DESCRIPTION:
"The story is part David Lynch, part comedy of errors, and readers will never quite know what will happen next. The scenes are loaded with surprises...A highly creative, if meandering, adventure." - Kirkus Reviews
"Reads like The Jolly Coroner are so hard to find, and I hope to read more from this author." - Underratedreads.com
"It's seldom that you find a book to be hysterical and morbid at the same time. I enjoyed the originality of The Jolly Coroner and will be recommending to many readers." - Bodacious Books and Baubles
Evil wakes while the people sleep.
Amongst the strip malls, concrete blocks and empty parking lots of the Southern town of Hokum, the American dream lies broken. A helpless immigrant the state has declared dead finds himself unable to prove otherwise. Abused Mexican kids abduct their schoolteacher escaping back across the border. A haunted hillbilly dangles from a flagpole refusing to believe his wife and children aren't ghosts. The Warden, a camo-wearing military obsessive pedals drugs whilst blaring Stockhausen. A down on her luck junkie fails to drown herself and resurfaces to find love. All these characters have one thing in common: they will all find a way to wind themselves in to the coroner, Billy's life.
Billy's love of celebrity and aversion to hard work leaves a growing trail of wronged members of the public - a trail that he just can't seem to shake. Although he can't understand why, the townsfolk begin increasingly to mistake him for the devil. Amidst all the fun, THE JOLLY CORONER poses questions about moral decay and proves that a casual string of circumstances, in the right conditions, can lead to the rise of a dangerous man... only it's so accidental no one seems to notice.
"Reads like The Jolly Coroner are so hard to find, and I hope to read more from this author." - Underratedreads.com
"It's seldom that you find a book to be hysterical and morbid at the same time. I enjoyed the originality of The Jolly Coroner and will be recommending to many readers." - Bodacious Books and Baubles
Evil wakes while the people sleep.
Amongst the strip malls, concrete blocks and empty parking lots of the Southern town of Hokum, the American dream lies broken. A helpless immigrant the state has declared dead finds himself unable to prove otherwise. Abused Mexican kids abduct their schoolteacher escaping back across the border. A haunted hillbilly dangles from a flagpole refusing to believe his wife and children aren't ghosts. The Warden, a camo-wearing military obsessive pedals drugs whilst blaring Stockhausen. A down on her luck junkie fails to drown herself and resurfaces to find love. All these characters have one thing in common: they will all find a way to wind themselves in to the coroner, Billy's life.
Billy's love of celebrity and aversion to hard work leaves a growing trail of wronged members of the public - a trail that he just can't seem to shake. Although he can't understand why, the townsfolk begin increasingly to mistake him for the devil. Amidst all the fun, THE JOLLY CORONER poses questions about moral decay and proves that a casual string of circumstances, in the right conditions, can lead to the rise of a dangerous man... only it's so accidental no one seems to notice.
REVIEW:
I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
To be honest I requested the book because of the cover and the title, didn't even bothered with reading the description. I was in a weirdo mode and I thought "yay, skulls! yay, jolly coroner! yay, I'll order it!"... And so I did! What came after was a complete surprise for me. A good one to that. It was an extremely quick and enjoyable read, that actually made me giggle a couple of times. I love the weird and slightly macabre genre and this novel was definitely it!A grumpy coroner - how genius is that! I loved the character from the very beginning!
It is a truly introspective body of work where the author takes you deep into visceral thoughts of the characters that make this book the beautiful novel that Quentin Canterel placed in our lives. In reading this book, you quickly realise that the art of writing is not dead.And Thank GOD for that. It has been a while since I enjoyed someone's writing so much. Maybe since Denise Mina I haven't been so excited to come back from work to get a quick shower and get my nose dug in the pages! The novel is funny and gripping with good pace but readers should not mistake this for an easy, "beach-type" drama, as behind Billy's adventures the novel works on many different and more in-depth levels that will keep the reader intellectually entertained.
Easiest five fox I have ever given!
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