Mesopotamia

May 24, 2010
The immortal shadow of Elvis Presley gyrates wildly through this satiric exploration of America's fascination with tabloid journalism. Washed-up alcoholic reporter Cassandra Bloomgarten gets a career reboot when a sensational "runaway bride" case erupts in the town of Mesopotamia, Tenn., near Memphis. Adopted from a Korean orphanage and raised in the area by a Jewish family, Cassandra may have the local connections to grab the headline, but what happens when she stumbles across two dead Elvis impersonators and a large family left fatherless by a meth lab explosion? The plot thickens— or zigzags. Nersesian (Suicide Casanova) ambles along, almost getting lost in sitcom territory with the adorable fatherless kids, but he recovers when Cassandra enters an Elvis impersonator contest. A surprise ending won't be much of a shock to anyone who knows Elvis lore, but the loose, amiable read carries you through.

July 1, 2010
A middle-aged Asian Jewish tabloid reporter with a drinking problem, a young widow with seven children, a missing—and possibly murdered—teenage bride, an Elvis sing-alike contest, and maybe even the King himself are among the elements of this wild and wildly entertaining novel by Nersesian ("Suicide Casanova". In August 2005, Cassandra Bloomgarten, a down-on-her-luck reporter, is recommended by a friend to cover the story of the missing Memphis bride, Missy Scrubbs, as Cassandra grew up in the nearby town of Mesopotamia. Arriving at the Blue Suede Shoes tavern, home of the Sing the King contest, she's quickly sidetracked by the shooting of an Elvis impersonator. Discovering that this isn't the first murder at the bar, Cassandra makes contact with Vinetta, a young widow whose PI/Elvis impersonator husband, Floyd Loyd, may have been murdered trying to extort the owner. Taking up the investigation, she eventually discovers the truth about Floyd, about Missy, and maybe even about the hideously scarred groundskeeper and bar owner who shares Elvis's birthday. VERDICTA satirical thriller with a tabloid touch that revels in the low-rent colorfulness of its characters.—Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, North Andover, MA

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2010
A bare-bones summary of this novels plot might make it sound like more of the same-old, same-old: a down-and-out reporter stumbles onto the story of a lifetime and risks everything she has to solve a series of murders that will blow the lid off a small-town scandal. Ho-hum, right? Wrong. No reader is going to look at this book and think: Oh, well, another story about a homeless, broke, alcoholic tabloid reporter of Korean descent, a couple of dead Elvis impersonators, and a tax attorneys missing wife. The novel, which takes its title from the Tennessee town where the lead character grew up, is thoroughly entertaining, with an offbeat sense of humor and characters with names such as Floyd Loyd and Morton Beaucheete (say the last one fast). The author doesnt forsake story for funny business, though: theres a solid mystery here, underneath the goofiness. A quirky, hard-edged, slightly absurdist thriller from a writer who definitely bears watching.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)