Editorial Review - Kirkus Reviews

McGrail offers a novel about two well-meaning friends who seem to get in trouble at every turn.

Jericho Canderankle, a rising star at Abbott Industries, is tasked with the last-minute planning of the upcoming 1978

Sycamore Centennial Parade. Feeling pressure to perform, she somewhat reluctantly hires her out-of-work husband,

Clark, (nicknamed “Poodle”) and her brother, Babylon (known as “Milk”) as door-to-door salespeople to help raise

awareness and promote float sales for the parade. She soon realizes her mistake in doing so, and before long, finds

herself cleaning up their messes. Longtime pals Poodle and Milk, adopting a divide-and-conquer approach, set off in

separate directions; their lackadaisical attitude toward work, and their propensity for hijinks, lead them into complicated

interactions with a bevy of characters, such as an angry businessman, a geriatric garage-band choir, an unusually

accurate fortune teller, a suspicious pharmacist, and the residents of a home for wayward children. A recent spate of

robberies in the nearby town leads to a case of mistaken identity, landing Poodle in jail; meanwhile, gang leader Bobby

Cowl arrives in town with associates Billy and Max. Posing as the Rev. Tucker Fry, the founder of a new church called the

Witness to the Apocalypse, Cowl is also approaching business owners seeking space to hold their weekly spiritual

gatherings. The gang’s ulterior motives are soon revealed as McGrail effectively weaves together parallel storylines;

however, readers will have to wait until a planned sequel for the conclusion of this tale of jesters and fools. In this

installment, however, readers are introduced to a great many characters. The author’s use of constantly shifting points of

view is helpful, as is the straightforward, staccato writing style and wry humor: “He liked being Milk. And he liked Poodle

being Poodle. He was pretty sure Jericho liked it that way too.” Over the course of the narrative, McGrail teases the reader

with tiny morsels of information about various players, although which revelations add value isn’t always clear. Still, there’s

plenty of welcome chaos.

                        - Kirkus Reviews