I first read this four years ago, and I’d totally mis-remembered how it developed. What I’d remembered as the big twist climax turned out to be a minor scene mid way through.

So this read turned out to be a fresh rediscovery of a light-hearted fun murder mystery set in and around the events of a San Diego Comic-Con.

If you have any knowledge of the comics industry and it’s history there’s lots of references and allusions (often very thinly disguised) you’ll pick up on. And if you’ve ever enjoyed (or hated) the San Diego Comic-Con experience you’ll be nodding along at the observations and location descriptions.

While I enjoyed this (again), I do wonder if it is too much of an in-joke that wouldn’t translate to a wider audience. ( )

This was fun! Not amazing, but entertaining and fast and enjoyable. Mike was a cool narrator (I liked his style), very aware of the realities of comics and fandoms and adult life, and geeky without sounding geeky. There was pretty much nobody else who could’ve told this story, which is always great to find. He made a kind of kooky premise feel grounded, but not so much that the surrealness of Comic-Con was diminished. And “his” art is included in the book! I never see adult novels with illustrations just ‘cause, so that was neat.

The mystery itself goes through twists and turns that are typical but also that aren’t, at the same time. That’s the Comic-Con there, making things fresh, and a fair bit of creativity on the part of the author too. It’s also one of those books where the weirdest, randomest things come back to have actual plot relevance, without being telegraphed. Again, I like when that happens. It’s a cozy without feeling formulaic.

And yes, van Lente brings Comic-Con to life beautifully, from the cosplay to the glitz to the feel of it. (Second full disclaimer: I’ve never been, I’ve just seen videos.) There are all sorts of pop culture references, and invented pop culture that seems believable. Plus he gets comics and fandom right, both the high points and the downsides, like the cutthroat nature of comics publishing.

My biggest disappointments, besides how this was good but didn’t quite “pop”, was that Mike falls into both the “male hero in a rut,” and the “reconnecting with the ex” tropes, with a side of “sudden love interest”—but to van Lente’s credit, none of these are particularly annoying, and the rut is actually treated like a problem. Further to van Lente’s credit: casual diversity and women who aren’t sexualized!

But yeah, like I said, this didn’t pop. I tore through it and enjoyed doing so, but I didn’t quite feel the connection that gets me telling people to read this and I feel like, a year or two from now, I’m not going to remember much. Ah well. I think it’ll be a good summer read, especially if you’re fannish, want something breezy, and are maybe on a beach somewhere.

Warnings: Neo-Nazis. Like, slurs and tattoos and everything.

6/10 ( )

It struggles as metafiction and as a mystery, but, if you resolve not to take it too seriously, this is a wonderful, easter egg-riddled romp through comicdom, a book sure to please fans of Ready Player One. ( )