Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where offbeat general fiction is popular.

Bud Stanley is a mid-life New Yorker who writes obituaries for a living. Trying to cope with the failures in his own life have left him fearful of trying to have a life at all. Feeling depressed and totally drunk one night, he writes his own outlandish obituary and mistakenly posts it to his publishing company's website. Getting called into HR the following day, Bud is sure that he's going to be fired, fortunately for Bud, the new computer system in HR cannot fire a dead employee and so he goes for weeks in a "dead but not dead" limbo.
During this time, he meets wheelchair bound Tim, who becomes his landlord and later best friend. Joining up with Clara, a woman who attends random funerals, the trio try to make sense of their lives by listening to the eulogies of those recently deceased. As their friendship builds, each of them comes to understand that living life includes death and to embrace the time that they have.
At times funny, heart-breaking, depressing and up-lifting, "I See You've Called in Dead" is a must-read. And don't miss the author's note by John Kenney about his brother Tom.

What would happen if you made one mistake to erase you from life? John Kenney tells a unique tale of accidentally, during one night of mistakes, writing his own obituary. Feeling sorry for himself and bored with his life he decides what crazy things he could say if he wrote about his own demise. Only to find out that in the light of day, he can't be fired from his obituary job because he made himself not exist. The novel follows along with the people in your life who are there to teach you lessons, whether they are that life is worth living or that you have more to offer than you think. Laugh out loud funny, with stories of strange hobbies, friendship in unexpected places, and meeting people at the right time. Life is what it is meant to be and finding the silver lining is always possible. Thank you Zibby Books for the advanced copy.

Beautifully written novel a book that stole my heart. I hated for this to end I hated to turn the last page.A memorable novel that I will be recommending.#netgalley #zibbybooks.

Loved, loved, loved this gem of a book. A little volume of genius. Straight to the heart for all the feels and a call to action to all mortals everywhere. Stirring and vibrant and lovely while still sitting quietly. Loved it.

His poetry is howlingly funny, the sort that when you read his work, you’re pretty much in awe of how he's able to capture the things that drive us crazy, the everyday, and turn them into acidic humor that makes us want to immediately tell our go-to people this is a must-read. His latest novel is a blend of just that kind of keenly observed sharp wit and surprising tender emotion.

Dear sweet Bud, an obituary writer, not exactly the job of his dreams (I have high regard for this job) has been struggling since his wife left him when he accidentally writes and publishes his own obituary (long story, thus, the book) let’s just say, things go awry, big time. In addition to the relentless teasing he and his acerbically witty obit-writing work partner dish back-and-forth and his laconic boss, someone he admires and now deeply disappointed in Bud, it’s the gripping once-in-a-lifetime relationship with his best friend and landlord whose outlook on life based on circumstances far different from Bud’s that just might be the impetus for the direction he needs to make post-colossal mistake. Have you ever been so entertained and touched by two characters that you wished they were real? I have and did while reading these two. I laughed and gosh, did I cry. Great big sobbing tears that I practically choked on. This story moved me in multiple ways, and I know it will be the same for anyone who reads it. It would be impossible not to.

I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD is a hilarious and heartbreaking account honoring life, living life, an exploration of friendship and death, that will leave you overcome with feeling. My kind of book.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Zibby Books for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

At first I thought this book would be heavy for me to read since I recently lost my dad. However, as I read Kenney's story, I laughed and became filled with hope for my future. Other people's lives inspired me to continue on with my goals and experiences for an enjoyable life. Kenney portrayed grief, friendship, self-discovery, and writing in ways that captivated my attention. Thanks to NetGalley and Zibby Books for the ARC.