This laugh-out-loud mystery narrated by a word-clever repo man in Kalkaska, Michigan, will convince readers to keep on (tow) trucking. Ruddy McCann has a bit of a problem: The voice of a murder victim, real estate agent Alan Lottner, has suddenly taken up residence in his head. "I want you to find the people who did this to me, and bring them to justice," Lottner insists. At first, Ruddy, 30, thinks the chatter in his mind is the result of the dreaded malady "Repo Madness," the consequence of too many years pursuing deadbeats, a perilous occupation that requires "nerves of stupidity." But he soon finds that Alanboth a nag and a wisenheimeris telling the truth about his death, and the pieces of this ingenious plot begin to click into place. Ruddy is soon in hot pursuit of the two murderers, who are more depraved than he originally thought; he's also in pursuit of the lovely Katie, who turn outyikes!to be Lottner's daughter. Through all the twists and turns of the unlikely plot, Ruddy is surrounded by a vividly drawn cast of characters, including Becky, his ultraresponsible sister, who had "a tapeworm or something that was always drawing the fun out of her"; Becky's goofy new boyfriend, Kermit, a voluble Mr. Malaprop; Ruddy's stud-muffin younger pal, Jimmy, whose earlier acting career "was somewhat hampered by his inability to act"; and Ruddy's beloved dog, Jake, "fifty pounds of anyone's guess." While it's no surprise that Ruddy gets both the evildoers and the girl, how he gets to that finish line is totally unexpected. A storyline that would be a car wreck in the hands of a less-talented writer turns out to be a delightfully entertaining road trip thanks to the deft touch of Cameron, a best-selling author (A Dog's Journey, 2012, etc.), humor writer and independent movie producer. This spirited novel, a rollicking mystery and sweet romance rolled into one, is the perfect vehicle for a wild joy ride. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Ruddy McCann, former college football star and current repo man, thinks he's losing his mind. He's started hearing voices-well, one voice actually, and it introduces itself as Alan Lottner, real estate agent. What Ruddy soon discovers is that Alan isn't a figment of his imagination, a serious mental health problem, or even the onset of the dreaded Repo Madness, a condition caused by the constant stress of repossessing cars from angry and often violent owners. Alan was murdered eight years earlier, and Ruddy has become the unwilling host of his spirit. What's worse is that Alan insists that Ruddy find out who killed him, but without adding Alan's problems to the mix, Ruddy has enough of his own: trying to help his sister keep the family's bar from going under and smoothing out the troubles and inane schemes of the bar's regulars. When Ruddy discovers that the girl he met recently and is very interested in is Alan's daughter, he's certain that things couldn't possibly get worse. Oh, how wrong he is. Verdict Cameron (A Dog's Purpose; A Dog's Journey) has delivered a highly engaging and funny novel that is reminiscent of the early works of Carl Hiaasen (Skin Tight) and Christopher Moore (Practical Demonkeeping). It's so easy to get wrapped up in Ruddy's misadventures that readers may well finish the novel and only then realize that they've read it in one sitting.-Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This offbeat and engaging mystery from humor writer Cameron (8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter) introduces Ruddy McCann, a repo man in Kalkaska, Mich., who's also a bouncer and bartender at the Black Bear Bar, the family business run by his sister Becky. Repossessing autos is often difficult and dangerous (and sometimes very funny) and can cause what is called "Repo Madness." Ruddy thinks that may be happening to him when Alan Lottner, a former real estate agent, takes up residence in his body. Alan finds his new place of residence as confusing to him as it is to Ruddy. Kalkaska is full of odd characters, including Claude and Wilma Wolfinger, a battling couple with unlikely get-rich schemes; handsome, gullible Jimmy Growe; and Kermit Kramer, Becky's improbable suitor who spouts malapropisms. In his attempts to help Alan, Ruddy gets involved in an awkward romance, crosses paths with some greedy bad guys, and puts his life at risk. Readers will look forward to more of Ruddy's good-hearted efforts to protect those he loves in the promised sequel. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Meet Ruddick Ruddy McCann: former college footballer, ex-con, repo man. He's a reasonable and affable fellow trying to put a life together after it was torn apart years earlier. Oh, and apparently he has the ghost of a murdered real-estate agent, Alan Lottner, in his head. He's not sure how Alan got inside there, and he's not entirely convinced he isn't simply imagining Alan (Ruddy's worried he's caught the Repo Madness). Soon, though, one thing becomes clear: if Ruddy wants to have his head all to himself again anytime soon, he's going to have to behave as though this isn't some elaborate delusion and find out why his headmate was murdered. Ruddy's first-person narration is light and breezy, verging on comedy, and the story is very clever (the author works in a nice subplot involving the dead man's daughter). The ending seems to shut the door on the possibility of a sequel, but you never know: this repo man has legs.--Pitt, David Copyright 2014 Booklist