Mervyn vs. Dennis tells the story of Mervyn Kirby dealing with his crisis of a life. The story begins with Mervyn going into an interview to be a video game tester. A job that Mervyn is not interested in nor good at, but he desperately needs. When he finds out his boss is racist he pretends to be as well so that he will get hired. Dennis finds Mervyn to be a kindred spirit so he hires Mervyn. Dennis is disliked by many of the employees and doesn’t have many friends, but he doesn’t care. All he cares about is Mervyn. Things get out of hand when Mervyn tries to keep his distance and Dennis keeps pushing their friendship further. Dennis shows up everywhere Mervyn is, invites him for dinners and to his house. Mervyn realizes that Dennis has a secret. Determined to find out what it is, Mervyn discovers something horrifying and unbelievable.

Mervyn Kirby is smart, determined, and willing to take risks. He has no experience in his job but he takes it anyway. Dennis Lane is weird, funny, and understanding. The story reveals that not everyone is as they seem. Everyone fights their own devils and just because you think you know someone doesn’t mean you know what’s going on in their head. Dennis has a dark side that he hides from people very well.

I enjoyed the setting of this contemporary story. It was easy to immerse myself in the world because it’s delivered effortlessly. The humor is sharp and unexpected, even making me literally laugh out loud at times. The interactions between Dennis and Mervyn are something I always looked forward to when I picked the novel up to continue reading. And really it’s Mervyn’s interactions with everyone in the story that is entertaining; like with the CEO, with his first date, with his brother and his friend, and his colleagues. The reason why I liked this story so much was because it was believable. The struggles that Mervyn faced is much like the struggles we all face; a job he dislikes, trying to make ends meet, first date crisis, fussy boss, and family problems. The story is easy to connect to; however, I found that there was an overabundance of description rather than dialogue. Nonetheless, the mystery and the suspense of who the actual Dennis Lane is kept me going. I love a good mystery and this book has it all. The ending was spot on and will someone please tell me why everyone is carrying a pineapple.

Pages: 253 | ASIN: B01I1TAID0