I haven't read much bizarro or absurdist fiction, so I'm far from an expert on the subject. That said, "Death Gets a Book" for the most part struck me as pretty much exactly what I imagined it would be, which I'd say makes it a success and a good representation of the genre.

As one might expect, there are recognizable elements at play here, such as a clearly-defined premise, cast of characters, and "rules" to the way things operate that act as a sort of foundational guide, which prevents the more ludicrous aspects of the story from launching it completely off the rails. It's hard to talk specifically about those more "out there" portions of the book without venturing into spoiler territory but rest assured that they are sufficiently quirky and abundant that they should more than satisfy anyone seeking them.

What some readers may not anticipate, and may not care for, are the frequently crass and potentially-provocative moments throughout the text that seem clearly designed to offend the easily offended. Not being easily offended, I found myself simply shrugging these off beyond noting them but for this purpose, I'd say they're worth mentioning as a sort of content warning for those who don't enjoy having their buttons pushed or their feathers ruffled. Additionally, if you're not a fan of prose that's at times a bit rough around the edges, or the sorts of crude, brash, and boorish humor that was common in films and other media of the 70's and 80's such as "Caddyshack" or "Used Cars," you likely won't make it past the first chapter.

All that being said, I ultimately enjoyed "Death Gets a Book" as an interesting and worthwhile diversion from the sorts of things I typically read and give it a thumbs up for the things I feel it did well.

A final note regarding my score: For me, this was a 3.25 but I'm rounding up to a 4 as I don't feel it would be fair to the book or the author to underrate it with a 3.