Review originally published on Bookshelf Bombshells 8+ years ago. Please refer to www.bookshelfbimbshells.com.

The Dead Do Not Improve -- they most certainly do not. I raced to get this novel by Jay Caspian Kang as soon as the reviews came out. Howdy ho, what a ride.

In a seedy part of San Francisco, Philip, a self-loathing, disaffected writer who is a "break-up counselor" on a website for dumped men, lives in an area that is slowly gentrifying. His neighbor, whom he as nicknamed "Baby Molester," is murdered through her window and soon Philip is suspected in the murder but is actually in the midst of one hell of a scheme. Oh, and he is falling in love with his preppy neighbor. He's not having the best week. Obvi.

I had mixed feelings about this book. It was hard for me to get into with it's super neo-noir feeling and it's characters' self-hatred. I enjoyed Philip and I enjoyed following him through the story, but I found the narrative to be disjointed and not so much my cup of tea.

Look, there are many people who love this genre and this book got great reviews in several publications--I think the writing is interesting and it's a story that many can get into. It's just not for me.