The Next Right Thing

A Novel

By: Dan Barden

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Randy Chalmers has to admit he'd be dead or in prison were it not for Terry Elias. Thanks to Terry's coaching – and an endless stream of AA meetings – Randy's been off the booze for eight years, has a successful new career, and is thriving in a healthy relationship. All is well… until Terry is found dead of a heroin overdose.

Convinced that something (or someone) must have pushed him, Randy is soon off on a dry-drunk quest for answers. When his suspicions ultimately connect Terry's death to the activities of a recently appointed Superior Court judge, Randy has to ask himself: Is he really onto something or just suffering from grief and paranoia?

©2012 Dan Barden (P)2012 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"Everything you could hope for from a novel: The Next Right Thing is suspenseful, hilarious, angry - above all, wildly original. I only wish I'd written it myself.” (Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad)

"[An] engaging debut... [Contains] a healthy amount of verve and black comedy... succeeds on the emotional and physical muscle of its narrator." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Dan Barden’s The Next Right Thing is The Long Goodbye in rehab. It's fierce and funny and absolutely worthy of its predecessors - like them, Barden’s hard-boiled tale is really an inquiry into male love and grief, and the state of the American heart." (Jonathan Lethem)

Much ado bout nutin'

What disappointed you about The Next Right Thing?

I couldn't finish this. All the characters were a bunch of drama queens, getting way too involved in each other's busness and making mountains out of molehills... Hated it!

What do you think your next listen will be?

The possibilities are endless

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He read it aloud.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really...

Any additional comments?

No.