INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A 2025 NPR ‘Books We Love’ Pick
USA Today April Pick
‘Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo’s Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, and the reinvention of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, Kenney’s vivid prose transforms the mundane into unexpected hilarity.’
—Booklist (starred review)
An Indie Next & LibraryReads Pick
Winner of the AudioFiles Earphones Award
The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy in this coming-of-middle-age tale about having a second chance to write your life’s story.
Obituary writer Bud Stanley isn’t really living his best life. He’s fallen into a funk after a divorce. (She left him for another man, who, in fairness, was far more interesting.) He’s not doing his job well. He’s given up on dating. And he’s about to be fired for accidentally publishing his own obituary one mildly drunken night (though technically the company can’t legally fire a dead person).
As Bud awaits his fate at work, he does the only logical thing: He goes to the wakes and funerals of total strangers to learn how to live again.
Genre: General Fiction
A 2025 NPR ‘Books We Love’ Pick
USA Today April Pick
‘Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo’s Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, and the reinvention of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, Kenney’s vivid prose transforms the mundane into unexpected hilarity.’
—Booklist (starred review)
An Indie Next & LibraryReads Pick
Winner of the AudioFiles Earphones Award
The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy in this coming-of-middle-age tale about having a second chance to write your life’s story.
Obituary writer Bud Stanley isn’t really living his best life. He’s fallen into a funk after a divorce. (She left him for another man, who, in fairness, was far more interesting.) He’s not doing his job well. He’s given up on dating. And he’s about to be fired for accidentally publishing his own obituary one mildly drunken night (though technically the company can’t legally fire a dead person).
As Bud awaits his fate at work, he does the only logical thing: He goes to the wakes and funerals of total strangers to learn how to live again.
Genre: General Fiction
Praise for this book
"I absolutely adored this book! Kenney's quick-witted, deadpan dialogue, paired with the inherent humor in the novel's conceit and the protagonist's unusual hobby of sitting in on strangers' funerals, had me laughing out loud. Yet, just as often, I found myself in tears. This story delivers a fresh and poignant take on the midlife crisis narrative, one that brings to mind big-hearted questions not only about life, but about what it truly means to live." - Angela Brown
"Wise, wry, and heartfelt, I See You Called in Dead is the most life-affirming novel about death you'll ever read-and possibly the funniest. Kenney takes his hero, a middle-aged obituary writer in a rut, on a bumpy odyssey toward understanding that grief and joy are inextricably linked, and to try to separate them is to miss out on truly living. I adored this book!" - Jane Roper
"There are writers I turn to when I need a guaranteed laugh, and John Kenney is certainly among them. But John is also on a shorter, more rarified list of writers who can evoke a laugh and make you feel alive. That's no small feat given the title of his breathtaking new novel is I See You've Called in Dead. But that's John. And you will love him." - Steven Rowley
"I See You've Called in Dead is a riotously funny, poignantly introspective novel that dives headfirst into the absurdity of existence. Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who gets everything wrong-including accidentally publishing his own death notice. From botched blind dates to philosophical musings about life and death, Bud grapples with love, legacy, and the existential (and satirical) weight of being alive. But seriously . . . read this, it is laugh out loud funny. Perfect for fans of dark, heartfelt comedy." - Weike Wang
"Wise, wry, and heartfelt, I See You Called in Dead is the most life-affirming novel about death you'll ever read-and possibly the funniest. Kenney takes his hero, a middle-aged obituary writer in a rut, on a bumpy odyssey toward understanding that grief and joy are inextricably linked, and to try to separate them is to miss out on truly living. I adored this book!" - Jane Roper
"There are writers I turn to when I need a guaranteed laugh, and John Kenney is certainly among them. But John is also on a shorter, more rarified list of writers who can evoke a laugh and make you feel alive. That's no small feat given the title of his breathtaking new novel is I See You've Called in Dead. But that's John. And you will love him." - Steven Rowley
"I See You've Called in Dead is a riotously funny, poignantly introspective novel that dives headfirst into the absurdity of existence. Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who gets everything wrong-including accidentally publishing his own death notice. From botched blind dates to philosophical musings about life and death, Bud grapples with love, legacy, and the existential (and satirical) weight of being alive. But seriously . . . read this, it is laugh out loud funny. Perfect for fans of dark, heartfelt comedy." - Weike Wang
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Used availability for John Kenney's I See You've Called in Dead