Bad Things Happen

TLDR: “Solid standalone mystery set against a backdrop of fiction writing and editing.”

Book review by Deane Barker tags: fiction, mystery

Weird story behind how I read this: I ran into my friend Ben in O’Hare (we were waiting for the same flight home). He mentioned that he found a random book at his house and had no idea where it came from. So he read it, and he enjoyed it. Then it disappeared. He has no idea where the book came from or where it went.

He remembered the title of the book, so I ordered it on Kindle our of curiosity.

It was pretty good.

A new stranger moves to a college town in Michigan. Then people start dying. It’s a classic mystery to both figure out who is doing the killing, and what the backstory of the stranger might have to do with it.

It’s set among the literary elite of Ann Arbor, Michigan. (This is the home of the University of Michigan, and it’s a upper crust, academic city.) A lot of the victims and suspects are authors, many of murder mystery novels, which makes it more interesting.

In the end, things get a little wild.

Spoiler (click to reveal)

I genuinely enjoyed it. There were apparently a couple sequels, but I doubt I’ll read them. This is just a little standalone gem of a read, recommended by a friend in line for a plane, from a book that mysteriously appeared and then disappeared from his life.

I kinda like that storyline.

Book Info

Harry Dolan
364
  • I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on .
  • I own an electronic copy of this book.

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