A COMEDIAN WALKS INTO A FUNERAL HOME

In Kelly’s crime novel, a comedian uses his talents to save a funeral home from ruin and solve the murder of one of its clients.

As a murder mystery, the novel presents as more of why-dunit than a whodunit. The rivalry between the struggling Truss Mortuary and the Reliance Funeral Homes chain, operated by Ross Dalton, forms the story’s major conflict, which is connected to the death of Riva O’Malley, one of Truss’ clients. While examining her body, Truss notices signs of asphyxiation—a conclusion that’s in direct conflict with the coroner’s assessment of “natural causes.” A main suspect very quickly emerges, and the novel offers only one alternative; however, the narrative remains persuasive as a black comedy. Vince Locker, a former philosophy major and failed stand-up comic, almost slips off the edge of a bridge while contemplating suicide before Truss stops and picks him up. In return for his kindness, Vince offers to help Truss Mortuary by performing eulogies for modest renumeration—a premise that carries the plot through wonderfully absurdist situations, from a stand-up tribute to a deceased pornographer; a mass eulogy in which the remains are contained in “Folger’s coffee cans, Mason jars, ornately carved boxes” and even “a vacuum cleaner bag,” giving the whole affair the feeling of a “flea market stand”; and Vince’s hosting a podcast called The Very Last Laugh—while sitting next to Riva’s body. Kelly also makes the wise choice of letting Vince narrate the story when the protagonist gets involved in the murder investigation, giving the work the style of both stand-up comedy and classic detective fiction; it’s a decision that produces such memorable observations as “karaoke…mixes people who shouldn’t drink with people who shouldn’t sing.”

A quirky and grimly humorous tale.