Bad Things Happen, by Harry Dolan

This is a typical murder mystery about a murder that occurs in the offices of a magazine that specializes in murder mysteries. IT'S SO META! Several characters, several times, mention "If this were a story in Grey Streets (the name of the magazine) then THIS would happen." Only to be reminded by another character "This isn't a story in Grey Streets."

Ok, it starts with the main character, David Loogan, buying a shovel. The author is very cagey in the beginning, referring to him as "the man who calls himself David Loogan" and exposing some of the man's fears about being out in the parking lot at night and shit. You don't find out why until nearly the end.

Loogan buys the shovel to help his friend Tom bury some guy killed in Tom's house. Prepare to go several hundred pages on before finding out who that guy really was as well.

In all of this we go back and learn how they became friends (David and Tom) and about Grey Streets (I wish it were a real magazine, actually) and how David has begun a small affair with Tom's wife.

Later Tom ends up dead, with a crime scene that screams THIS IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE A SUICIDE! HELLO! I'M A MURDER! The suspects are mostly Tom's friends--other authors. Other people die, things get hairy, and it's all so deliciously juicy.

And the mystery is solved, and that's awesome, but there's still someone who hasn't been caught yet, and you've got a few pages left, so you just know David's going to pull something from up his sleeve and get this shit settled, but instead, it's the AUTHOR who pulls something out. SOMETHING OUT OF HIS ASS. The last two pages of this otherwise great book reveal that David can see ghosts.

SAY FUCKING WHAT?

Yeah, he sees two figures outside and you think he's going to solve that one thing I mentioned and then WHAM BAM SPOOKY SPOOK it's two of the characters who died earlier. He has a short conversation with one of them. they disappear. END OF BOOK.

While searching on Amazon to link that Amazon page, I saw that Harry Dolan has other books, and the cover is similar to Bad Things Happen. Does Loogan go on to get himself mired in other murders, maybe very casually chat with some dead guys? I'm thinking YES.

I'm also thinking WHAT A HACKEY PIECE OF SHIT TO THROW INTO AN OTHERWISE GREAT BOOK?

But I'm also thinking that if I happen to run across any other Dolan books I COULD be persuaded to buy one.