Secondhand Smoke: A Wickedly Dark Comedy by Patty Friedmann (538 Reviews)    Price verified one minute ago

"A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES Meets THE CORRECTIONS in Friedmann's warm and wacky tale of family dysfunction and redemption" -- Library Journal "The outrageous developments and swift pace make this novel hard to resist." -Publishers Weekly JERUSHA'S POISON... ... to just about everyone--particularly her adult children. Fortunately, poison is the very superfood of the satirist. Patty Friedmann, the reigning queen of black comedy, hits one out of the park with her family straight out of Tolstoy--unhappy in its own way, a uniquely twisted Southern way. Meet the Baileys. Born and bred in a working class New Orleans neighborhood, Zib and Wilson think the thick cloud of cigarette smoke enveloping their mother is what probably killed their father. Certainly the toxicity of Jerusha's dark, cynical attitudes has driven her children far from the nest. Wilson has escaped to Chicago, married a woman who hates him, converted to Judaism, and become a decorated professor of Organic Evolution. Zib, almost forty, has made it only as far as the Florida Panhandle, where she's an assistant manager at the local Winn-Dixie, doomed to fending off a sleazy boss given to late night phone calls. Only one person, as isolated as she is, shows Jerusha any affection: Dustin Puglia, chubby, wise, and fearless, a ten-year-old living next door with a poisonous mother of his own. Although Wilson and Zib have forged independent lives away from their mother -- as well as each other -- their father's death brings them back together for a darkly droll, yet heart-wrenching round of domestic insanity. Does it remind you of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY? Or THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS? Patty Friedmann got there first! And she's just as funny and observant as the authors of those splendid screenplays. Who Will Like It: Fans of off-beat dark comedies like AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, family dramas with a lot more humor than THE CORRECTIONS, the incomparable CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, and another ...

Genre: Humor & Satire

A Good Boy (The Dying Church Series Book 1) by Anthony Andre (146 Reviews)    Price verified 59 minutes ago

Three years after losing the love of his life, Wesley starts a new career as a minister; but when a teenager commits suicide, dividing the church, Wesley must look deep within for the strength to save his church - and himself.

Genre: Humor & Satire

Dreams from the Slumber Yard by Christopher Mertic Lewis (33 Reviews)    Price verified one minute ago

Richard Blake runs The Slumber Yard, a struggling mattress store in small town strip mall. A bitter, misanthropic recluse with no friends or family to speak of, Richard whiles away his boring, monotonous life by tormenting customers and producing a series of low budget TV commercials. Determined to make a change and find meaning in his life, Richard meets a beautiful young woman named Kathy. He quickly falls in love, but after a lifetime alone, Richard doesn't know how to reconcile his own anger and self-loathing with his newfound affection for another person. At times dark and funny, sweet and unsettling, Richard's story is one of love, selfishness, fame, humiliation, and the kind of excitement that can only be found in reasonably priced furniture.

Genre: Humor & Satire

The Warden Threat: A Sci-Fi Counter-Fantasy Novel (Defying Fate Book 1) by D.L. Morrese (Fuzzy Android) (82 Reviews)    Price verified one hour ago

Prince Donald, the idealistic third son of the king of Westgrove, believes he may be the only one capable of protecting his country from an invasion spearheaded by an ancient, massive, and magical stone warrior known as the Warden of Mystic Defiance. When he recovers a mysterious scroll he believes may allow him to take control of the Warden, he eagerly takes on the task. Donald, unfortunately, is woefully unprepared. His only understanding of such things comes from reading fictional tales of epic adventures and brave heroes. He dreams of being one, but to his dismay, his quest unfolds nothing like he imagined. The books in his library seriously understate the complexities and hardships involved, and the real world can be much more confusing and complicated than those in stories. Sometimes it is not easy to identify the villains, and what things seem may not always be what they are. The real threat to the kingdom may not even be what everyone seems to think it is. Most disturbing of all is the realization that the hero is not necessarily predestined to save the day. Heroes can fail. This lighthearted parody is unique -- a soft science fiction counter-fantasy, which pokes a fair amount of good-natured fun at the serious tone and dependence on magic common to many epic fantasy adventure genre novels. With its charming and truly likeable characters, witty, intelligent humor, and prose style blending positive science fiction and epic fantasy elements, The Warden Threat is a delight, perfect for readers of these genres yearning for something fresh and different. This book is also available in the omnibus edition Defying Fate, which includes both The Warden Threat and its sequel, The Warden War. Defying Fate is a Kindle exclusive.

Genre: Humor & Satire

Don't be a Hero: A dark humour page turner, where Little Britain meets Cheers in a Birkenhead betting shop. (Harry Harris Bull in a Betting Shop Book ... by Johnny Parker (69 Reviews)    Price verified 15 hours ago

If Harry Harris had been a second-hand car, Big Marge would have kicked his tyres. Harry has ditched a well paid career to follow his dream of being a writer before it's too late. Girlfriend Peggy patiently supports him, but Harry is wilting under the weight of rejection letters and the guilt of not helping with the bills. On an impetuous whim, he applies for a job as a bookies cashier. However, a Birkenhead betting shop is no place for the fainthearted. Harry is a cosy office, Walter Softie. Naïve and gullible, he doesn't fit in. Big Marge the battle hardened manager knows it, the wily punters know it and Peggy is worried about it. However, the obnoxious, greasy-pole climbing Area Manager, thinks Harry's MBA will transform profits and bring him the promotion he craves. Harry thought he was under pressure before, but now he's wedged himself between a rock and several hard places with only his pride preventing a fall. As if he hadn't enough problems, Peggy's well of patience has run dry. Unable to keep up with the bills on her own, she's installed a lodger. Ex-Tank Regiment Dave, promptly occupies Harry's groove on the sofa and has a commanding grip on the TV remote. In this dark comedy, short read, page turner, Little Britain meets Cheers in a Birkenhead betting shop. The odds are against Harry from the off. Can he survive his first shift and will the cheats prosper? What Amazon Reviewers say about Don't be a Hero... Hilarious, I couldn't put it down - "You will feel like a fly on the wall watching this real-life soap unfold." ***** Arterial "I found it a very easy and enjoyable read. Having never been in a betting shop I found the characters extremely entertaining, leaving me wanting to know what happened to them next." ***** Mavis Howarth-Jones "It's not the genre I usually read, but I loved Don't be a Hero from the start and couldn't put it down!When Harry takes a bookies job at the betting shop, he discovers an entirely different unfamiliar world. That ...

Genre: Humor & Satire

Squatter With a Lexus by Tom Lichtenberg (Pigeon Weather Press) (41 Reviews)    Price verified 14 hours ago

Pearson Holmes disappeared a long time ago, leaving behind a potentially valuable safety deposit box. Freddy the Freegan is the first to stumble across the mystery, but soon a whole cast of characters are out to find the key and claim the treasure before time runs out and the contents are forfeit to the state. Who will solve the riddle of the Squatter with a Lexus?

Genre: Humor & Satire