A suspenseful dark comedy about a struggling writer who wakes up to find his date from the night before dead—and must then decide how far he’s willing to go to spin the misadventure into his next big book.

A few years ago, David Alvarez had it all: a six-figure book deal, a loving boyfriend, and an exciting writing career. His debut novel was a resounding success, which made the publication of his second book—a total flop—all the more devastating. Now, David is single, lonely, and desperately trying to come up with the next great idea for his third manuscript, one that will redeem him in the eyes of readers, reviewers…and maybe even his ex-boyfriend.

The issue is, good ideas are hard to come by, and the mounting pressure of a near-empty bank account isn’t helping. But when David connects with a sexy stranger on a dating app, he figures a wild night out in New York City may be just what he needs to find inspiration. Lucky for him, his date turns out to be handsome, confident, and wealthy, not to mention the perfect distraction from yet another evening staring at a blank screen.

After one of the best nights of his life, David wakes up hungover but giddy—only to find prince charming dead next to him in bed. Horrified, completely confused, and suddenly faced with the implausible-but-somehow-plausible idea that he may have actually killed his date, David calls the only person he can trust in a moment of crisis: his literary agent, Stacey.

Together, David and Stacey must untangle the events of the previous night, cover their tracks, and spin the entire misadventure into David’s career-defining novel—if only they can figure out what to do with the body first.

I need to start this off by saying that I am very much in the minority with this book. The synopsis made it sound right up my alley, and many people on Bookstagram raved about it – so much so that when I finished the book and didn’t feel the same, I thought maybe something was wrong with me.

The book focuses on a young man named David Alvarez, whose life has not been going well. When he was in his early twenties, David landed a six-figure book deal, and his first book became a bestseller. Then, his second book was released, and it was panned by critics and readers alike. This alone was a significant blow to his ego, but then his amazing boyfriend dumped him, sending David into a tailspin. Now he has no idea what to write about in his next book (or if anyone will even read it), his publisher is about to drop him, he’s not sure where he’s going to get the money to pay his rent, and he desperately misses his ex.

During a night of intense need, David hooks up with a wealthy man that he meets on Grindr. After an amazing night of sex, the man takes David out for drinks. The more time they spend together, the more David begins to think that maybe this guy could be exactly what he needs to pull him out of the dumps. But the next day, when David wakes up next to Mr. Amazing, he’s shocked to find that the dude is dead. David knows he should call the paramedics, but he is afraid that he may have caused the death in some unknown way (he was pretty drunk, after all), so he calls his agent instead. Big mistake. His agent warns him that this could leave a stain on David’s name and threaten his career. So – the two decide to cart the dead dude back to his hotel room and leave him for housekeeping to find… and then use the premise for David’s next bestselling book. What could possibly go wrong?

On the plus side, I loved the characters in this book. I could see a lot of my younger self in David. I, too, was young, naive, impressionable, and slightly self-absorbed. I had many (many many) months where I worried about making rent, my car payment, having enough gas money to get to work, and – oh yeah – food. I felt his desperation. I also loved Stacey (his agent) and the relationship they shared. While her ideas weren’t the best, she was still a hoot.

My biggest problem with this one was the inconsistent tone. It started off as a comedy but then turned into a mystery/thriller of sorts. It’s marketed as a dark comedy, but to me, it felt less dark comedy and more slapstick/camp. Yes, the idea of two people moving around a dead body and covering it up is, in a sense, dark. But the several chapters of Stacey and David playing “Weekend at Bernie’s” with the dead dude got old really fast. It went on far too long and was completely unrealistic; I had a really difficult time staying on board with it.

My other problem was after they finally dumped the body, the tone shifted from slapstick to mystery and almost thriller. David’s paranoia was palpable – and I felt it. I also liked the little twist that caused even more friction, but then I felt like it kind of fizzled out at the end. The tension started to ramp up but then didn’t really go anywhere. In the end, I was happy with David’s growth as a character, but – again – as far as the overall plot, I felt it kind of fizzled out. I wanted more of a bang.

Overall, this is a fun concept, and I can see why a lot of people are eating it up. On the plus side, I really liked the characters and loved David’s character growth. As far as the execution, though, I found it to be just okay. I thought the tone and pacing were uneven, the comedy was too slapstick, and the ending kind of fizzled.

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