So, this book is doing weird things in the meta--one of the conceits is that the first-person POV character, the "I" of the novel, has written "how to write a mystery novel" books, so the narrator goes to great lengths to demonstrate that he's "playing fair." That ... strangely, doesn't interfere with this working as a reasonable modern take on a Fair Play Mystery, at least to my not-deeply-involved-in-the-genre taste, without at all coming across (to me) as anything like a satire. The voice is reasonably engaging, and the characters are ... fun to find in a book, though I honestly wouldn't want to spend more real-world time with them than necessary.
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The Elephant of Surprise by Joe R. Lansdale
I don't know that I was looking for a Lansdale novel when I saw this at the library, but that title just made me smile and grab the bo...

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A neat little Horror novel (big shock on the genre, there, I'm sure) that plays some interesting games with PTSD and identity, with ma...
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Reading this novel reminded me a good deal of reading Processed Cheese . America Fantastica is more subtle, and the points it's makin...
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This is early Vachss, all taut and violent, more than a little murky to my mind. It is not good to be a sexual offender in a Vachss novel....
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