I listened to the audio version. It is very long, even played at 2-3x speed. I quit at about 65%. I just did not want to invest any more time in it.
The initial murder was interested and the premise for the investigation was also interesting. However, the cast of characters and events are so bizarre that I lost interest. I have not read William Blake's original book, so that may be part of the problem I had with this one; although, it is supposed to be a stand-alone. In my opinion, it did not stand alone very well.
The narrative included little bits of cleverness and humor, but those became lost in everything else that was going on. I found myself more intrigued by these details rather than the overall plot.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of the hardest books to finish in the last 5 years. I found that this could have eliminated at least have of the book to try to make it interesting and maybe a better book. It felt as if the author picked the names only as a joke. Which made the book seem like a joke as well. In the future this will be an author that I won’t be looking at

The Opening scene of this book was beautifully written and intriguing. If the story had ended there or during the initial investigation it would have been brilliant.

Very soon after, the book becomes hard to follow as the narrator traverses sexual fantasies and literary allusions. During the initial investigation of Jerusalem's death people Beulah, Jerusalem's personal assy, is described as a cow and I was unable to tell whether this was accurate or a dream. To further this point Ded fixated on her utters and describes how turned on he was by them. Later, Ded describes her human breasts for several paragraphs, rather than actually investigating.

I tried to stick with this book, and did want to know the ending. Inevitably, I decided this was not for me.

It isn't often that I don't finish a book but I had to give up on this one. Maybe it's the writing, maybe it's the narrator. Yes, it's both. The middle school humor of these adult characters was difficult to wade through. The way women were described and talked about made my skin crawl. The voices the narrator uses for the characters made everyone seem sleezy and unlikeable, and seemed to fit perfectly with how they were described -no fault to the narrator. I listened for 6 hours (out of 18-ish) before giving up.
Rollicking is a bold claim. Murder mystery, sure. But there's no reason to care about "Jerusalem" or why they were "murdered" so the murdery mystery part falls flat.


Audiobook provided by NetGalley and the Galbraith Literary Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

I haven't read any of William Blake's works, so I wasn't sure if I would get this one, but let me just say it was entertaining! It reflects on his poetic oeuvre, but becomes strangely wrapped into surreal moments. When I wasn't paying attention and allowing the abnormal mystery play out, a jolt would hit me and the characters became farm animals. You might recall Plato and Socrates experiencing some of this drug induced sightings...LOL. Besides the uncanny metamorphose, some of the scenes are laugh-out-loud although crude humor! This mystery to solve is a little different than what I normally read, but I did enjoy it! It was crazy at its best! Loved it...NO.... but I listened to it on audio over a period of two weeks since the audio is 20 hours. I saw it on Instagram and suckered into it. Plus, they are giving away a free trip to San Francisco to meet some of the poets.

The time period is the 70's and the mystery to solve is in the title Who Killed Jerusalem? Ickey is found on a flight to California dead on a toilet. With a bag around his head, hands tied and the door locked. He is a famous poet laureate, so who would possibly kill him or was it self-inflicted? He was not alone! There are people he knows traveling with him.

When Det O'Nadir calls Ded Smith to investigate, it was a compliment to his intelligence and philosophical views. Several clues are dropped, but not before staking out all of Jerusalem's past indulges which some are far fetched. When Ded gets into Jerusalem's mind-set, it reveals some strange dreams, a sister's funeral and some hilarious encounters. Depending on how close Ded will get on the case, his life may also be on the line.
Ded is the protagonist with a strange sense of humor, but very intelligent. He accepts the challenge but it also requires him to investigate his own life and his disastrous marriage.
Thank you NetGalley, Galbraith Literary Publishers, and Mindbuck Media Book for sending me this audio to review.

I have to say I was really hoping I would enjoy this book. honestly I got half way through and I'm so confused and totally have no idea why the characters are the way they are. Maybe I'm missing something but this book just isn't for me at all.

The author's note that explains a background knowledge of William Blake is unnecessary is not entirely accurate. This book probably would've been much more enjoyable if the obscure references,. naming conventions, and randomly spouted poetry made more sense.

Clearly a tribute to Blake's work, the author, I'm sure, did due diligence and created a story worth of the large body of literature left my Blake. However, my lack of knowledge really hindered my ability to find this book amusing.

This is a long book, much of which could have been reduced. There were odd scenes unrelated to the mystery that slowed down the pace of the story..

The writing provided a refreshing voice. Although the main character's descriptions of women's bodies, his seeming obsession with boobs, and rants about religion were really off-putting.

I'd probably read another by this author but this book was too long and filled with too many references I didn't understand.

ARC provided via Net Galley.

historical-fiction, historical-research, insurance-investigator, law-enforcement, mystery, puntastic, read, situational-humor, sly-humor, verbal-humor****

The largest collection of improbably named characters I've seen in a while. The length is a bit daunting (not to be read continuously on a long car trip), but perfect for diving into at intervals (subway and such). Also, I did not find the humor to be of the rolling on floor variety but the inelegant snorts and giggles sort. I really enjoyed this trip uphill and down in the investigative sense which is filled with twists and red herrings.
I was lucky to get the audio narrated by the incomparable Patrick Lawlor.
I requested and received a free temporary audio copy from Galbraith Literary Publishers Incorporated via NetGalley. Thank you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Painful. Only about 60% done- 8 hours left to g0.
Rollicking? No. It makes no sense whatsoever. I have rewound/relistened to chapters over and over again, thinking I must have missed something. I am not a William Blake fan. I even went and looked up his work, his poetry, looked at his images. Didn't help. Trying to finish.

Narrator has a broad vocal range. His exclamations make me jump, and are way too loud. His higher pitched voices are almost impossible to listen to. Not only are they hard to understand, but the pitch just hurts my head.

8 more hours... we'll see.

I did finish the book. My opinion did not change. I did not find it funny in the least. It may appeal to a middle school boy, but silly lewdness- not for me. The last hour or 2, when the mystery was finally unravelled- it was really just one of those spill it all and explain it...

Not worth my time.

OK “Who Killed Jerusalem?” This book is a laxadaisical journey into craziness! Vic Jerusalem was flying to California because if I’m understanding it right he was on a book tour for his poetry anthology. Some of this people are also on the plane with them like his blind secretary his agent, his chauffeur and another man who is recently divorced bored and lonely. When Vic is found suffocated to death in the plain bathroom they don’t know if it’s suicide or murder? The police are called and this is what brings detective Otter to the case he is also friends with the lonely divorce New Yorker and this is why that gets involved with the case also. Now I’m not going to give a brief summary about details I’m going to give you an overall glimpse of the craziness that is this book from the funeral his slutty sister The inheritance people turning into insects have parts of the book that are not steeped in reality at all but what I will say this book as long as hell almost 20 hours long but once you start listening you will find it hard to stop. They also have parts of the book that feel like it’s going into sta nation but stick with it because the LOL moments are so worth it this book is based on William Blake and characters from his book if you’ve ever read one of his books then you can see the influence while listening to “who killed Jerusalem“ even when I pause the book things I read made me laugh out loud this is a crazy piece of work and one I highly recommend. I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book by George Albert Brown before but I would absolutely read another. This book is very funny especially the funeral and his sister that made me laugh so much but I digress let me stop so you can get the book and enjoy it too I loved it! I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

A comical tale of "whodunit" set in San Francisco in the '70s with a heavy splash of metaphysics that will have you confused, disturbed, laughing, pondering the universe, and trying to solve the murder of Ickey Jerusalem.

With the difficult-to-pronounce names and the many quirky characters, I felt that the audiobook was the best way to get through this tale as the narrator does a great job of differentiating who is who and bringing them to life. I wanted to love this book but I only somewhat liked it. I love the idea of a "whodunit" story with lots of twists and turns but this story left me scratching my head and relistening to some passages to make sure I heard things correctly. With the story modeled after the work of William Blake, I should have spent some time looking into Blake's work because there are several instances in which I had to look up a connection or reach out to my Blake-loving friends for some insight just to make sure I was understanding the plot correctly.

Maybe I'll spend some time reading Blake and then re-read this novel and see if my thoughts change.