{"id":14939,"date":"2022-11-30T09:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/?p=14939"},"modified":"2022-11-30T08:58:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T15:58:11","slug":"american-nonsensical-by-edward-d-webster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/?p=14939","title":{"rendered":"American Nonsensical by Edward D. Webster"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A unique, original, supremely entertaining mystery with sharp sleuthing and a lot of heart\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enduring friendship, the complexity of relationships, and the investigation into a businessman\u2019s disappearance weave through this compelling mystery by Webster. Old time buddies and private detectives, Stan and Bud argue about anything and everything, while trying to solve multiple missing persons cases that span two decades. When Jake Christian, a local businessman, goes missing, Jake’s wife, Hannah, asks the detective pair to track him down. With their troubled history with Hannah, the duo is not very keen on the case, but Hannah knows how to get what she wants. As they begin their investigation, they unravel Jake\u2019s connection to an old missing person case involving a mother-son preaching team, Sarah and Jeff Lamb. And that\u2019s just the beginning of a series of unexpected events. The friends must sharpen their sleuthing skills or risk losing their lives. Wryly funny and still tinged with melancholy, Webster\u2019s mesmeric tale unfolds via a thoroughly absorbing narrative that frequently switches between the characters\u2019 first-person and third-person omniscient perspectives with intermittent flashes in the past that delves into Jeff\u2019s story. Webster\u2019s prose is taut and propulsive. The mystery at the heart of the novel is intricately constructed, the pacing is swift, and the whole thing is laced with heart and surprisingly, (considering the exploration of childhood abuse and trauma) warmth. Most importantly, Webster depicts the two main players authentically, showcasing Bud\u2019s quirks and Stan\u2019s palpable naivety. Their obvious differences and relentless bickering add to the novel’s lightheartedness. The secondary characters, particularly the endearing Melanie, the troubled Jake, and the flighty Hannah, are equally compelling. As well executed as Stan and Bud\u2019s investigation into the disappearance of Jake is, the book’s immersion in religious exploitation and childhood abuse makes the greatest impact, lending complexity as well as a sense of melancholy to the narrative. The novel has a fun premise despite a hint of darkness to the story, and the pages turn easily as Jeff\u2019s background is revealed, slowly turning into a heart wrenching story of severe parental abuse and neglect. This sometimes-amusing but often disturbing condemnation of how religion can be used as a manipulation tool and how children are neglected, ignored, and abused in the name of parental love, is deliciously readable and so very entertaining. One can only hope this is the beginning of a series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American Nonsensical: A Farce, Both Tragic and True<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edward D Webster<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy now<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casa de Los Suenos Publishing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pub date October 1, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISBN 978-0997032048<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price $24.95 (USD) Hardcover, $14.95 Paperback, $6.99 Kindle edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A unique, original, supremely entertaining mystery with sharp sleuthing and a lot of heart\u2026 Enduring friendship, the complexity of relationships, and the investigation into a businessman\u2019s disappearance weave through this compelling mystery by Webster. Old time buddies and private detectives, Stan and Bud argue about anything and everything, while trying to solve multiple missing persons cases that span two decades. When Jake Christian, a local businessman, goes missing, Jake’s wife, Hannah, asks the detective pair […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145610851,"featured_media":14940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[7223,91,3328,178,1136176,13078,723769834,1473,1008073,856121,309,349],"class_list":["post-14939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-author","tag-blogging","tag-book-reviews","tag-books","tag-indie-books","tag-mystery","tag-private-detective","tag-reading","tag-review-blog","tag-review-website","tag-reviews","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pajKJn-3SX","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/nonsensical.jpg?fit=333%2C499&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/145610851"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14939"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14949,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14939\/revisions\/14949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}