An Absolute Laugh Riot!

When I heard of this novel, I believed that I had never read a previous book by Mr. Haisson. In fact, I didn't even think I'd heard of him until I saw Matt interview him on the Today Show. Then I found out he was a contributing writer to the book Naked Came the Mantatee which I had read some years ago. He struck me as amusing and creative, especially when I heard the song that he and Warren Zevon had written. The title? "Basket Case," of course. So,I decided to give him a try and I bought the book.

During a two day literary fest during my vacation, I read the book out loud to my daughter as she wrote her computer program. We laughed so hard that we couldn't put it down until we finished on day two.

Jack Tagger, Jr., is a former star turned obituary writer for the Union-Register. In a former life at this very newspaper, he had been a serious, front page reporter until he irritated the new CEO at a shareholder's meeting. For his sins, he was condemned to the death page and designated as a professional obituary writer, with the goal of his eventual retirement. Jack is heading toward his 47th birthday and, as a result of his new specialty, is obsessed with death. His preoccupation drives away those closest to him, and he is somewhat lonely. That all changes with the death of Jimmy Stoma.

One day, he comes across a seemingly innocuous notification that James Bradley Stomarti has died at age 37 in a diving accident. Although not mentioned in the funeral home release, he knows that this is the given name for Jimmy Stoma of Jimmy Stoma and the Slut Puppies, a former grammy winning rock band. A fan, he decides to save this semi-important obituary for himself. He gets so little glory these days.

Suspicions arise after he writes an obituary feature based on a conversation with the "grieving" widow and finds the story of the drowning varies each time she interviews with a different publication. He also speaks with Jimmy's sister and finds out that there is a vast difference in what Cleo Rio, the widow, told him and the more realistic scenario that Jimmy's sister paints. He goes to view the body before cremation and discovers that there are no autopsy scars, adding to the mystery. When he observes the widow servicing some guy on the balcony, something really starts to stink.

He attends the funeral where Cleo uses the occasion to stage an advertisement of her upcoming album which includes the sure-to-be hit, "Shipwrecked Heart." The problem is, she doesn't seem to know many of the words, or the tune very well.

Unable to stifle his curiosity, he decides to investigate the death on his own. In order to accomplish this, he must first persuade his editor, Emma, that he deserves the honor. Emma is on a mission to fire Jack and has made sure that any obituary that seems the slightest bit interesting is turned over to another section of the newspaper. Jack has been on a counter mission to make Emma quit and forget the newspaper business altogether in order to save her. So far, he's only managed to get her hooked on Valium.

As Jack begins to interview former Slut Puppies and associates of Jimmy Stoma, he finds himself defending his home in a contest to the death with a frozen lizard as his only weapon; a former Slut Puppy is dead in a suspicious accident; Jimmy's sister is missing, her home broken into with blood on the floor; and another Slut Puppy is shot.

Somehow, Emma teams with Jack and they begin to unravel the mystery after finding something mysterious on Jimmy's boat.

The plot is complex, with multiple story lines woven together in a beautiful mosiac. Although the direction of the story is somewhat predictable at times, it is also so funny that this shortcoming is easily overlooked. If you enjoy satire and a great time, take a couple of days to read this delightful and entertaining novel.