Coffin's Got the Dead Guy on the Inside

All Jason Keltner wants to do is get out of Pasadena by himself and work on composing some music, especially Untitled #23. But, with rent overdue, he agrees to watch his ex-friend Paul Reno to see what he's up to. After all, the money's not bad.Paul is up to no good, as always. When Jason and Paul go to a party, their host falls down dead. Soon, goons are chasing the two of them; which isn't a good thing, considering Jason's beat up, almost classic car. Paul is obviously hiding something, and Jason just doesn't know who to trust. So, he enlists the help of his friends Robert and Martin. But are they in over their heads? And, if so, can they stay one step ahead of everyone who's after them?First, the bad. This book just jumps in and never fully explains the relationships between some of the characters. I was confused for the first 30 pages or so as to who was who and why some characters were treating each other the way they were. Part of that is probably because this is the second in the series, but a little more background would have been nice.However, once I got beyond those first 30 pages, I fell under the book's unique spell. The book was written exactly for my sarcastic, punny sense of humor, and I found myself laughing out loud at the banter between Jason, Mitch, and Robert. And the chicken wing/celery/ranch dressing debate is not to be missed. The plot starts a little slowly, but quickly picks up speed as the story progresses. While sometimes the characters seem to come too quickly, if you work at it, you can keep track of everyone and whose side they're really on.This book requires a little extra concentration then many I normally read to keep everything straight, but it's completely worth it. Keith Snyder has earned himself a new fan, and I can't wait to catch up on Jason, Robert, and Mitch's other adventures.

I think this is just about the best thing I've ever read. Even the typeface is genius. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. You should buy two, because then not only can you make sure that neither eyeball feels left out while you're reading, but when you're done, you can make a stereopticon with the dustjackets.Seriously. It's just fantastic. Superlatives cannot express how [do not insert superlative here] this book really is.

Keith Snyder's Coffin has all the elements that make his work worth reading: great dialogue; believable characters that you either want to date or mother (at least if you're female!); a plot which moves along quickly, but never expectedly; and continued insight into that unknown-to-women realm of male friendships. An absolute delight to read.

This book is fast, funny, smart and interesting. One of those rare books where you come away both entertained and a bit wiser about all sorts of new things. Keith Snyder has quite an original talent, and I look foward to reading much more of his work.

While I have much more in common with Miss Marple including age and gender, I was drawn into the world of Jason and his musician and computer friends and acqaintances. This time around Jason, Martin and Robert are trying to find a "dongle" which is the McGuffin in this book. Fast paced and hilarious, "Coffins Got the Dead Guy Inside" is a great mystery, with a marvelous plot and likable heroes. This is an A+