Jess Walter was a guest on the Live Wire! radio show, and was interesting, so I picked up a copy of his book during the intermission of the taping. It's well written. He has the knack of the clearly observed moment that captures something about life. His characters feel real, and engaging. That said, it describes a downhill slide that I found more depressing than I really wanted. I guess the cover illustration of a man plummeting to earth should have clued me in to that before I bought it!