This is a quirky little book about a fact checker for my personal favorite magazine. The parts of the story related to the main character’s position/fact checking/development of stories was really strong and interesting. The Bush era setting also really took me back. However, the central mystery of the story isn’t all that compelling. Still, this was a fun read.

3 stars for a book I expected to like more than I did. Boo.

The piece was called Mandeville/Green in fact checker parlance (name of the author plus a one word stab at the subject matter.) It was really nothing, just a little story about a farm and farmer’s market called New Egypt that was producing some popular tomatoes. However, the story contains an odd quote from a woman called Sylvia about some possibly shady business at the farm.

Then Sylvia disappears and the Fact Checker becomes obsessed with finding her. Has she discovered a secret about New Egypt or its owner?

I really, really wanted to love this. I liked the Fact Checker. I loved the sections about fact checking. The rest of the book had some nice details but the primary story was just weak. Three stars.

This was an entertaining read, especially for anyone who enjoys The New Yorker, Atlantic, etc. Cool inside scoop on the fact checkers. That said, I do feel like the ending was super rushed and could have had more… oomph. After reading all about the mystery, to have it kind of fall flat was a huge bummer.

awesome premise that turns out to be a lot more disappointing than it first seems. it's not all bad, some parts are strong, but it rapidly gets disjointed. 3 tars. tysm for the arc.

This is such a fabulous premise, and the beginning held a lot of promise - unfortunately, things devolved rather quickly and the book felt like a hodgepodge of distracting details after a while and completely lost the threads of its narrative for me. I really liked the sprinkling of random facts as the eponymous fact checker moved through his days, but it became more of a diversion from the underlying mystery - hinted at early in with delicious teasing tones - and when chapter after chapter went by and nothing seemed to happen, that diversion quickly came to feel like it had overtaken the plot.

There's promise in the concept and the writing. The introductory bits that set things up were crisply edited and to the point, meandering when it was appropriate to set the tone but still adhering to an overall forward motion. If the rest of the book could hold onto that style, it would be a truly fabulous read. Unfortunately I got so lost in the minutiae that I found myself meandering in attention, and that is never a good thing...

The Fact Checker promises a quirky and philosophical journey, but unfortunately, it doesn’t quite deliver on its intriguing premise. Austin Kelley’s debut novel starts with an interesting setup—a missing woman, a cryptic quote at a farmer’s market, and an obsessive fact-checker who spirals into a personal quest for truth. However, the execution falls flat, and what could have been a witty, fast-paced mystery instead meanders through disjointed plotlines and overly long, philosophical musings that bog down the narrative.

While there are moments of humor and a few clever observations about our post-truth world, the story lacks depth in character development and plot. The protagonist’s obsession with Sylvia feels forced, and the stakes never feel real or pressing. The supporting characters, particularly Sylvia and the mysterious farmer’s market figures, are underdeveloped, leaving little emotional investment in the outcome of the Fact Checker’s quest.

Kelley’s attempts to blend satire, mystery, and existential questions often result in confusion rather than cohesion. The story frequently jumps between whimsical side plots that feel disconnected from the central mystery, leading to a muddled reading experience. While the underground supper clubs and anarchist communities are interesting settings, they feel more like distractions than meaningful additions to the narrative.

Overall, The Fact Checker had potential, but the pacing issues and lack of focus prevented it from being a truly engaging read. Fans of quirky, philosophical fiction might enjoy it, but for those looking for a tight, well-paced mystery, this one may disappoint.

This was a fun satire. I don’t know if there’s anything new that it’s saying. But it did really well at taking the joke out on some of the things it was trying to say.

It all starts with tomatoes.

A fact checker is assigned to follow up on a story about happenings at the New Egypt Farmers Market in New York. What he finds, instead, is a mystery. Sylvia, who runs a booth at the market is missing—could she possibly gone under nefarious circumstances?

The story unfurls as the protagonist investigates the idea of small farms and growing your own food. What it leads him to is a whole different world of interesting and crisply drawn characters that all have their own theories about where Sylvia might be. He begins to realize there is something off about her form of communal living, wondering if the whole thing might even border/be on being labeled a cult.

I greatly enjoyed The Fact Checker by Austin Kelly. I found myself highlighting multiple passages and chuckling to myself as I read. The book takes place in 2004 and the additional facts that Checker throws in add a dose of fun, this color commentary adds an additional layer of delightful humor to the well formed story.

I was a bit confused about who the protagonist was, was this a thinly veiled roman-a-cleff—was this man based on Kelly himself? That aside, the book kept me extremely engaged, so I am rating it four out of five stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

This book is kind of nuts--generally in a good way. It reminded me a little of the movie 'After Hours'--where the protagonist gets involved in a bunch of stuff that he really didn't mean to get involved with. It's totally bizarre but believable, if that makes any sense. It's a fast read too. At the end, my first reaction was 'what did i just read here?" Doesn't fall into any category, but kind of interesting.

The Fact Checker is an original novel with three story lines set in 2004 New York City The first involves the Fact Checkers's job working for a publication. The details of his work will entice curious readers. The second plot involves the Fact Checker's love life. His girlfriend, Magdalena, left him for one of his professors. The third plot involves the Fact Checker's investigation into "nefarious business" at the Greenvillemarket, a farmers market at Union Square. The result is a novel filled with humor and humanity. Highly recommended for libraries and discussion groups.

I enjoy stories about writers and this one was a brilliant book about a fact checker for a newspaper. Read it, give it a chance. Perfect debut. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

"The Fact Checker" is Austin Kelley’s debut novel about a fact-checker who finds himself in a hard-boiled detective adventure. The story is set in 2004 and reflects the collective mood and actions following 9/11, the anthrax attacks, and the wars. During this time, mainstream media and politicians discouraged questioning and promoted consumerism, contributing to the rise of fake news and propaganda.

The main character, a fact checker, is assigned to check an article about a local farm. While working on this assignment, he meets Sylvia, a volunteer at the farmer's market, and becomes sidetracked, engaging in tangential stories, going against his usual direct fact-checking approach.

I recommend this novel. As the story progresses, the protagonist's quest for answers leads him further away from the truth. Readers will be left wondering what is real and what is a product of the narrator's delusions or wishful thinking. Is he falling victim to the confirmation bias he had warned about?

In a world filled with falsehoods and fakes, this protagonist must learn to trust but verify. However, as his peers point out, words and memories can sometimes fail, and truth may simply be a matter of perception and feeling. I recommend this novel. Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was an interesting read. It was funny, made me think, and feel other emotions throughout the book. It was a good book, the writing was god, the pacing was decent but there were a few slow parts in the book which made reading it a little bit of a challenge.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!