MR. PEANUT

by Adam Ross - to be released in June 2010

David Pepin is a partner in a computer game software company. His life is as intricate as the M.C. Escher art that he loves. Married to Alice in a true love/hate relationship, he fantasizes about her demise. He's also writing a book about the murder of Alice Pepin. While the idea is a good one, the murky transition between the actual story and the one the character is writing is very difficult to follow. As indicated by the title, Alice succumbs to a deadly allergic reaction to peanuts she has ingested. The question is, was it suicide or murder?

As the detectives try to prove David's guilt we learn about their very troubled lives as well.

The most distressing aspect of this book is the passive-aggressive behavior on the part of the female characters. None of the characters in MR. PEANUT actually like their respective spouses or communicate with them and they are filled with hate and despair on a daily basis. In fact I have to say that there is not a single redeeming protagonist in the book.

I found the parallel universe presented in MR. PEANUT to be both confusing and depressing. You might want to skip this one.