The Serialist. David Gordon. Ashland, Or.: Blackstone Audio, Inc.,  2010. ISBN: 9781441727855.

Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

Harry Bloch is about as pathetic as a writer could possibly be.  His career, if that is what you would call it,    barley allows him to scrape by.  He writes pulp novels; series with over-sexed vampires, or a sci-fi epic that involves a sexbot made only for the captain of a large phallus-shaped spaceship, and finally a knockoff series that sound a lot like the Shaft .  Harry ends up making a bulk of his income when he meets Claire, a privileged and sassy teenager who offers Harry the chance to write papers for high schoolers.  Their relationship becomes close as Claire soon becomes Harry’s manager because he just can’t seem to manage his life.

Harry’s recent endeavor to hop in the vampire bandwagon has gives him his best success thus far.  However, in order to pull off the charade of a authoress, Harry is forced to dress up as his dead mother, since he uses her name as an alias for his latest series.  It is during one of his cover shoots, Harry receives a letter from Darian Clay, aka The Photo Killer,  to ghostwrite his life story.  What Harry doesn’t foresee is that there is no such thing as the perfect opportunity, and that his life is about to become far more entangled with Darien’s than he could have ever imagined.

Bronson Pinchot does an excellent job narrating this fantastically funny, satirical, and often gory tale. He gives each character their own voice, making the story easy to follow and enjoyable.  This is not a listen for those with a sensitive stomach.   Gordon captures the essence of a prolific serial killer by using prose that describe his “craft” and obsession with killing and sex.  Yet, despite the graphic nature of the tale, Harry Bloch is a lovable character who gets entangled in events that are far beyond his control.  For those that enjoy the works of David Sedaris, Harry Bloch is a perfect match.