Laugh until your face hurts, cry until you run out of tissues. “ I See You Called in Dead” has all the feels. Life gets hard for Bud, a depressed obituary writer, when he accidentally submits his own obituary for publication. Life is hard, and it helps to have friends and laughter on the journey. It also helps to have good books like this one to help you keep going.

Highly recommended for fans of Russo’s Straight Man.

This was a heartwarming and (darkly) humorous story about a man who works as an obituary writer and who published his own obituary. I did find the narrator, Bud Stanley, to be quirky and funny. However, this book didn't fully hit for me. I think I was in a negative headspace when I wrote it and so I found the humor, occasionally, to be a little forced and over the top. That said, I think this book will get a lot of praise and positive attention. It just wasn't for me at this time!

The end of this one really got me. I was sitting at my desk eating lunch and finishing it on my break - and I had to work not to cry. The last couple of chapters are wonderful. Some of this book felt a little precious to me - it's just too easy for everyone to say pithy things and be quirky and clever, while at the same time pretending to be sarcastic and sullen. The whole thing reads like an indie movie. Sometimes it's a little annoying - but people write indie movies and clever people in books because they have something they need to say. Kenney has a lot to say about living and grief, and this is a worthwhile read - especially if you've lost someone close to you recently.

This is a book about life and death told through the lens of a depressed obituary writer. While the plot is more of the writer's meandering thoughts rather than a traditional plotline, this book is at times laugh out loud funny and then ugly crying through poignant passages. You'll walk away with the sense that life is really short and we should tell those that we love how important they are to us. Fans of Fredrick Bachman will want to add this to their TBR list.

John Kenney's I See You've Called in Dead is a darkly comic exploration of the complexities of family, grief, and the unexpected twists life throws at us. The novel centers around Bud Stanley, an obituary writer who is afraid to live. His wife has recently left him for a "far more interesting man" and one drunken night Bud writes his own obituary and accidentally publishes it. Now the newspaper wants to fire him, but they can't fire someone deceased The ensuing fallout makes his realize he is missing out on life and begins his journey to search for the meaning of life. Kenney weaves a story full of emotional depth, biting humor, and sharp observations about the human condition.

Kenney’s writing style is witty and poignant, finding humor even in the most somber of moments. His characters are incredibly well-drawn, each dealing with their own baggage, which gives the narrative a grounded, relatable feel. The book expertly balances its darker themes with lighthearted moments, making for a reading experience that is at once touching and laugh-out-loud funny.

At its core, I See You've Called in Dead is a meditation on how we cope with loss, and how, sometimes, life’s absurdity can offer the very relief we need. The plot’s pacing and structure reflect the emotional tumult the characters are undergoing, creating a narrative that feels both personal and universal.

In conclusion, John Kenney delivers a compelling narrative with I See You've Called in Dead, offering a story that is both emotionally resonant and sharply funny. It’s a book about the messiness of life and the strange ways we heal, making it a worthwhile read for anyone looking for a fresh perspective on the trials of loss.

Oh my gosh I love this book! At times heartbreaking, it’s also life affirming and hilariously funny. Bud is lucky that so many wonderful people come into his life.

Although it starts a bit slowly, stick with it. It’s a wonderful story about found family and what it means to live a fulfilling life and you will definitely laugh out loud quite a few times. Truly an outstanding book that I will recommend to everyone.

The premise of the book - an obituary writer who accidentally posts his own obituary - may not seem like a funny or heartwarming story, yet that's exactly what this is. It's full of moving and emotional and life affirming ideas that had me smiling, smirking and even teary eyed. It came along when I needed it and I'll be recommending it highly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zibby Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I started reading the book and then got an audiobook arc. I enjoyed it more as an audiobook.

Bud Stanley writes obituaries. He's stuck in a bad place after his divorce and one night drunkenly writes and submits his own obituary. Can't say I particularly connected with Bud but he has a wonderful group of friends and co-workers that I enjoyed.

The book started off a bit slow for me, but that changed as I became more invested in the characters. It's a unique and heartfelt story that explores themes of life, death, love, and friendship. With a perfect blend of poignancy and humor, it’s a truly enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader’s copy.

Wow this book

To be honest, it started off a little slow for me, but I switched to audio {tysm @libro.fm for the early listening copy} and it really grabbed my heart! And it being slow may really be a me problem, not the book problem. There have been so many life changes for me lately and my brain is constantly elsewhere. This book was the perfect read at the perfect time.

You get to meet Bud, an obituary writer who got a little tipsy and just accidentally published his own obituary. He is so kind and funny and you get to meet am amazing cast of characters that really warm your heart.

“That at the end and I've had the privilege to be in the room with a few people now, my parents, two friends I think, and it's just a guess, but I think we let go of everything and the true nature of experience falls over us.
This . . . miracle that is existence. Which we layer with so much. With anxiety and fear and greed and smallness and what's next and hurry up and I've got a meeting and all the ... stuff... that gets in the way. I'm not saying we should all go live at high altitudes like a monk. I'm saying that if you haven't lived the life you want, if you haven't loved life, then at the end, I think a deep and very sad regret comes over you. But if you have, if you've lived well . . . friends and family and... it you've lived ... then just as true is the peace you feel.”


If you are looking for a quick and thoughtful read, this one is for you!

John Kenney's I SEE YOU'VE CALLED IN DEAD is no ordinary read. The story of a man who writes obituaries for a living, this enjoyable novel had me taking a huge step back to think about my life and attitudes toward life and death as Bud Stanley explores different options for his life when he lives in the twilight zone of a bureaucratic issue. I enjoyed reading Bud's adventures and cheering on this perfectly imperfect person doing his best to make sense of a crazy-making world. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

I See You’ve Called in Dead by author John Kenney is so original, so unique, so unusual, so fulfilling and so satisfying that I don’t even know where to begin a review or what to say about it. Except that this is must-read. If you don’t read anything else, read this.

Bud Stanley is a middle-aged obituary writer who has kind of given up on life. His wife left him, his blind date brought her ex, his obituary writing has become cliched and terrible and he doesn’t much care. Through the course of the story we discover he has friends, but at the beginning he just seems alone and lonely, unmotivated, uninspired, not actually a zombie but still the walking dead. And after a night of a little too much drinking he writes and publishes his own obituary. That breaks a lot of rules and angers a lot of people and puts him on the top of the to-be-fired list, except the company can’t fire a dead person. Bud cycles through a lot of emotions after this, but none of them is urgency. Where can he find a job, what will he do with the rest of his life? His friends and some of his coworkers seem more concerned about that than he is. Bud’s attitude: Something will happen. Or not. So what. But as he’s flailing around, Bud starts to look at things differently. To make connections. To realize he already has a lot of worthwhile connections and relationships.

I See You’ve Called in Dead is absurd, hilarious, often laugh-out-loud funny. It’s also touching and poignant and sad, and you’ll need to wipe your eyes from those moments as well as the funny ones. Time with Tim, with Leo, with Clara, “dropping in” on wakes and funerals, block parties. The book is full of references to literature and art and movies and history and current events; you’ll have many “Aha!” moments while reading

It starts out slow, but just when you think maybe it’s a book full of mostly humorous unrelated anecdotes, you suddenly “get” what author John Kenney is trying to tell you and you’re all in. Bud’s story will educate as well as entertain you and leave you thinking. Really, really thinking about the value of life.

Thanks to Zibby Publishing for introducing me to John Kenney’s work via an advanced reader copy from LibraryThing. This is one of the best books I have read so far this year (and is on my all-time favorites list) and I can’t wait to read more by this by this author. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

This was a truly delightful book and I am so glad to have read it! An obituary writer accidentally publishes his own obituary and the results show him how to truly live. Highly recommended.

Much thanks to #netgalley and #zibbypublishing for the advance loan of "I See You've Called in Dead" by John Kenney (on shelves today - 4/1/25). From the title to the book's description, I anticipated a humorous and darkly funny story and was not disappointed. The premise of the novel is described within the synopsis of the book but the actual reading experience held much more depth and emotional punch than expected.

It is obvious that Mr. Kenney has a tremendous sense of humor (replete with sarcasm) and his main character, Bud, is a difficult gentleman to embrace for the first quarter/half of the book. In that sense, I was having some trouble staying invested because I genuinely disliked his over-the-top sarcasm and general negativity. He used humor (and especially biting, sarcasm) as a defense in practically all situations, even with his "closest" friends. The saving factor for me early on was MY love for and investment in these friends and coworkers: Tuan, Tim, Howard, and others (young Leo shows up later on). Someone who maintains these types of friendships can't be the annoying and irresponsible man he presents as early on.

Bud also develops an odd but apt relationship with a woman named Clara who seems to hold his level of sarcasm and pessimism and they begin to share a new "hobby" together that later plays into the plot. The book reminded me of Harold and Maude (with a more age-appropriate romantic duo, lol).

As mentioned, when I found it difficult to "like" Bud, I could not imagine that he could be as frustrating as he seemed IF he had friends like Tim (in particular) and Tuan. Over time the reader gets more backstory about Bud and his family of origin -- the traumatic loss of his mother, his general mistrust and insecurity around people along with a general ambivalence toward life. We see why, to some degree, he is the way he is and can get more empathy flowing. Tim, on the other hand, is a paraplegic who lives life to the fullest. What an incredible character this was.

By the midpoint of the book (and straight to the end) I fell in love with the story AND ALL of the characters (including Bud and Clara). They both became much easier to empathize with and the interactions between the two (and among all of the friends) were laugh out loud funny. There is also some crushing sadness within. The book runs the gamut of emotions and digs deeper and wider as we near the conclusion.

I totally recommend this book and my advice for anyone who has a slower start is to STICK WITH IT -- this novel is about evolving feelings -- gaining maturity and letting go of defenses. It hits deep.

And my condolences to the author in losing his brother, Tom, in 2019 (who was an inspiration for the book). What a JOY is was to read about the love and life and laughter shared, in real life, along the way. Just the real-life cherry atop a wonderful book! Thank you!

(2.5 / 5)

After a failed blind date, obituary writer Bud Stanley gets drunk and publishes an outlandish, completely fictional obituary…for himself. The company he works for suspends him and then finds out they can’t fire him, because the system thinks he’s dead. Meanwhile, Bud starts to attend funerals of strangers, prompted by an intriguing young woman who suggests that it might help him learn how to live.

I requested this book on NetGalley because it was listed as humor/satire. Between that and the premise, I thought it would be somewhat lighthearted (or at least darkly humorous) and involve a lot more of what would happen in a situation where his job wanted to fire him but couldn’t. Neither of these things is true. There are a few witty or snarky comments here and there, and I did note at least one scene with satire, but overall, the book is mostly slow and depressing. And his job is so in the background that he only goes there a few times throughout the book. I know that I am the absolutely wrong audience for this, though, so I am not going to spend a lot of time describing what I didn’t like about it. Bud is reeling from a nasty divorce (his wife cheated on him in a particularly bad way), which explains his mental state. However, he’s surrounded by pretty good friends who are giving him some great advice. Yet he mostly just floats through life, not really taking charge at all. His mom died when he was a teenager, which is also something he doesn’t seem to have fully processed and dealt with, even though he went to therapy for a while. Maybe he stopped too soon.

The book is full of introspection and discussion about deep topics, during which Bud often responds flippantly and makes me want to smack him. There’s also a lot of description, which I tended to skim. Overall, the book is about someone halfheartedly trying to find the meaning to life, so if that interests you, you might like this book a lot more than I did. I know, though, that looking for the meaning of life without God (not that there’s never any mention of God in this book, but He certainly isn’t seen as the answer to Bud’s problems) is completely pointless. And, though there were a few decent moments, “pointless” pretty well sums up how this book felt to me.

Thank you Zibby Publishing for access to this book.

Yes, okay this book goes over familiar territory in familiar ways. But it’s so entertaining that I enjoyed the trip anyway. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s profound in places but I didn’t get the feeling that it was reaching too obviously for any of that. It all just flowed out without being too overworked or sentimental. The office management HR meetings are comedy gold although also stereotype these soulless workplace characters at times.

As various characters are introduced and interact with Bud, I kept waiting for the Message each was supposed to convey and help Bud realize. Instead, the characters felt individual and fully fledged even if some of them weren’t on page for a long time. But let me be honest. At times though Bud is a challenge, Tim is too perfect despite efforts to make him not be so, Clara is a bit of a manic pixie dream girl, and young Leo (whom I love anyway along with his Rottweiler Muffin) is a little bit too quirky and wise. I still enjoyed them anyway.

As they attend various funerals and visiting hours, their own pasts and issues slowly seep out. Each has got issues but these are handled lightly – maybe too lightly at times – rather than being played for cheap tears and tugged heartstrings. Sometimes humor is used to avoid facing things that need to be looked at but don’t we all do that. Those things are still there and gradually get pulled out and examined. Occasionally issues will be gently set aside, or tossed hard, and in some cases are still works in progress by the end of the book. Life is messy.

What really worked for me as well is that the book is pretty much a love letter to New York City. I’ve never lived there but I could feel the love that these people have for it. The story is really about relationships and these sing. Bud has wonderful friendships with his boss Howard (even if Bud drives Howard crazy at times), coworker Tuan (theirs is complicated but the little touches show that it’s real), and of course Tim who has the presence to wait for answers and let pauses do heavy lifting in getting Bud to examine his life. Bud needs this as for a long time he strongly resists digging deeper. Fair warning, Bud also has moments of cis-het-white-male privilege.

The end is not quite what I was expecting. I think maybe Bud gets off a touch lightly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that some things work out better for him and he seems to be in a good place mentally as well as materially but I was hoping he would strike out and find himself more through his own efforts instead of being given some perks that perhaps he still hasn’t quite earned yet. B

I loved the dark humor of this one. It was right up my alley. The character's dry and witty sense of humor is my favorite type narration. I also enjoyed that it was a comingof age story, but in middle aged. These are my new favorite type of reads.

I See You Called in Dead by John Kenney ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested this book because I felt that it would be funny. And it was so funny. But what I didn’t expect was the heart and brilliance that it turned into. From the embellishments to his own “life story” to the reactions of friends and colleagues about his “death,” laugh out loud moments were plenty. But tucked carefully into the pages of this story was friendship, love, loss, grief, and living. This book turned heavy at times, but it always expertly threw in humor to lighten the load. The characters were all amazing, and I loved every single one of them.

Books that earn 5-stars from me typically make me feel something, and feel I did. For readers looking for stories about life, they should check out this moving novel quite literally about life and death.

I picked up I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD expecting a humorous, lighthearted read, and while it certainly delivered on the laughs, it turned out to be much more. John Kenney’s novel is a sharp and thoughtful exploration of love, loss, friendship, and redemption, all wrapped in witty storytelling.

The story follows Bud Stanley, a middle-aged obituary writer from Brooklyn who drunkenly writes and accidentally publishes his own obituary. His employer, a news service akin to the Associated Press, wants to fire him but can't because their system lists him as deceased. Suspended from work, Bud meets Clara, who finds meaning in attending strangers' funerals. Encouraged by her, Bud embarks on a journey of self-discovery with his best friend and landlord, Tim, who is movie-star handsome and confined to a wheelchair.

While the book is packed with humor, it also delivers deeper reflections on life and mortality. Kenney’s writing is engaging and sharp, with a deep appreciation for New York City’s quirks. Though the pacing lags in parts, the story ultimately delivers a rewarding, life-affirming experience.

I See You've Called in Dead is funny, poignant, and beautifully written. It makes you reflect, appreciate life’s absurdities, and embrace the unexpected ways in which we find meaning.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zibby Publishing for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I love a book that can make you smile and laugh while also taking on the most serious subject of grief. Thanks Zibby for the ARC!