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The Serialist Audiobook
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(3.03) - 484 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In this stylish, darkly funny psychological thriller, a struggling writer finds his life suddenly resembling one of his own pulp novels when a convicted serial killer hires him to write his memoir.
All Harry Bloch knows about catching a serial killer is what he has learned from his own books. But Harry’s life takes a sudden dramatic turn when the Photo Killer, a high-profile murderer who claims to be innocent, asks Harry to write his memoir. No sooner has Harry begun his research than several women are murdered in the Photo Killer’s signature style, just hours after Harry interviewed them. Now Harry is a prime suspect—or is he the killer’s next target? Forced to play detective in a real-life murder mystery plot, Harry begins to seek the real killer and turns up more than he could have imagined.
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"a meta-fictional murder mystery at times funny and at times very macabre but intriguing from beginning to end . . . the frame story (a hack novelist helping a death row serial killer write his memoirs) and the interspersed fragments of the hack novelist's stories (neo-gothic vampire tales, supernatural detective thrillers, and sci-fi erotica) with the narrator's (the hack novelist's) reflections on this novel and on literature in general: quite clever and witty . . . . makes for great reading on cold winter evenings (or, for that matter, anytime at all)"
— Vegantrav (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“This noir sendup turns out to be a real killer debut…The book is funny, with a satirical edge, and unlike some literary authors who play with genre, Gordon knows how to write a potboiler.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“David Gordon has gathered up our cultural trash and made of it something magnificentThe Serialist makes high art out of serial murders, pornography, soup dumplings, and pulp fiction. I adore this book!”
— Rivka Galchen, author of Atmospheric Disturbances -
“Winning…A darkly humorous thriller.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Pinchot’s storytelling ably transitions from the narrative voice of the self-deprecating Jewish author to that of the truly evil man in prison. Other characters [are also] well portrayed…Pinchot negotiates all these elements with alacrity and humor.”
— AudioFile -
“A tour de force debut.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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A 2011 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee for Best First Novel
The Serialist Listener Reviews
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" sarcastic, witty, humorous, and a little bit scary! i loved it. "
— Angie, 2/11/2014 -
" LOVED this book! After I finished it, I felt not unlike the way I did after I saw "Pulp Fiction" for the first time. It was exhilarating, freaky, and enormously entertaining. Sensational read! "
— Amy, 2/6/2014 -
" I was afraid this rather meta-literary meta-pulp mystery would be too fey, too clever for its own good, but author is aware of this trap and thus far has avoided it successfully. I'm digging this!....Now done with it: could be called pulp literariness, and it's done well. Reminds me of the movie _Adaptation_ in that at a certain point plot HAS to come into the forefront and yet the piece doesn't want to back down from its self-awareness. It's a fine line to walk but Gordon manages it well. It's worth reading others' reviews to get a sense of what the plot is all about; I'm too lazy to retell! A fun read and a smart one, too. (I'd actually give this 3.5 stars.) "
— Megan, 2/4/2014 -
" Well written. Not exactly a thriller as its billed. "
— Andrea, 1/23/2014 -
" A nice, albeit raunchy, murder mystery book. Some of the supporting cast could have used some fleshing out but the narrator was a good character. "
— Christen, 1/21/2014 -
" Great book. It was his first novel. I loved the fact that the protagonist was not some machismo infused gun nut. The protagonist could be anyone of us. The dark comedy sealed the deal for me. If you're in for a good mystery and dark humor check it out. "
— Joshua, 1/1/2014 -
" I think Gordon has enormous talent, but I was not the biggest fan of this book. It moves somewhat abruptly from dime novel to philosophical meditation on violence and evil. Perhaps if i knew what I was in for, it would have been a bit easier to digest. "
— Bridget, 12/30/2013 -
" A great surprise. A serial-killer book with a sense of humor? I guess that's how I'd categorize it. "
— Zach, 12/27/2013 -
" I wish I could give this more than 5 stars--it's brilliant. Very funny, very dark, very smart, very well-written. It's one of those books I wanted to start again as soon as I'd finished it. I can see how it's not for everyone, but I thought is was fantastic. "
— Mariah, 11/27/2013 -
" Wonderful writing, terrific protagonist, clever idea. Really enjoyed this one. So many wonderful things to say about writing! "
— Katherine, 10/16/2013 -
" y 2eyb6ard has a 05nd 6f 5ts 6wn t6day s6 n6 rev5ew f6r n6w. "
— Kathryn, 10/4/2013 -
" It started off well and progressed nicely, but I really felt the 3rd act was a letdown. Plus I didn't like the fake novel chapters interspersed throughout the book. "
— Adrian, 9/15/2013 -
" There's quite some heart in this book as it mixes together metafiction and themes of art and life. "
— Zhi, 7/12/2013 -
" This was a fun book to read, except for the last chapter which made very little sense and didn't add anything interesting. "
— Marcia, 6/20/2013 -
" I read about 60 pages of this book and wondered why it was published. "
— Joe, 6/14/2013 -
" A most interesting twist on a writer's story. Very different, very fresh. Excellent writing, excellent pace and great characters. "
— E.J., 2/26/2013 -
" Pretty good & cheesy, would classify as vacation reading. "
— Arielle, 11/27/2012 -
" A story within a story? Harry Bloch is a writer of pulp: pornography, pronographic sci-fi, vampires, etc. A death row inmate contacts him to write his story. Harry is now inmeshed into the mystery of current murders. "
— Mary, 6/22/2011 -
" Nominated for best original paperback for the Edgars. I liked it but man it is pretty bloody. Interesting take on the typical mystery I have to say. "
— Robin, 6/20/2011 -
" Absorbing page turner about a serial killer who's locked behind bars when the murders begin anew. 3 1/2 stars, yo.... <br/><br/>getyousome "
— Amos, 5/23/2011 -
" I enjoyed this book up to about page 300. That is when the serial killer makes a detailed, very gory cheerful confession of multiple murders and disembowlments. "
— Ka, 2/19/2011 -
" Started off very funny and ended up a little gruesome. "
— Nancy, 2/15/2011 -
" Well written. Not exactly a thriller as its billed. "
— Andrea, 2/12/2011 -
" A most interesting twist on a writer's story. Very different, very fresh. Excellent writing, excellent pace and great characters. "
— EJ, 1/7/2011 -
" Hands down the best mystery I've read in ages. Smart, witty and spot-on, this manages to invoke the genre classics without seeming cliche. "
— Elizabeth, 12/19/2010
About David Gordon
David Gordon is the author of the novels Mystery Girl, now a major motion picture in Japan, and The Serialist, which won the VCU Cabell First Novel Award and was a finalist for an Edgar Award. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Columbia MFA program and also holds a master’s in English and comparative literature from Columbia. He has worked as a screenwriter and a magazine editor.
About Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot, Audible’s Narrator of the Year for 2010, has won Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Awards, AudioFile Earphones Awards, Audible’s Book of the Year Award, and Audie Awards for several audiobooks, including Matterhorn, Wise Blood, Occupied City, and The Learners. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale, he is an Emmy- and People’s Choice-nominated veteran of movies, television, and Broadway and West End shows. His performance of Malvolio in Twelfth Night was named the highlight of the entire two-year Kennedy Center Shakespeare Festival by the Washington Post. He attended the acting programs at Shakespeare & Company and Circle-in-the-Square, logged in well over 200 episodes of television, starred or costarred in a bouquet of films, plays, musicals, and Shakespeare on Broadway and in London, and developed a passion for Greek revival architecture.