed, it has certainly hugely changed the way we function as a society.

This is book is one part thriller (who killed Taylor??), one part satire built around the following idea: recent grads can't find a job because baby-boomers are still in the workforce. So what's the easiest way to fix that? Kill them off, of course. Olear creates a story in which the outlandish becomes almost justifiable, and it's peppered with lots of themes and pop culture references that make this book almost as relatable today, though it's set almost two decades ago.

I enjoyed the perspective from which the story was told. While I got to know the characters, I never felt I had the time to decide if I liked them or not. It's one of those stories that just carried me along as one event flowed into another. Olear did an excellent job of simultaneously working through the setting and characters and plot, and I had a hard time putting this one down.

[Georgette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I LOVED this book. Dark comedy at its best.

Taylor Schmidt is a farm girl from a small town in Missouri who moves to New York City to live the big life(and get a job, whether it's a publisher, or a modeling contract.) She meets and moves in with Todd, a good guy who's more than a little in love with her. He watches as she lands a big job and falls head over heels for the James Bond-type of the company(tall, dark, handsome, mysterious, and with a license to kill). Taylor is doing great at the job until the day Lydia calls her in and informs her that it's time for recompense- namely, she has to kill whomever the company(Quid Pro Quid) tells her to. Initially opposed, Taylor gets off(literally) on the thrill of the kill, and she and Asher(aka James Bond) handle several of the kills. Finally, Taylor is told she's doing a far better job than Asher and she has to kill him. All hell breaks loose, espicially when Todd and the geek boy in the downstairs apartment get involved. The plot takes a real twist or ten, and you are simply stunned- to the point you cannot set this book down. I literally read from page 50 to the end in under a hour. The narrative takes place in 1991, but what's really fun about this book is the backwards nostalgia ride that Olear's story takes you on(Taylor is an 80's fanatic, in love with hair metal bands and Duran Duran, which is 1991 is "seriously uncool.") while keeping good score of the 1990's scorecard. The narrative jumps forward to 2009 as Todd ends up taking over the conclusion of the novel, and you are reminded of the good old days without modern technology( aka the Internet, Ipads, cell phones...).

This first novel from Greg reminds me of American Psycho meets Bright Lights, Big City. It's a quick running novel, and the relationships to the characters are quickly established as the reader devours the book. Every new page is another dark surprise- almost like reaching into that plastic Halloween pumpkin and one minute, finding candy corn and the next a handful of maggots. I simply cannot tell you how quirky and singular this book is. I don't think I've read anything like it(and I've read a lot). It's great to go back and read this, having read his new book Fathermucker and it's a total departure. I love that the two books are so different, it keeps things interesting, and it keeps you wanting to read new books. I will be waiting for his next book with barely disguised anticipation.

[Sasha]

It’s 1991, and our narrator Todd looks back from the future on those fateful months that his path crossed with one Taylor Schmidt, the blonde in possession of an odd sex appeal, and countless of other 90s affectations. The economy sucks, Taylor’s a victim of the job search. Until things turn for the better. Or worse, depending how you look at it.

Other pertinent information: Taylor dies. Quid Pro Quo Employment Agency is A Bad Idea. We know this from the first pages of the book, c/o our narrator Todd who was Taylor’s roommate eighteen years ago. It’s not a spoiler. In fact, throughout the narrative, Todd frequently steps in to remind the reader of himself, and that he knows how this will all turn out. Like, Taylor goes out to get cigarettes, but damn, she shouldn’t have done that because, well, as we know now, she’ll come to regret it. That got annoying fast, haha.

Also, you can see that plot twist–why the Agency is A Bad Idea, and Why Taylor Dies–from a mile away. [Does this make it a "plot hump"?]

But it was fun. The nineties nostalgia, the references that flew over my head [a disclaimer: I, for one, know next to nothing about 1991. I was born late '89, and was probably gurgling on Gerber around the time this happens]. Yeah, it was fun, how madcap Taylor’s job search went, the uncovering of the deep and dark secrets of Quid Pro Quo. It was fun.

The fun got tedious after a while (that makes little sense, I know), though.

Seven-eights into the novel (look, Ma, I can do Math!) I decided to let it go and just skim it to the end. Because it was getting too deep into its kitsch-ness for me to stomach it much longer (ah, Sasha Getting Snooteh). Yeah, it was kitsch. It was campy, and it was soaked in Man Those Were the Good Ol’ Days nostalgia for 1991–but it was fun. It was verra verra fun.

And that’s kind of it. All the mentioned, and this:

1. It’s fast-paced, a good book to spend the afternoon with. In my case, I tried to finish it before my boyfriend came to pick me up. It’s FUN, okay, and witty–there’s a big dose of satire in it, a tongue-in-cheek view of want and obsession.

2. This is so going to be a movie. With Scarlett Johansson blank-gazedly gaping at people gaping at her cleavage. Huh. This really feels like one of those black comedy B-movies that has its respectable cast trying to look cool and unrespectable and oh-so-nineties.

Yeah. That was it. Heh.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally Killer
Greg Olear
Harper Collins
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
www.harpercollins.com
978-0-06-173529-5, $13.99, 2009



This novel is about a murder that took place in 1991. The main character is Todd and he finds a roommate named Taylor Schmidt. As he gets more involved with Taylor, he starts to fall for her and finds her secret journals and starts reading them while she is gone. As luck would have it, he ends up losing his job because he keeps leaving work early.
Taylor in the meantime, gets a temporary job thru Quid Pro Quo and suddenly meets an intriguing man named Asher Krug. Taylor quickly learns there is more to him than meets the eye and she soon finds out he is a hit man. As the novel progresses, Asher soon has Taylor participating in his “pink slip” operation, recruiting her to kill people. Eventually, Taylor has Todd join the ranks of this Quid Pro Quo. He soon finds out that Asher is targeting his former Supervisor, Donna Green. Todd literally flips out and feels he is backed into a corner by taking this job. By this time Taylor is hooked and acquires a thirst for killing.
During one of the diary readings, Todd finds a passage that references Taylor possibly going to kill Todd. Eventually, Taylor finds her way back to the apartment in a drunken state and tells Todd that she and Asher broke up. The two finally get together and this kind of frightens Todd because he remembers what she put in the diary. Fearing for his life, Todd ends up shooting Taylor in the face.
The lawyer tries to get to take a plea deal and Todd fells like Quid Pro Quo once again is not giving him a choice, making him do something he doesn’t want to do. Todd becomes the fall guy for the players involved for this company. He even starts to question his own sanity when the lawyers suggest that Quid Pro Quo never existed. He gets the maximum sentence for this crime and ends up getting out when he is Forty three years old.
This book was adorable and I loved the references to the Nineties, especially the songs and the clothing. The author made you feel like you were back in that time period. I would recommend this book to all young adults who grew up in this time period. This was a pleasant murder mystery and a very quick read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part murder mystery, part conspiracy, this book, which will be released Thursday (October 1), tells the story of how Taylor Schmidt came to be deceased at the tender age of 23 (Not a spoiler! We learn this in the first pages of the book). The narrator, Todd Lander, does all he can to take us back to New York in 1991, the fateful year of Taylor's death.

From talking about what life was like before the Internet (There was a time before the Internet?!), to Todd's sad attempt to win Taylor's love by making her a mixed tape, this book will take you back to the early 90's the way Bret Easton Ellis takes you back to the early 80's in Less Than Zero. It's funny because I never really think of anything really defining the 90's, not in the way that pop music, fluorescent clothing, and awesome hair defined the 80's, but Olear has really captured what the decade had to offer. I especially liked the talk of the economic downturn at the time and what the "slacker" culture really meant. It really got me thinking.

As for the story, I really liked Taylor Schmidt's character, if only because I felt like I really could relate to her (at least in the beginning of the book). I thought some of the book was predictable, but the ending threw me off, which I liked. I felt like I was really wrapped up in the conspiracy by the end, the same way Todd would have felt if he were a real person. I love that about conspiracy fiction. The author (or, more often, filmmaker) spends so much time building up this world and getting you to really buy into and then BAM! nothing is what it seems and you begin to question everything you've just read. I thought Olear did a great job of that.

This was a good read set in a time period I don't really think much about, even though it was the time when most of my growing up happened, so it was a refreshing read. It's obvious Olear did a lot of research on the 90's (or he has a unhealthy attachment to those years). I thought the book was fun to read and I loved the title's play on words (even if I did have the saying "Totally killer, dude" stuck in my head for days). Definitely a good one to check out if you're looking for a quick, fun read.

[Suzanne De · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book, and was quite pleased... and while there were many things i liked about it, it felt a bit like a book that needed another edit.

Some of the "twists" in the plot were obvious to me. However, it was the two main characters, who seemed both boring, pathetic, and stupid in the "hey there's a killer in my house, i'd better check the basement" kind of way that really bugged me. I could really not sympathize, empathize, or even fathom them really. Though this is not always a problem, in this book it was. It felt often like the author was trying to be so clever, and also so Bret Easton Ellis a la American Psycho for a different age, it bordered on pretentious.

And if there were any more descriptions of how much the main character lusted after the girl, it would be a drinking game. The only comparison with that frequency is, if you've read Twilight, it is almost as bad as the number of times the main character in that book refers to how beautiful the vampire is.

The ending seemed rushed; the development of the characters seemed naught, and yet... I still ended up not hating it.. (although half way through I was convinced I would not finish it) and kind of liking it, but not loving it. It would be a hard recommend for me. I know only a few people who would 'dig' it for sure.

[Kerry Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for pop culture. Insane amounts of inane pop culture trivia swirls continuously through my brain. It's only natural then, that I would adore anything filled with a plethora of pop culture references for me to cry, "Yes! Hey, I get that reference!" I miss TV's The Gilmore Girls.

Greg Olear's Totally Killer satisfied my pop culture proclivities in abundance. It takes place in 1991, the year I turned 15, so although I'm a bit younger than the main characters in the novel, I still related to it. Any book that can reference Parliament Lights (which was my brand of choice back when I was still a smoker), Alec Baldwin in The Marrying Man, Sassy magazine (oh how I miss it!), as well as the amazing music of that time possesses the key to my heart.

Aside from all that, this book is a darkly comic look at Baby Boomers vs. Generation X, written as a noirish mystery featuring well drawn characters with imagery that perfectly evokes NYC in 1991 (even for those like me that have never been there). It's easy and fun to read, with a great plot twist that I truly didn't see coming. I love a novel that surprises me.

I'd recommend this to everyone. Especially anyone who came of age in the 90s.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really digging the author's writing style. It's fun, witty and satire. I like the way he describes the characters, the settings. Just feels so surreal. It was like as though I was engulfed in the story. I really love how he makes those 90's reference like as though it was just yesterday. I enjoy reading those parts because I'm fascinated by that era and his description made it so alive. Also, I'm really amazed at the author's vocabulary span. It's really just so wow!! The story is fast paced, which is good. The character introductions were kind of interesting. It's not boring. The thing about this novel is that you already knew the ending from the start but that somehow doesn't deter you from furiously flipping to the next page with great anticipation and suspense, wanting to know how/why/what happened. The author is always reminding us, the readers, how the story will end and although it's kind of unfortunate and not exactly the ending I was looking forward to, I'm surprised that I'm still reading it. I'm really really hoping that there's going to be some sort of twist at the climax. So far this book has been very satisfying, engaging, teeth gritting. And oh how I wish I could just quicken my reading speed so I can know what happened.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now THIS is fiction I can get into! "Totally Killer" feels like putting on your favorite pair of jeans: they fit perfectly, like they were made just for you, and you can't think of one thing you would change about them.

Olear tells the story of Taylor Schmidt and her roommate, Todd, college grads trying to make ends meet in NYC in 1991. Taylor finds a killer job through an obscure placement agency and gets an amazing boyfriend to boot. What could be better?

I loved Olear's tone throughout the book - satirical and a bit standoffish, which fits Todd perfectly. All the characters, actually, were wonderfully done. The hallmark of a good book, to me, is that everything feels natural and you just get carried away in the stories. It's kind of hard to explain, but the characters and the story just... flow. Olear made this happen while simultaneously doing an amazing job at capturing the essence of the early 90's.

The plot was well done and I think the latter part of the book when things are concurrently winding down and winding up is where Olear's talent really shines. I really enjoyed and hope he continues writing.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up Totally Killer by Greg Olear because of the cassette on the cover, which I spied on his Largehearted Boy Book Notes essay. There’s something in my genetic makeup that makes it nearly impossible for me to pass up any book with a cassette tape on the cover. Somewhere buried deep in my subconscious is the girl who spend all Sunday taping her favorite songs off America’s Top 40 countdown, and apparently she’s the on in charge of book selections.

I stuck with the book despite my extreme annoyance because it’s the November pick for Rock & Roll Bookclub.

As a reader, I rarely question an author’s Point of View (POV) choices. I figure it’s their story they can tell it how they want to. However, this is not the case with Totally Killer. In fact, I spent the first half of the book so annoyed by Olear’s POV choice that I nearly abandoned it. I’m kind of glad that I didn’t.

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[Mark Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I'm giving away too much when I say that the hook of the book is that there's an employment agency that requires its clients to kill in order to get a top-notch job. First things first, there are few things that disappoint me more than a book that can't live up to its fantastic premise. This book definitely doesn't have that problem.

It was really well plotted, and I ended up really liking almost all of the characters in the book, which I think is highly important when one is telling a story in which all of the characters do really awful things.

My only criticism is that it often felt like the author was trying really hard to make the year 1991 act as a main character in the book. There were a lot of off-the-cuff references to obscure facts about that year, and sometimes they just felt out of place and a bit jarring.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book moves along at a great clip, and I think the major accomplishment is that Greg can keep the story moving without sacrificing character development. The characters are unique and fascinating, and there are enough twists and turns to keep things at a furious pace right up until the end.

I won't ruin this for people who haven't read it, but it's a fun story about a couple twentysomethings in the early-nineties who are struggling to find jobs, identities, and self-satisfaction. When they find a job placement agency that appears too good to be true, the characters are thrown into a shit storm when they find out that it is very much too good to be true. How they proceed after this realization is both gripping and entertaining.

When you're ready for a good story that will keep you engrossed to the last page, check this out.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sex! Violence!! C’mon, who doesn’t dig on that? At least in their pop-entertainment. Read this book on the recommendation of a friend & wasn’t disappointed. Kept me up late racing to the finish line. Totally Killer is a fun and warped journey back in time – summer of 1991. I was just in high school back then, but this book evokes that era with smart, funny and spot-on commentary, stuffed with pop culture references and plenty of eerie parallels to 2009. Go out and buy this book today – make sure that you can boast of having the edition with the original cover (which is also like, totally killer) when the inevitable movie tie-in comes out with Scarlett Johansson sporting a denim mini skirt and .44 caliber on the front. And did I mention: Violence! Sex!!

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much to like and dislike of Greg Olear's debut novel. The positives: dialogue, the atmosphere (early 90s NYC done well), the story and especially the end. I wish the book had focused on where it ended more than most of the narrative. Which leads to the negatives: annoyingly forced pop culture references, stilted character development (can't say more w/o giving away the plot) and an obnoxiously cloying love angle (it's like the author can't go three pages without some sort of "Taylor, I want you!" quote). There was enough there to keep me plowing through and I am willing to write some of the negatives off as first book issues. I see that the author's next novel received excellent reviews and I might check it out at some point.

[Pratyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this during my exam week and it was most certainly one the best ways to relieve all the stress. Totally Killer is totally smart, subtly satirical and funny throughout. The characters are well developed and while the story might be relatively predictable and simple, it does a fantastic job in developing the novel as a period piece. There are books that are Man Booker Prize winners, Pulitzer prize winners and then there is category of books that Totally Killer falls into - books that are brilliant but overlooked. I'm glad I picked this up at the Library 4 days ago, cause if I hadn't I would have missed out on one helluva adrenaline-filled novel. I sincerely hope Greg Olear publishes more novels, he just might be the next big thing in literature.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over all, I liked it! It was fun, light, and exciting. While I think that, yes, some of the plot twists were a little obvious, I felt like that was part of the fun of the novel. I love the conspiracy theory aspect to the story, and I think that it fit perfectly for this cast of characters. I think that my favorite part of the book is that the narrator is kind of creepy (even if he doesn't mean to be), and he has that kind of "Rear Window" aspect of everything... he sees what is happening in front of him, yet he has no control over it. Great read. Really fun. Looking forward to the next one.

[Jim Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun read, rimshots on every other page. Smart, funny, and outrageous, it had me on the edge of my seat.

I enjoyed the NYC references, as I was there often from '87-'89, a bit before the book takes place, but I giggled (yes, I did) when Olear wrote about Dojo, St. Marks, Village Gate, Andy's Chee-Pees (I bought an overcoat there!).

TK is full of twists and turns, of wit and ironical references. A sincere pleasure to read.

[Cathy Serpico · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was like stepping into the world my older cousins lived in when we were all growing up -- when I thought flannel was SO COOL and I'd worry I'd get grounded for having Nirvana's Nevermind hidden under my bed. My favorite part is when Taylor overhears this little gem at an employment agency: 'Full editor? HarperCollins? ... Sixty-five thou a year? He'll take it!'

And in 1991, no less. Ha. ha ha.

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crystal's review of this had me at "If you liked The Basic Eight..."

... and it even had a scene with absinthe in it! Muah hah ha! Great, quick page turner. Love being thrown back to 1991, with all the political, historical, and pop culture refences. This is not your average small town girl moves to NY novel - and as predictible as it appears as it builds towards the end, you'll be delightfully surprised at the outcome. Great first novel!

[Jeff Tucker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a difficult time finishing this book. The writing isn’t too bad but I thought the premise for the story was ridiculous. I can read a ridiculous book if it’s clever or funny but this isn’t one of those books. Its part murder mystery, part conspiracy theory and part tour guide to New York City in 1991. The cultural references to the time and the city play an important role. I felt that the author was trying a little too hard at times and it just didn’t seem to work. I didn’t care for it.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally killer totally killed me. It's a mix of American Psycho, Chuck Klosterman, Hornby, Gen X, fight club with a dash of love will tear us apart. I loved the 90's pop culture and conspiracy theories. It's a fast, satirical, nostalgic, dark comedy written in my favourite era and an ending that made me pause and go awww. I already imagined the film and just read that Bret Easton Ellis is developing a TV show based on it. I expected to be entertained but it totally killed me.

[Hadley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book combines 90's nostalgia and humor with a decent thriller/conspiracy story. It was kind of a combo of Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell and Love Will Tear Us Apart by Sarah Rainone. Definitely an entertaining read.