Potboiler

By: Jesse Kellerman

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Arthur Pfefferkorn is a has-been, or perhaps a never-was: a middle-aged college professor with long-dead literary aspirations. When his oldest friend, bestselling thriller writer William de Vallèe, is lost at sea, Pfefferkorn is torn between envy and grief, for de Vallèe not only outshone Pfefferkorn professionally, but married the woman Pfefferkorn loved.Pfefferkorn’s decision to reconnect with de Vallèe’s widow sets in motion a surreal chain of events, plunging him into a shadowy realm of double crosses and intrigue, a world where no one can be trusted--and nothing can be taken seriously.

Critic reviews

“Seldom, if ever, have the cloak-and-dagger folk—of any stripe, ours or theirs—appeared so omniscient, so omnipotent and so perfectly awful as they do in Kellerman’s mordantly funny latest… Another brilliant performance. Kellerman has fun here, and so will his readers.”
—Kirkus (starred)

“Kellerman ruminates on the practice of writing, the experience of sudden literary success, the nature of friendship, and the contrasts between the lives of writers and spies. Potboiler is very funny – and insightful.”

—Booklist

“Kellerman balances the line between thrills and satire in this unique reading experience filled with mysteries, conspiracies, double crosses and shadowy villains….Fun in completely unexpected ways. Only a great writer like Kellerman could make it work at all well.”

—Romantic Times

“This satire heavy novel works well… There are truly funny observations about publishing, what merits good writing, and the excesses of the thriller genre.”

—Library Journal

"A tough, funny satire of the titled genre… Kellerman wants to have fun with thrillers… creating a niche for himself by focusing on characters who are never as smart as they think they are…. a frequently hilarious Moebius strip of a novel."

—Palm Beach Post

A Real Disappointment

What would have made Potboiler better?

The story started off strong and had my interest, but then took a turn into the absurd. It's not often that I can't find some redeeming quality in a story line, something that can hold my interest until the end. Not so with this story. I couldn't make it through to the end. It spiraled into the ridiculous.

Has Potboiler turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not necessarily to this genre but certainly to this author.

Have you listened to any of Kirby Heyborne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure that I had heard other Heyborne narrations. I thought he did a fine job, in fact, his performance kept me listening long past the story itself deserved.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Potboiler?

I would have cut the last half of the entire story.

Any additional comments?

Really bad.

Linguistic Mastery

What an enjoyable read! The writing was masterful. This book was playful, intelligent, surreal, and smooth.