Marco Ocram

An easy, entertaining, amusing read. Enough fun to be worth its time.

Imagine the sort of murder mystery story where there's an obvious red-handed suspect but an author-friend who can't believe it and just has to investigate anyway, perhaps a bit of Murder She Wrote or similar, and then mix in a whole lot of off-the-cuff random wackiness that often feel like touches of Airplane or The Naked Gun or any random Mel Brooks movie moment, and you'll be in roughly the right neighborhood in describing how The Awful Truth About The Herbert Quarry Affair plays out. If that sounds even slightly possibly amusing to you, you'll probably have fun with this.… (mehr)

Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. No compensation was received other than the chance to read this work.

Brief summary: This is a mystery novel that its writer means to break the mold with. Literally. In an attempt to be a writer the same way Jackson Pollock was a painter, the writer chooses not to think while writing about his investigation into the murder his friend, Herbert Quarry, is accused of.

This book had good pacing, and was an engaging read. Some readers might be put off by the writing style, which chooses to take the reader along as if they are part of the thought journey rather than a disinterested party. Breaking the fourth wall, plenty of satire, and some self-deprecation aimed at the author are spread throughout the work. This would be a different sort of summer read, but one that may interest readers.

Recommended for those who enjoy the works of Jasper Fforde, Lemony Snicket and sly humor such as P.G. Wodehouse.… (mehr)

I really wanted to like this book. It sounded humorous and different, and I tried three times to get into it, but ... apparently I don't like the style where the author is both part of the story and making it up as he goes. Never read anything like that before so I thought it would be interesting but it was not for me. Also, it probably helps to have read the Name of the Rose sometime more recently than 30+ years ago :) I give the author credit for a unique book, but I can't rate it because I I didn't get much past the first few chapters.… (mehr)