Mesopotamia

“Nersesian easily captures the quirks of Tennessee, from sweet mom-and-pop storefronts to dingy, cluttered trailer parks; he sounds eager to stretch those regional muscles, after eight novels set in caustic New York . . . Mesopotamia is a solid, absurdist mystery. It’s a vacation from the cosmopolitan, for both its heroine and its author—and, just like the tabloids it skewers, a sensationalist retreat for the reader.” —Village Voice

“This wild and wildly entertaining novel [is] a satirical thriller with a tabloid touch that revels in the low-rent colorfulness of its characters.” —Library Journal

Things have not been going well for journalist Sandy Bloomgarten. Her job went down the drain and her marriage quickly followed. After a lengthy bender, she awakens one morning to the stark realization that she is flat broke. Nonetheless, she’s still a crack reporter and when a tabloid offers her a freelance assignment in Memphis, just a stone’s throw from her childhood home in Mesopotamia, Tennessee, she takes it.

Though sent there for one story, she winds up tracking down another: someone is killing Elvis impersonators who perform at the annual Sing-the-King festival. The few clues lead her to several unlikely characters: a cheating local minister constantly on the make; a strange band of misfits who only cover Elvis tunes; a small-town private eye who blew himself up along with his crystal meth lab. As Sandy’s investigation closes, she realizes that she is sitting on what could be the story of the century. The only problem is she can never reveal what she has found.

Nersesian’s latest novel, set largely in Tennessee, is a satiric thriller that takes an amusing view of America’s predilection with the superficial over the relevant, and celebrity excitement over real news.