The Publisher Says: 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.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Mildly amusing, always interestingly presented story of sorts. The Ignatius J. Reilly-esque character of Billy isn't exactly a comedic dynamo. Much of the book...almost 2/3, at 63%...is spent building up to a completely wacky ending.

I got very close to Pearl-Ruling the book at multiple times and didn't because Billy's got something I like in a fictional character: An infuriating ability to be right. When you're sure he's wrong, he's weirdly right.

I don't think this is for everyone. I do think anyone who starts it will know by the 10% mark whether they're even going to be able to take the full trip. But if you can stick to it, there's a payoff in chortles and whinnys of laughter that made me think "oh...okay, that was a good time." ( )

What I discovered about this book was the different writing style that is so sickening yet so fully engrossing as well. Billy is the small town's coroner. It must not take a lot to do. His hobbies include drinking at a bar he walks three blocks to (NO DUI). He's on call one windy, cold night while half-soused at the bar. Three kids found a woman's body near the river's edge. Come to find out, she was unconscious, not dead. And the very next day, she gets out of the hospital, then she decides to move in with Billy without him knowing about it.

There are a lot of sub-stories within this one. A Russian homeless guy swears that Billy is the DEVIL HIMSELF, and tries to get the word out. Another man was in some kind of bizarre accident and thought his wife and three girls are dead, and that Billy hid their bodies and death certificates. Everything seems to come around, back to Billy.

There is one story that stands apart from Billy's. Three high school kids abduct a teacher and makes her drive to and through Mexico, until the dinero runs out. Then they are trying to figure out what to do next. This one seems so out of place and out of reach of Billy's world.

The writing is spectacular in and of itself. The characters are as bizarre as a dessert storm: great to read about but pulls you into places you may not want to be in. The story is so unique, I loved that about the book. It is all easy to take in and digest. When you are finished, you will think that was a great meal, indeed.

NetGalley gave me an e-ARC copy of this book to read and give my honest review. ( )

A snide satire on life and individuals. I guess that I was so bored by the author's overriding ego that I couldn't find much to like.
Sorry NetGalley ( )