Yep, that's my dad

Normally I get a little nervous reading my friends books.  Heck, I didn't read my own father's book until I was well into my teens.  I'm always afraid that the book is going to suck, and then I will either have to lie to them or tell them that it's awful and then they won't be my friend anymore.

This was not the case with Vincent O'Neil's Death Troupe.

Before I get on to how great this book is, I want to say a few words about Vinny.  He's an awesome guy.  Matthew and I met Vinny at the first Crimebake we attended and he was so sweet and funny and generous that we've been pals ever since.  He's just as great and as earnest a guy as you'd ever want to meet, and he's a great writer, to boot.  Finding all these characteristics in one person is pretty rare, since writers can often be pretty big jerks.

Death Troupe is a mystery novel for writers.  It's about writing.  It's about the struggles of writing and what being a writer does to people.  It can unite or divide.  It can make partnerships or it can end in murder, sometimes both.  And Death Troupe explores all of this with a dark charm I've come to recognize from reading Vinny's Exile series . . . but I'd have to say without hesitation (or bribery) that this is Vinny's masterpiece, and with each chapter I read, I get inspired to go back to my own work . . . which, given some of the crazy circumstances of late, is a feat of it's own.  Now if only the book weren't so damn hard to put down . . .