I See You've Called in Dead: A Novel

By John Kenney

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER - One of NPR's Book We Love 2025 - A Gotham Book Prize Finalist - An Indie Next & LibraryReads Pick - AudioFiles Earphones Award Winner - Library Journal Audio "Editor's Picks of the Year" - 2026 Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List Pick "Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo's Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove, and the reinvention of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, Kenney's vivid prose transforms the mundane into unexpected hilarity." --Booklist (starred review) Obituary writer Bud Stanley isn't really living his best life. He's fallen into a funk after a divorce. (She left him for another man, who, in fairness, was far more interesting.) He's not doing his job well. He's given up on dating. And he's about to be fired for accidentally publishing his own obituary one mildly drunken night (though technically the company can't legally fire a dead person). As Bud awaits his fate at work, he does the only logical thing: He goes to the wakes and funerals of total strangers to learn how to live again.

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Published Apr 1, 2025

320 pages

Average rating: 7.66

310 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

TellMeMore
TellMeMore
10/10 stars
Everyone should read this book. Beautifully written, compelling and thought-provoking. Great story!
Rlouise
Rlouise
Just started this library ebook. Sounds good.
Gabriela-in-Amherst
Gabriela-in-Amherst
9/10 stars
Funny and poignant in equal. Had me thinking about life in new ways.
S
Stef01
8/10 stars
Funny and touching story about life, death and search for meaning
Larry Burns
Larry Burns
8/10 stars
I laughed out loud.

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