If you’re a fan of The New Yorker magazine, you will have immediately spotted the use of its iconic font on the cover of this book, and will assume that The New Yorker is the real source of the details about fact-checking articles and the interactions among authors, fact-checkers, and the many human sources whom the fact-checker must contact. For the TNY fan, it’s an attractive setting for a comic novel about the misadventures of our fact checker protagonist, as he becomes obsessed with one female source in an article about a popular organic produce market in Manhattan called the Union Square Greenmarket.

When the source, Sylvia, seems to disappear after having made a comment about nefarious doings at the Greenmarket and leaving a cryptic note for the fact checker, he begins a peripatetic tour through places connected to Sylvia, including a squatters’ whole-animal supper club, a direct-action network’s barge on the filthy Gowanus Canal, various pubs, and a cultish farm near the New Jersey pine barrens.

All the while, the first-person narrative spools out in the form of the fact checker’s stream-of-consciousness descriptions of what he’s doing and, even more so, what he’s thinking about, including many unusual and surprising facts he’s picked up in his work, but especially all his doubts, fears, and self-recriminations. Some of this is funny, such as his description of several phone conversations with the actor Tony Curtis, a lot of it is facts he’s learned from his work, some of it is thought-provoking observations, and one bit is appalling. The appalling bit occurs around three-quarters through the book and <spoiler>is his recounting of going along with a food author’s insistence that he help the author slaughter a lamb</spoiler>. The long scene is described in stomach-churning detail and casts a pall over the rest of the book. I really wish this scene had been left out of the book, and it will be an upsetting surprise for many readers.

The book could also have used an editor’s help with its ending. It just sort of fizzles out. Still, I’m not sorry I read it, because I did think much of it was appealing as a comic character study.

Fact-checking business is something that attracted me towards the book. I never knew that every article ever published is checked thoroughly by a fact checker and it requires a lot of investigation and interrogation. However, I was a bit disappointed at the end, it felt like something is missing.

Story was about a single piece about a new tomato market and some nefarious business attached to it. Fact checker had to confirm the details but he got stuck in the story, found a wonderful woman who disappeared and he kept going after her.

📚 The beginning of the story was fantastic. The basics of fact checking were beautifully defined and the procedure to do so was highlighted.
📚 The female character disappears by 40% of the book and after that the story becomes meaningless.
📚 There are several incidents mentioned here and there in the book which have no relevance to the story. Maybe author wanted to talk about topics such as - drug dealing at public places, protestor groups and their meetings, contaminated water issues, routine of a farmer, molestation at work, being non-vegetarian but everything gets mixed up.
📚 Writing is superb, have never read something so crisp and fresh. There are many funny incidents and some events where the character contemplates interrogation.
📚 It was about tomatoes and by the end, there are many things revealed by lead but everything remains open and left in confusion.
📚 If we were supposed to predict then I feel that I don't know what the question was? There is no clarity by the end and I don't know what to predict from this pretend ending.

If you want to explore some different writing or profession then go for it!!

The Fact Checker boasted a compelling concept and delightful insights into the fact-checker's world, especially its connection to his fixation on Sylvia. The opening was excellent. Unfortunately, the plot and pacing faltered, and the humor could have been sharper. Fans of traditional detective stories might appreciate this modern twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a DNF for me. I hung around until about the middle and realized that I just did not care at all about the characters or story.

I had the pleasure of talking to the editor about this book at Bouchercon (specifically the cover) and I finally got a hold of it and started reading. It’s a wonderful mystery about heirloom tomatoes and reminds me of early Jonathan Ames and Bored to Death. Love it.

The main character in The Fact Checker is, indeed, a fact checker (and is not really named). This was an interesting premise and I had really high hopes for it. But alas, the pacing and style didn't work for me. I found the humor not to my taste and I struggled to connect with the Fact Checker or anything he was doing.

If you're looking for a modern take on a classic detective story, this might be right up your alley though.

Thanks NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this digital advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Fact Checker had a fascinating premise and I absolutely loved the quips about the life of a fact checker and how those processes built into his near-obsession with Sylvia. The beginning of the book was incredibly strong.

However, many of the underlying plot points and pace just didn’t work for me, and I hoped the humor would come out in more clear ways. If you’re someone that loves mystery and more classic/on the nose detective stories, I think you’ll enjoy this modern take on it. Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC!

This was a mildly amusing book. I did feel it dragged a bit--especially for a relatively short novel. The plot was a bit thin but I did learn about fact checking.

I didn’t really enjoy this book. I thought that it was boring. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen and the one time it actually did the follow up was extremely disappointing.

I devoured this book. I love a voice-driven narrative, and The Fact Checker's wry observations charmed me. I'm also a sucker for facts woven into fiction and this book is studded with historical context without ever feeling dry or boring. It was a clever trick on the author's part to weave a farmer's market mystery throughout the story, but I would have kept reading even without it. Some readers may find the ending a bit rushed, or disappointing, but I didn't have that experience; the narrator gave us so many clues throughout the novel that we might not truly find out what happened to Sylvia, and the way the mystery (and novel) concluded felt authentic to the story and satisfying to me as a reader. Ultimately I found this delightful and can't wait to read more by Austin Kelley.

Thank you, NetGalley, for sending me this ARC before it's published. The book is set around a fact checker who must investigate every detail set before him, so far as feeling the need to question if any detail is entirely true. When his friend, Sylvia, disappears without confirming the "“nefarious business” at the farmer’s market, the fact checker is on the case. Though finding out what's so nefarious about a farmers market is more difficult than it seems and the investigation leads the fact checker spiraling. Will he find the answers he was looking for?

As promising as the plot was, I can only give this book two stars. I enjoyed the beginning of the book and the main protagonist reminded me of Arthur Less from the Andrew Sean Greer's Pulitzer Winning Novel "Less," I fell out of interest halfway through the book. While the parts that led the main antagonist into interesting settings, the inner dialogue did not make the story as engrossing.

But the fact remains (I had to say it) I enjoyed Kelley's writing as it shows much talent when the main antagonist was active. I hope to see more of their work in the future.

The beginning of the book had such promise, but it fell apart for me around the middle. I just couldn't connect with the story and the main characters. I loved the setting though!

Unfortunately this just wasn't for me. The synopsis had me intrigued, what could have happened for a fact checker to have lost his job over an article about tomatoes? But I didn't like the writing style, I didn't find it funny at the times it clearly wanted to be funny, and I didn't like the main character at all.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for this ARC of Austin Kelley's 'The Fact Checker.'

A fact checker at a magazine - clearly modeled on The New Yorker - who's socially awkward and severely lacking in self-confidence gets caught up in the goings on of a Union Square, New York organic farmers market and its associated characters. He, seemingly, becomes obsessed with one of them, Sylvia - and a comment she may have made to the article's writer - and becomes embroiled in some adventures in trying to find her and the truth behind the comment.

I enjoyed elements of this novel - the NYC locations and setting, pulling the curtain back on the whole process of fact-checking in a magazine, like The New Yorker, some of the humor - but all-in-all there's not too much to it.

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.