“The post office? How do you meet someone at the post office? Who even goes to the post office?”

I do, Mr. Starr. I do. This was a weird book. The main character, Steven Blitz, gets stabbed and dies. But not really. He wakes up in the hospital, in a different version, or 'strand', of his life. Then after a long exploration of this version of his life, he dies again. Then he wakes up in yet another 'strand'...
So it's one of those alt-timeline of one man's life stories, and this guy is pretty much unlikable in all of them! It reads really fast, which is good because I don't know how many more of Mr. Blitz's life strand's I could have taken.

My favorite part of this book was the following: “Donald Trump? In 2014 he was convicted on three counts of sexual assault and is serving a twenty-year sentence at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.” Now that is an alt-reality I can totally get behind! ( )

First line :

~ DYING WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

Steven Blitz didn't think about his own safety when he saw the man trying to force a woman into his car. He stepped in to defend her, and got a knife to the gut for his troubles ~

The editor at Hard Case Crime told me The Next Time I Die would knock my socks off, and he was right. Twilight Zone Noir. Not sure I ever thought of it as a thing, but that’s exactly the feel of this book. It’s dark and edgy and makes you wonder and doubt and suspect, all the while compelling you to read “just one more chapter” to try and make sense of Steven Blitz’s life. But don’t get too wrapped up in trying to find the straight line and the easy answer: “Oh, I get it, it’s all a dream. He’ll wake up and live happily ever after. Or be stuck in his rotten life forever.” Nope. Just like all noir tales and all visits to the Twilight Zone, The Next Time I Die makes you think. Things are not black and white, there are shades and shadows. You can’t always have everything you want.

Steven Blitz is not really a hero when he defends the girl at the gas station. He is on his way to his brother’s house, because his wife has just kicked him out, but he observes a situation and tries to do the right thing. He’s a hard worker, wants to be successful, but he’s sacrificed relationships and his marriage for work, and his wife’s choices reflect that. His rescue effort gets him a knife in the gut, and he fades away, sure he’s dying.

Until . . . he wakes up in the hospital. That can’t be right; that stab wound was fatal. He was sure of it. But maybe miracles do happen. He’s still Steven Blitz, his wife is still his wife, his brother is still his brother, but things are just a tad off. They’ve shifted a bit to the left – or is it to the right? He still feels like that essentially good guy whose wife just threw him out, who tried to save a woman in danger, because he’s got the memories of the Steven Blitz he was when he (thought he) died. But even though he feels like Good Steve, facts he discovers seem to say otherwise. He's surprised – and pleased – to see his wife now seems to love him. And he has a daughter! But now that’s he got the loving family he wanted and thinks whatever this new reality is it might be pretty good, his mistress contacts him and he finds evidence of his dishonesty in all areas of his life. He’s confused and frightened: his wife is now good but he’s bad? Is he dead after all, is this heaven, a trick, what’s up?

He notices more and more subtle changes beyond himself and the people he knows. There are changes in technology, entertainment, history, and he begins to believe he really has stepped into the Twilight Zone, into an alternate reality. His research (through something not Google) tells him things changed about 22 years ago, and that’s when this life began to be different from his “other life.” He tries to change things, correct the mistakes, get the best of both worlds. He thinks he has the power to do just that. But does he? Is this new reality a second chance, the opportunity to make things right, to learn from his mistakes? Or is there an infinite set of realities where everything is off just a smidge from the previous one, and nothing is quite perfect? And does he have to die each time to move to the next reality? I hate spoilers, so you’ll have to read The Next Time I Die to find out. Finding out is the best part of the book!

The Next Time I Die is well-written, cleverly plotted, and engaging, exciting and suspenseful. The characters, whether in their good or their bad personas, draw you in and make you wish for a magic switch to merge all the good and dispose of all the bad. Jason Starr has written a novel that you won’t be able to put down. Don’t twist yourself up trying to get logically from Point A to Point B to Point C . . . just enjoy the dilemmas and danger and the endless possibilities this book will force you to confront. Thanks to Hard Case Crime for providing an advance copy of The Next Time I Die for my reading pleasure and honest review. They have a knack for discovering the best books and authors and The Next Time I Die takes its rightful place on that list. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even the headache-inducing what-if’s, and recommend it without hesitation. All opinions are my own. ( )

The good people at Hard Case Crime sent me an advanced reader copy of their latest publication, Jason Starr's The Next Time I Die. I've read 99% of the Hard Case Crime books and this is definitely a slight change of pace for them. The protagonist, a lawyer preparing for his opening arguments in defense of a serial killer, is kicked out of his house by his wife, who says she never loved him and is having an affair with another woman. The lawyer narrowly avoids a bad accident, and when he gets involved in a domestic dispute at a gas station is stabbed. He is surprised when he wakes up in a hospital alive, without a stab wound and with a loving wife and daughter, and a President Gore and standing Twin Towers. This starts a noirish look at alternate universes and whether or not the person you are in each universe is inherently good or bad.

Starr's writing, as always, is engaging and propulsive. While not in the exact same vein as a typical Hard Case Crime book, I still recommend it. ( )

The Next Time I Die by Jason Starr

Steven sees a man attempting to shove a woman into his car, he intervenes and ends up stabbed. When he wakes up in the Hospital, there is no signs of a stab wound, and a (He has) new diagnosis. Also current events have changed in the world and his personal life.

His wife is loving, caring and kind, which is perplexing since they were heading towards divorce. He also learns he has a daughter and they have the perfect family. Soon he finds he may not be the nice guy he thinks he is. Life is about to take a confusing and dangerous course, unless he can figure out how to make things right.

The story moves at a fast pace, with twist, turns, chills an thrills. Watching the events constantly change, seeing how Steven thinks and feels had me on the edge of my seat. His life begins to unravel, in this butter fly effect of events, if he could just get someone to listen....

Overall I found The Next Time I Die very enjoyable. I highly recommend to those who enjoy, bizarre, fascinating, thought-provoking crime thrillers. A must read. ( )