On the HahaFiction shelf
The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie
by Freida McFadden
Alice attended Grant's funeral. She saw his coffin go into the ground. Yet her dead husband keeps appearing at the grocery store, in traffic and on the street. Finding out why means sorting through the secrets of their marriage while keeping her own deceptions under control.
From the author’s blurb
“Actually, it may have been only five feet”Read the full description at Freida McFadden’s book description
Paid link · We earn commissions from qualifying Amazon purchases. Affiliate disclosure
What makes it funny?
Even the funeral has bookkeeping problems: Alice isn't certain how deep the grave was, and the miniature beef Wellingtons cost more than her first car. The Brightdreamer review describes another self-referential joke, with Alice reading a Freida McFadden novel while a friend delivers yet another condolence casserole.
The comedy at work
McFadden exaggerates the promises and habits of psychological thrillers. Red herrings and an unreliable narrator feed improbable chapter-ending twists. The author's own description carries that excess into its sales pitch, treating the reader's dropped jaw as an injury requiring reconstructive surgery.
Try this if…
Familiarity with domestic thrillers gives the jokes more targets to hit. This is for readers who enjoy recognizing a genre's favorite tricks as the author stretches them past credibility.
Good to know
Choose it for a short parody of suspense fiction. Brightdreamer enjoyed the jokes while finding the pacing uneven, the characters thin and the plot flimsy.
More funny crime & thriller
Sources & further reading
- Brightdreamer review
Review
- Author
Author commentary
Something we should correct? Let us know.
