Review by Booklist Review
David Alvarez is running out of time and money. His novel, The Millers, was a smashing success; his sophomore outing, not so much. His agent, Stacey, is supportive but wary, and David drowns his sorrows in meeting men on dating apps. One night, David meets Robert, who fulfills all of his wildest fantasies. But in the morning, David wakes up to a dead man beside him. Panicking and with no one else to turn to, David calls Stacey. They know Robert was staying at the Plaza Hotel, so they begin a desperate journey across New York City, dressing the dead man and pretending he's drunk while they drag him to the hotel. Once Robert is situated in his room, ready to be found dead, David and Stacey are relieved. But David has Robert's husband to contend with, and he's still searching for the next book idea… until it comes to him. Aleman's adult debut is both riotously funny and deeply touching. While David struggles to extricate himself from his impossible situation, his quest to combat loneliness and imposter syndrome is always hiding in the background. Readers will root for David throughout the book.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
YA author Aleman (Brighter Than the Sun) makes a memorable move to adult fiction with this zany black comedy that lampoons the publishing industry and New York City's gay dating scene. Writer David Alvarez suffers a crisis of faith (and budget) when his second novel falls short of expectations. Feeling estranged from his family and the ex-boyfriend he drove away with his workaholism, David loses himself in a cathartic night of partying that culminates in an anonymous Grindr hookup. When he wakes up the next morning, he finds his one-night stand dead. Panicked, he calls his agent and de facto best friend, Stacey, to get him out of trouble--and possibly help him spin the story into his next novel. Aleman's acid-tongued tale is at its best when it's going for laughs, whether via Weekend at Bernie's--style hijinks or slapstick sex scenes. Elsewhere, David's attempts to connect with his family and reconcile with his ex strive for emotional depth, but serve mostly to dampen the fun. Still, this laugh out loud suspense tale promises good things from Aleman to come. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park & Fine Literary and Media. (Dec.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
YA author Aleman's (Brighter Than the Sun) adult fiction debut follows David Alvarez, a struggling gay author in his late 20s living in New York City. When David wakes up to find his one-night stand dead beside him, things take a morbid turn for the ridiculous. After he calls in his trusted agent, Stacey, the two drag the dead body all over the city, trying to find a way to dispose of it without implicating David. In a tale full of Weekend with Bernie antics and implausible lucky coincidences, Stacey and David manage to pull things off without going to jail. However, the second half of the story sees David's agent encouraging him to turn the incident into the plot of his next book. The situation becomes critical when a game of cat-and-mouse with the dead man's husband threatens to derail everything. Narrator Vikas Adam delivers an outstanding performance, portraying David in an approachable manner and providing distinctive voices for the secondary characters. VERDICT A layered story with a wonderful balance of humor and heart that is full of relatable moments of millennial angst. Listeners will be eager for more from this talented writer.--Shannon O'Connor
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
When a one-night-stand dies in his bed, a struggling writer sees a way to resuscitate his career. In his first book for adults, having written two YA novels, Aleman creates a protagonist with an autofictional vibe--David Alvarez, the 28-year-old gay Latine author of two books--and places him in a gleefully cooked-up situation. After a roaring success with his debut and a wholesale flop with his second book, Alvarez learns from his agent, the soigne Stacey Hixon-Jones, that his publisher has passed on his third manuscript. Broke, friendless, and lonely, he turns to Grindr to drown his sorrows and meets up with what seems like the man of his dreams. The charming, handsome, slightly older guy who invites him to the Plaza Hotel and escorts him around town on a boozy, thrilling date seems like he could fill the hole left by the loss of his erstwhile partner, Jeremy, a casualty of David's absorption in his career drama. Unfortunately, in the morning, the dream date appears to have expired--and David doesn't remember whether he murdered him or not. In a panic, he calls Stacey, who pops over with dollar signs in her eyes. Surely they can turn this dead body into a bestseller! As they execute Stacey's bizarre idea for next steps, things get crazier and campier by the minute, sometimes staying on the funny side of ridiculous and sometimes…not. The plot keeps thickening, that's for sure, and contrasts a bit uncomfortably with the earnest portrayal of David's emotional landscape; his father, stepmother, and half brother in New Jersey could be characters from a different novel. For fans of Grant Ginder and Jean Hanff Korelitz, Aleman could be a writer to watch. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
