Heather Harper Ellett

Rating: 2.5 stars

Billed as humor, this debut novel was anything but, unless you're the sort that enjoys Texas hillbilly humor. After reading Heather's bio, I found it curious she was a therapist, since the story is down right hokey!

Appropriately titled, there ain't nobody who's anybody in the story with one or two minor exceptions. A hard drinking former sheriff discovers a dead man stuck on a hog pen and his first move is to learn who he is and what happened. While some may find the illiterate, loser characters funny, I found them dull and repetitive much like the sheriff.

When it comes to Texas-style humor, Larry McMurtry's books are the 'laugh out loud' sort, but after trudging through over a 100 pages, I can't remember anything that struck me as funny with 'Nobody'. That said, the wonderful thing about various genre is we're each drawn to different styles or approach. Personally, if the plot or characters would have been more interesting, I would have forgotten about the missing humor, but this one failed on all fronts.

And if any of you reading this are humor fans, I can't speak highly enough about [b:Texasville|54814|Texasville|Larry McMurtry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416788513l/54814._SY75_.jpg|53421] or any of his stories based in Thalia, TX. Regardless, pass on this one my friends!

… (mere)

Update: Here's the link to my review on Criminal Element: http://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-aint-nobody-nobody-heather-harper-ell...

This is a fantastic debut mystery with great characters and a strong sense of place. I just wrote a review for Criminal Element and will post a link when it's available. And P.S. I'm not a fan of Breaking Bad so don't let that comparison in the GR blub turn you off.… (mere)

Ain't Nobody Nobody is an interesting - and unusual - work literary fiction. I could also describe it as a gritty mystery. Either way, it is darkly humorous and unfolds at a quiet pace. This isn’t a book to be impatient with - the story will reveal itself in due time.

Poverty and tragedy surround all the characters in this East Texas town. The characterization was the strength of this book - it has a cast of characters that were either lovable or unlikable, but either way, tragically flawed, colorful, and fully fleshed out.

Heather Harper Ellett’s writing was also descriptive and elegant, all the while capturing the feel and tone of its rural East Texas setting:

"He couldn't breathe and his chest tightened in the confusion of it all - a baking soda and vinegar mix of shame and redemption that threatened to erupt in him."



I will say, I get cranky with misleading comparisons, and I didn’t really feel “Breaking Bad” meets Joe Lansdale was an apt one. Ain’t Nobody Nobody feels like it’s own, unique story. It felt a little slow in parts, and I attributed that to the various internal dialogues and introspections of most of the main characters (Randall, Birdie, Bradley and Dale.)



This was a remarkable debut for the author, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for her.

I was provided a copy of the book; all opinions are my own.… (mere)