I Might Be in Trouble - Daniel Aleman - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Daniel Aleman

GENRE: Dark Comedy

PUBLICATION DATE: December 3, 2024

RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: A dark, almost satirical comedy about a writer who finds himself “in trouble”, a clue of which is present in the cover art. Humorous, serious, bizarre, suspenseful, entertaining! Though this wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, and some of the content was way too forward for me, I still liked this ride. Recommended, but not to all. Works better if you go in prepared for a whole load of absurdities and with your logic kept aside.

Plot Preview:

Until a couple of years ago, David Alvarez was a success in every way. He had an acclaimed debut novel, a loving partner in Jeremy, and a fabulous book deal for his next writing attempt. But times do change, and now, Alvarez is all alone, with a poorly-received second book, no feasible plot idea for his third manuscript, and on the verge of financial bankruptcy. Stressed out, he often uses an online dating app to relieve his mental and sexual tension.

After one such helluva night with a hot stranger, who could potentially be the next love of his life, David wakes up with a huge hangover, no memory of the previous night, and his date dead next to him in bed. He has no idea what happened, and worse, if he himself might have killed his date somehow. Horrified, David calls up the only person who has always rooted for him: his literary agent Stacey. Can Stacey help David sort out the mess, and maybe even figure out a potential story idea along the way?

The story comes to us in David’s first-person perspective.

Just as any satirical dark comedy, this gets quite absurd and unbelievable. But I went in promising myself not to overanalyse any situation nor to evaluate the morality and ethics of the actions. Thus, I yeeted all disbelief while reading and just relaxed through this wild ride. This worked well for both the book and me.

Bookish Yays:

📕 The dark comedy elements: wacky yet hilarious.

📕 Stacey – deserves a separate yay. What a woman! Loved the connection between David and her.

📕 The characters other than David and Stacey: Mostly cookie-cutter, but they are exactly what the book required.

📕 The depiction of the uncertainties of author life, including the struggles of a writing block. Very well handled.

📕 The use of the location and the people: I’m not sure if the depiction of New York was geographically accurate, but it felt believable – a crowded metropolis where people are so busy that they don’t even notice a dead body among them!

📕 The tempo is somewhat fluid, going high and low as per the need of the story. But even when slow, it never slackens. I enjoyed the dynamic pacing.

📕 Though comic in a horrifying kind of way, the story also offers some food for thought. Most important lesson – lies always beget more lies.

📕 Love the cover – perfect for the book.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

🖋️ The prologue – A great start to the book, but also details David’s quandary about waking up with a dead body in the room. This doesn’t occur until many chapters ahead, but as both the blurb and the prologue reveal that David’s date ends up dead, it takes away some of the suspense.

🖋️ David. A master of getting himself into trouble by taking one self-centred and self-destructive decision after another, he also tends to be a bit self-pitying. As such, though twenty-eight, David sounds YA-ish in tone, especially as he loves to play the poor-ol’-me victim card often. But hey, likeable characters have no place in dark comedy, and if you keep this in mind, David suits the bill quite well.

🖋️ The ending. It is good but somehow, it isn’t satisfying. I felt like it brushes away a lot of the responsibility of some characters’ misdeeds. But as the story is from David’s first-person perspective and it is supposed to be somewhat ironic, the choice of ending does make some sense.

Bookish Nays:

☠️ The main reason for the dip in my rating is this feedback point: I found it ridiculous that the first thing David did on seeing the dead body was to call up his agent. Moreover, even when she turned up, her decision was not what a typical character would do. I know this is what made the book a comedy but even comedies have to be partially convincing. This scene felt more preposterous than farcical.

☠️ The handling of Jeremy’s arc, especially at the end – a tad too forced. I wish there had been more punch to this relationship. Even a literal punch would have been welcome than this bland depiction.

☠️ Personal preference: The adult content was way too high for my comfort level. Granted, the book deals with darker situations, but did we really need the extended anatomical descriptions?

All in all, the story is certainly unusual but its handling is even more so. It can be a fun ride if you read it sheerly for entertainment than for moral analyses.

Recommended to those looking for an atypical adult comedy. Not for those who want their characters to get their just desserts, and not for those who want their lead characters to be sensible or likeable.

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing the DRC of “I Might Be in Trouble” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.