Thank you to NetGalley, Richard Roper and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC.

I really liked this book. Andrew is a great character and you just want to reach into the book and give him a hug. Great debut novel from Richard Roper. I wish we had more closure on Andrew though; what happens, what does he do, etc.

This book made me grateful for my life and remembered to appreciate what I have. I even recognize the small things now that I usually take for granted nowadays. A lot of people can relate to this, especially us the introverts. Some of us are lucky than Andrew to have a family and companion of our own before we hit our forties and a comfortable job that we are proud of.

Andrew is a loner in his early forties and without REAL friends outside of home and work. He’s been living in a lie in the world he created and now it’s spiraling out of control and he wants a way OUT. At first, he doesn’t know how but he knows he MUST.

How Not to Die Alone is a poignant and moving story albeit the story dragged on the first few chapters.

I highly recommend this book for people who need to be reminded that there is HOPE.
Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for receiving an electronic copy of this book for an exchange of an honest review.

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Courtesy of Netgalley, I got to read this book and let me tell you! Well, wait.

Set in the U.K., Andrew works for a government council that deals with people who pass away that seem to have nobody in their lives. The council's job is to look around the person's home to see if they can find next of kin or some kind of funds to have a simple burial. Sounds like a dreary job, but Andrew takes it to the next level. If the deceased seems to have nobody in their life, Andrew takes the time to attend the small church service offered. He feels that it is the least he could do.

However, in the book, you know something bad has happened to Andrew, but we don't know what it is right away. Andrew spends his days at work and lonely nights living in a drab apartment. The only thing that keeps him going is his love for model trains and the online forum where he feels he can talk to his online "friends." Andrew also has a secret. I am not giving anything away here, it's in the description of the book, but Andrew's loneliness has driven him to create a fake family for the sake of his co-workers.

He weaves tales of his wife, Diane and two children. He feels this is going along fine until the boss wants each employee to hold a dinner party at their respective homes. Well, I knew the secret was going to come out but couldn't wait to find out how.

Also another wrench in the works is new hire at the job, Peggy. Peggy is married (really she is!) with children and has her own issues. Both Peggy and Andrew strike up a friendship that proves to be beneficial to both parties.

I couldn't wait to find out how Andrew's secret was going to come out, how it would affect his very rigid constructed life and also how it would affect his real friendship with Peggy. The author did a phenomenal job with the development of these characters, from Andrew to Peggy to their horrible co-workers (ha!), they all seemed real to me.

i found this book very touching and it made me smile and even laugh in some parts. In all honesty, the way Andrew's friends rally around him in the hour of his need had me teary eyed. What a well rounded, thoughtful, engrossing story. I think a lot of people will enjoy it. Thank you so much to Netgalley and to the publisher!

Coming May 28, 2019!

Andrew is a member of the Council. That means his department is in charge of dealing with deaths under the Public Health Act. They meet with funeral directors, organize services, write death notices, among other duties. The most important is trying to find family members or friends that have lost touch and may want to attend the funeral.
It's a hard job. Sometimes people have been dead for great lengths of time. Weeks even months.
This book has a tongue in cheek look about how not to die alone. Family lose touch because of hurt feelings, people move, people lose touch.
This was a fun look at a serious subject. It has humor, life lessons, friendship, love, lies and truth.
Excellent read!!

Absolutely charming. A first purchase for all adult fiction collections. Particularly good recommendation for fans of Eleanor Oliphant.

An uplifting and wonderful story of a man who has lived alone for some time with a secret that he has been keeping from his coworkers. Through an honest misunderstanding, he has led them to believe he is married with children when in reality he lives alone and is interested in building his model trains. Andrew works dealing with those who pass away and need to be given a "pauper's burial" by the government in the UK. He finds any next of kin, and then arranges affairs after their passing. This tale is at time beautiful, heartbreaking and kind. I was blown away with the attention to detail and character arcs, leading to a great resolution to the book. If you have enjoyed the works of Fredrik Backman and Helen Fielding and were hoping for a kind of Bridget Jones for men, look no further!

I LOVE THIS BOOK! I can't believe this is a debut! It's so well-written, the humor is so subtle, it almost sneaks up on you. Very dry, dead-pan humor from a sweet story about a man challenged to really LIVE. This is great for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, A Man Called Ove, and The Rosie Project.

Have you ever told a lie so big that you felt there was no way out of it? This is precisely what Andrew’s world has become. What started as an innocent lie turns his world upside down when asked to host a dinner party for his co-workers.

First of all let me just be honest and say I had no idea a thing called a ‘council’ existed. A Public Health branch where people search for next of kin for those who have died alone. It turns out there is such a thing and this book takes us into this sad world where a person could be given a funeral for no one to attend. But Andrew, our wonderful hero of this amazing story, does his best to make this sad world a better place -one lonely funeral at a time.

On the surface Andrew seems to have the perfect life. A lovely wife, two wonderful children, a beautiful home and a job where he knows he’s making a difference. In reality things are much more different and complicated for him. At 42, Andrew is aware that his life is not what it could be but has no desire to change.

As we get to know Andrew, we begin to see just how lonely he is. He hides his emotions behind Ella Fitzgerald and his miniature trains. There is something in his past that torments him every time he hears the song ‘Blue Moon,’ by Fitzgerald, which causes panic attacks. It’s heart-breaking to see this wonderful person go through life in such pain!

There he meets Peggy, who is starting a job at the council. Andrew likes to do his job alone so when he is chosen as Peggy’s trainer, he’s not very pleased. This is where his life begins to change. Soon they become friends but Andrew has too many secrets preventing him from living the life he so desperately wants.

This is a wonderful story of friendship and loss. A story about strength, acceptance and the resilience of the human spirit. It will make you laugh and cry. It will break your heart and put it back together. I love how simple yet complicated each character is and how each is developed in a way that works perfectly with Andrew’s story. I wish I had an Andrew in my life, that’s for sure. Beautifully written.

4.25

Touted as: "A darkly funny and life-affirming debut novel for readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine..." [the male version], I totally agree. Andrew is a social misfit caught in his own web of lies. He has invented a wife and two children.

Although some readers criticized this book for its defying logic, I just didn't care.

Many times I found myself chuckling over descriptions. I loved the humor in this novel especially as Andrew's job working for the council, searching for next of kin for those who die alone was sad. He entered their homes [often after a body had been there for weeks as the deceased had died alone] where a solitary existence and usually stench and a mess prevailed [though occasionally, an organized home].

His is a lonely existence. He has his work, his model trains [and its online forum--his only real social network], and devotion to Ella Fitzgerald. And his imaginary familty for which he is always fabricating a story for his workmates.

Some of my favorite descriptions:

"He wished he had some sort of squidlike defense that meant he could shoot ink into their eyes."

"Sitting on the train to work (wedged into the armrest by a man whose legs were spread so far apart Andrew could only assume he was performing some sort of interpretive dance about what a great guy he was)..."

"...brandishing a heart attack between two slices of bread."

re going to the bathroom--"...until Keith had started eating burritos for lunch, and now Andrew was in dire need of a miner's canary to send into each cubicle before going in."

"...stinging lemon aftershave the barber had splashed unbidden on his cheeks, which made him smell like a sophisticated dessert."

and for a dinner offering "...several courses, all of them seemingly varieties on the theme of hedge cuttings..."

I could go on and on.

My only real criticism was the storyline of Andrew and his sister, Sally. Though pivotal towards the end of the book, this just did not resonate and was a bit of a disconnect.

Still, I'd recommend though not for everyone.

Absolutely charming! Okay, I have to admit, the first two chapters where a bit slow for me and I almost gave up (yes, I know, I give up easily) but by chapter three I found myself chuckling out loud with a strange feeling I had met Andrew before.
And then I realized where...If you’ve ever seen Channel 4’s “Peep Show”, you’ll know what I mean. Andrew is “Peep Show’s’ Mark. A nice, albeit awkward guy who somehow manages to get himself deeper and deeper into situations that are easily avoidable. Someone who is satisfied, not happy, satisfied with the status quo. And then enter the girl. Overall, highly recommend!

Have you ever read a book that was simultaneously easy and difficult to read? This meandering, yet moving, story swept me along while sometimes reading through fingers (a la horror movie) and often zipping page after page to reach the crux of the chapter. The writing had moments of brilliance and the characters were nicely fleshed out. And while the storyline was difficult at times, relatable even (ugh no!), and most assuredly true to human nature if caught in an identical situation. But who would really be caught in an identical situation? In the beginning? Any of us.

While this book had promise, it missed the mark a bit for me. It was heartbreaking that Andrew felt so lonely that he needed to lie about having a family, but I just never really felt connected to any of the characters. I can see how people that loved Eleanor Oliphant would enjoy it. I didn’t really love that book so I should have taken that comparison as my hint to skip this one.

I received an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.

This was a cute quirky book. It was a relatively quick read and the story came together nicely in the end. I would recommend it.

I rather enjoyed this zany take on life. The characters were well written and had complex lives outside of work. The job was quite the surprise.

I really enjoyed this book. The content was unlike any other book I have read. It really made me think! While at first I was taken aback by Andrew and his giant lie, I found myself cheering him on by the end. This is a great “feel good” book for one that has so much sadness in it. My first book by Richard Roper and I really enjoyed. Thanks for the chance to read!

Andrew started with one small lie. That snowballed. To find out why he lied is sad, but then as you read the story and the hurt and grief he has not handled for years is heartbreaking. Andrew is laugh and loud funny and the type of person you want to have a drink with and tell them, “it’ll be ok!” When he faces his coworkers, and best friend Peggy, a weight is lifted and Andrew is able to find new life and maybe even love.

HJ Recommends!

In How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper, Andrew's job with the city council in London might seem dismal to some. But it means the world to him to be able to give those citizens who pass away with no next of kin a proper send off. It is admittedly not a job for the faint of heart. Particularly the home inspections, which can range from being outright sad in their starkness to a horror show with the level of decay and trash he encounters. So when Andrew is set to train new hire Peggy, he tries to warn her of what they might encounter. Little did he know that she would be the one who would give him a fresh outlook on life, teaching him a few things about how to deal with his job–and with their frustrating coworkers who insist on butting into everyone's lives.

Andrew is also faced with a big decision when it comes to his friendship with Peggy. A tiny fib he told when first hired for the job about five years ago has now snowballed into having created a fake family complete with enough details to make it seem real to his coworkers. But if Andrew is to have a real go at a relationship with Peggy, he'll have to decide if living with his lie will push her away or if admitting the truth will be their downfall. Andrew has lost a lot in his forty-something years. And he's not sure how to press forward without going through that hurt once again.

How Not to Die Alone might have a macabre-sounding title, but debut author Richard Roper somehow wove bleak subject matter together with a charming (if not bumbling) hero whose messy life, slowly spinning out of control, finally saw a spark of hope for the future.

I do have to warn readers right away that where the hero's job was to inspect people's homes, sometimes months after they had died, the vivid descriptions of the messes inside might be too much for some. (Think Hoarders to the Nth degree…) And poor Andrew's job itself, from going through those homes for clues about the deceased to his horrible coworkers, it had me instantly wondering how the poor man dealt with everything. But there was sadly a lot that Andrew endured over the years, which we found out about little by little. As I was reading this, I just knew there was some traumatic event he'd been through–and it wasn't until the last quarter of the book that we found out the details. It was a bit of a surprise in some ways, but it certainly made Andrew's decision to live with his white lie for so long understandable and utterly bittersweet. And it made his lifestyle, from his love of model trains and Ella Fitzgerald to staying in a crappy apartment for two decades, make perfect sense.

The few secondary characters we met along the way each played an important role in Andrew's debacle. I thoroughly enjoyed his coworker Peggy and found her to be a refreshing addition to his life who turned things upside down for our hero. The friendship between them was sweet and absolutely lovely. They were so much alike in some ways: kindhearted, loyal to a fault, stoic in some regard. On the flip side was Andrew's other coworkers Cameron, Meredith and Keith, as well as his sister's boyfriend, Carl. They all took turns being at the top of my bad list with how they treated him–and each other, really. It may have taken a long time, but I loved how things progressed for Andrew by the end of this book and thought it left off in a wonderful place, full of promise.

Introspective, poignant and superbly written, How Not to Die Alone was the type of novel to make you think, reflect on your life and even on how you interact with others. It might sound like a morbid premise, but I thought Richard Roper showed us the beauty that can sometimes come out of grim events–as well as how healing after any type of loss can open up a whole new world to us.

Several reviews compare this book to "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine", but How Not to Die Alone is the first one that might actually fit that blurb. Andrew has an unusual job: He works for a council in London, inspecting the homes of people who have died alone to determine if there is any family to notify or enough money to pay for a funeral. Roper tells in great detail the horrific, stomach turning findings that his job often turns up. There are people who have been dead for weeks or months. Don't let these gruesome details stop you from reading this outstanding novel,

Like Eleanor Oliphant, Andrew is a loner living in a small flat with his Ella Fitzgerald record collection and his model train sets. Except for his distant sister, Andrew has no family or friends. His trauma is alluded to every time he hears the song Blue Moon, which always results in a panic attack.

Years before, when applying for this job, Andrew found himself inventing a wife and children and describing, when asked, his life with them. Enter Peggy, a new employee he mentors. A mother of two in a bad marriage, who ends up becoming Andrew's friend. This changes everything in his life.

Written with wry humor and interesting characters, How Not to Die Alone is worth your time. Its insight into how unforeseen events can impact and change us can make you think introspectively about your own life.

The only discordant note is the scene near the end which reads like a slapstick comedy Alan Ayckbourne might have written like in Noises Off. Still, it's a minor glitch in an absorbing and worthwhile book.

Thanks to GP Putnam's Dons and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy.

I wanted to like this book. Richard Roper is an interesting writer whose books I've enjoyed. For some reason this book was not for me. The main character Andrew works for the Death Administration. He is socially awkward so this solitary job fits him perfectly. He visits the homes of people who' have died to see if there is information on family or friends who can help to pay for the funeral costs. Being American I'm not sure if there's actually a Death Administration in England. I stayed with the book to the halfway mark. It's possible there could have been something after that point that might have helped spark some understanding on my part.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy from G.P. Putman's Son through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

How Note to Die Alone is beautifully quirky and relatable with its dashes of British humor, extremely lovable characters and unique plot line. Don't be misled though while it has all the makings of a light hearted read, it takes you on your own stirring journey of emotions likely causing you a certain amount of introspection.

Andrew's job at the council is to help track down the kin of individuals who die alone, some who aren't discovered until months after their deaths when enough unpaid bills have piled up to warrant investigation. It is through this line of work that Andrew meets Peggy, his new co-worker, in who Andrew finds he shares a rare connection. As their friendship unfolds, so too does Andrew realization that he must confront and amend some of his past, aka the fictional family of four everyone in the office thinks he is a part of, including Peggy.

Richard Roper does an excellent job creating characters you find both endearing and maddening. He writes with a fast-paced style that keeps your attention and yet manages to avoid too much cheesiness in the process.