I received a complimentary digital copy of this arc book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The preview written in GoodReads is probably best explains the story but contains many spoilers in my opinion.

This story alternates between the life of Owen Berk, investigative reporter and the novel being written by Owen Berk. This a bizarre story overlap particularly because Owen Berk is a morally corrupt voyeur. I found this book to be less than thrilling and far from humorous.

The only redeeming quality is the concern that Owen takes to protect and assist his 92 year old neighbor, Basha-Rose at their apartment building in Central Park. Skip, a hypochondriac editor of the Angle, asks Owen to investigate the suspicious death for his cousin Betty Snaedeker. Her brother was a psychiatrist who mysteriously died when he “exploded” in the OR during a routine polyp removal from his colon. The hospital investigation concluded that the tragedy was due to the patient’s inadequate bowel prep before surgery. The theory is that he was known to have a gastrointestinal disorder in which his body overproduced methane.

If that isn’t enough to turn your stomach, Owen continues an inappropriate relationship with Kjirsti, a college student in her 20’s. She involves herself in his investigation into this bizarre death. I found the story as absurd and ridiculous as The Chatelaine, the novel Owen is writing which oddly reflects his life.

Although the author’s biography states he is American born and educated, I was confused by the unusual use of language. I did not enjoy this book and found many parts unnecessarily explicit which I guess contributes to its corrupt humor.

I just did not care for this book. It seemed disjointed and rambling. It is billed as a mystery after Albert Snaedeker dies on the operating table in an horrific manner during what should be a routine surgery and then a reporter from a well known magazine, Owen Berk is asked to investigate.
The book is overly long and just seems to plod to the finish.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC I appreciate the opportunity to read the advanced copy.

I almost stopped reading before completing the prologue. I waited too long to give up on the book and wasted my time. This book contains two narratives. First, the story of Owen Berk’s investigation into a death during surgery. This is a poorly written plot with an uneven pace. The characters lack depth. I don’t recommend this book.

I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seven words: What the heck did I just read? Corrupted Humours is a satiric, confusing novel about a writer investigating the mysterious "explosive" death of a psychiatrist while undergoing a routine colonoscopy. And it goes downhill from there. The writing was rambling and confusing and it just felt like the author was trying way too hard to be clever by inserting a "novel within a novel" where the characters in the inner novel become the characters in the main story...it just did not work for me. I would not recommend this book.

This one just wasn't for me... I couldn't get into the writing. Or the characters. It felt like things were thrown in for shock value rather than for their additions to the plot, such as it was. It just wasn't a good fit...

"Corrupted Humours" is an interesting story. It begins with a man exploding on the operating table. I can definitely say that isn't something I've read happening in a story before. I was pretty drawn in after that. Sadly, it was pretty much all down hill from there. There's too much about this book that I wish was done a bit differently. The characters and the plot could have definitely used a bit more work. The overall writing was definitely part of why this story was such a let down. There's a lot going on here but nothing about it made this story worth reading. It was definitely that this story could have been better executed which would have probably made it a better read overall. Not my cup of tea.

The strangest thing about this novel is not the protagonist-a writer whose assignments range from covering an outdoor art installation in Central Park to reporting about how crime really does pay- or his editor, who asks him to look into the untimely death of a family member in what looks like an unusual but not unknown death during routine surgery it's not even the novel within the novel that our protagonist is writing while he dutifully interviews all the medical personnel and immerses himself in the details of what went wrong on the operating table . The strangest thing is the proximate cause of death, which was the fire sparked by the buildup of gas in the decedent's colon and the instrument being used during his colonoscopy. "Murder by Fart Fire" might have made a good title for this book, during which our hero determines that someone with both motive and knowledge of the dead man's chronic flatulence may have arranged for the fatal mishap. Of course, there's a likely suspect, but in the end (no pun intended) it's only the careful reader who can decide if it's homicide, and if so, who committed it.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was most definitely not what I expected when I read the description. The way it switched from telling the story of the medical mystery to the novel the main character was writing was at times quite confusing. Making the story harder to follow was the complete lack of quotation marks around dialogue. I had a very hard time keeping track of who was saying what. It was also very hard to like or relate to the main character. Overall, not what I expected and this has not been my favorite read.

I felt a little forced to read this sooner rather than later because the Netgalley shelf app said it expires in 37 days... I thought... it won't take me 37 days to finish this book... I straight away considered on this occasions, I may be wrong.

This was not an enjoyable reading experience for. I started confused and I ended (less confused but) feeling rather annoyed that I forced myself to finish this. I didn't get the point and I really didn't care for the plot or the characters or anything thay really happened, as harsh as that may sound.

It was super uncomfortable to read sex scenes that described a position such as "a baby being diapered"... or pulling down her trousers reminded her of pulling snow soaked bottoms off a child.. ew.. why connect the two things. Some little instances actually directed my thoughts to Lolita so when a mention of it was said, I wasn't too shocked.

I couldn't help but notice, that this was yet another book, back to back, where I've noticed the interesting use of not using speech marks. Is this a thing now? Something that is more actively ustilised? I feel like it missed the mark for me this time round because I was already struggling to keep up with what was going on, what with the story within a story, and realising probably too late that it wasn't just a story and also honestly, and I hate saying this, but really not finding it very interesting, entertaining or thought provoking, leaving within me an overall dull and irritated mood. It just wasn't for me.

I guess it taught me a new word because I had no idea what a Chatelain was and speaking of her... I didn't understand the need or reason for every other chapter being from the main characters story he was writing (who I didn't even know his name until like 50 pages in, being very confused whenever I saw "the Chatelain by Owen Berk"... that was probably me just being silly), and when these things did eventually make sense, I still saw it as an unnecessary addition, that made it a type of complexity that was just confusing when it needn't have been.

There were times were I was impassioned with so much irritation that I could have dnf'ed but other times were I just kept scrolling with a glazed, cloudy feeling over my brain. In fact, there was a line that perfectly sums that up, although taken out of context in relation to the book, it reads: "I spent a couple of hours rereading paragraphs, turning pages with no conprehension of what my eyes scanned..."
I only truly felt somewhat enthralled when there was a debate type of conversation, but that was only if I could keep up with what the characters were talking about and unfortunately, I struggled with that a lot. I dislike not understanding what was going on and hate to say this because no one should feel this way, but I felt like I wasn't intelligent enough to understand, what felt was like, every other word on the page. I would say it comes across pretentious, but I don't feel overly confident stating that, as I've admitted perhaps it's above my level of understanding. I'm not sure.

What I am sure of is, unfortunately, this wasn't one for me and I probably won't be making the effort to check out any other books this author has or may bring out, unless it really stands out. I think this was one of those riskier decisions I perhaps should have thought more about before requesting it, but that's not to say that a different type of audience won't enjoy it.
As another reviewer stated, it's just very dry in terms of writing style and has a very unreadablity to it, which I find is unobtainable for the average reader, but perhaps someone more deeply rooted in the medical profession would get a bit more from this, than I ever could.

Corrupted Humours by Donald Friedman is one of those books that's so different from what I usually read that I give it a big silver checkmark and plan to reread it in a different season. Seriously -- I was on the fence so long about this book. Perhaps I was taken aback by characters who were having so much sex that if not so artfully written--as it was-- the book would be close to falling under erotica. As it is, the narrator could easily be an adult Alexander Portnoy. Well written, intriguing. I give it four stars.
The book begins with a porch, or prologue, with examples of entrusting ourselves to others as Snaedecker did when he went into his colonoscopy. Snaedecker was well known for his life-long battle with horrendous intestinal gas. To top it off, the hospital claimed he had failed to prepare properly for the procedure; thus, he exploded, taking others with him.
Our narrator is Owen Berk, a reporter at The Angle. Owen's boss hires him to investigate Snaedecker's explosion.
Meanwhile, Owen is writing a book about The Chatelaine, a beautiful, sad, and promiscuous woman married to a self-centered, cheating, and bombastic surgeon. Corrupted Humours includes chapters from Owen's book between the chapters relating to Owen's own life and his investigation into Snaedecker's unfortunate end. I especially looked forward to reading The Chatelaine's chapters, although the investigation was interesting too.
Throughout Corrupted Humours there are a lot of recommendations for some great classical music. I will be interested in Donald Friedman's next book and may go back to find his earlier work.

I love a good fart book, and the idea of a profane mystery surrounding someone possibly dying via violent flatulence sounds like something I'd like, but I just couldn't get onboard. The writing style was far too ADD for my taste, much of it simply doesn't make sense, and felt like it was desperately trying to shock and offend. Also...*can we not* with another 70-year-old men banging college students narrative?

A Very interesting story, told in a very unusual "voice". This book , well, just read it! Confusing--a bit. After the ending, I thought I might read it again,,, to more understand the interactions which I will not go into without spoilers...

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Owen Berk, a writer for Angle Magazine, has been asked to look into a rather strange death during a routine procedure. Dr. Snaedeker, who went in for this simple operation, came away from it in many more pieces than when he went in. Simultaneously Berk is writing a new novel, loosely based on the individuals involved in the case of course, in a strange mixture of reality and fiction.

The prologue of Corrupted Humours was quite entertaining; this novel began with a bang. After that, however, it pretty much fizzled out for me. It was rather hard to follow along at times because Friedman didn’t use quotation marks to signal dialogue between characters, and at times it became difficult to follow along with who was speaking and when. I really couldn't connect with any of the characters in any way, and some I question their purpose to the story all together. I felt like the action jumped around a lot and I honestly felt lost half the time. The novel does touch some on S/M, and I went into this novel knowing that, but it was almost too detailed and the message could have been sent in a less graphic way. I think the only reason I stuck with it until the end is because I kept hoping that it would get better, like the prologue.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-copy of Corrupted Humours , given in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

Received this free book & wasn't sure I was going to like it. What a surprise! I ended up loving the character & couldn't wait to find out what happened! Thank you for this !!

This book is billed as a literary mystery.

For me, literary it is not - ”refreshingly profane” it says. Profane yes, but not artistically or skillfully used. I think Friedman spent too much time in a baseball dugout to be able to differentiate the continuous use of profanity and literature.

For me, mystery it is not - as with any mystery, the book starts with a death, and an investigator is enlisted to uncover clues to the point where the murderer is revealed. Oh, how I long for Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle.

In Corrupted Humor, Albert Snaedeker dies on the operating table during routine surgery. A cousin who publishes a magazine called the Angle assigns a reporter, Owen Berk, to investigate.

Of course, Berk pursues the leads in the mystery case, but in the course of his work, he crafts a novel about the people associated with the case. The one and only interesting thing about this book is its structure - each section is a chapter of Berk’s book followed by a snippet of the story of Berk’s pursuit of the murderer. Eventually, the two converge. This is a creative, interesting, and enjoyable structure.

And that is where it ends. While I enjoyed the creative structure, when I got about halfway through the book, I began to wonder when it would end. I think the book (295 print pages) is twice as long as it need be, as the seemingly endless cycle of profanity and sex is not delicately used in a literary manner. What is the average length of a Christie or Doyle mystery? I haven’t checked my library, but the 60 official and 6 unofficial Homes stories total only 877 pages. A well-crafted mystery could be written in 150 pages (about half of Corrupted Humours).

The problem with the conclusion is that Friedman robs the reader from seeing it for him or herself. Instead, as we reach the conclusion, he just gives it away and tells us how the two storylines resolve. I will never forget my disappointment at reaching this point in the book.

I don’t know who wrote the Amazon blurb, but Corrupted Humours was neither witty nor sophisticated. The profanity and sex were overdone and not literary. The book is about twice as long as it should be if it is really going to be a competitive mystery. Readable yes, compulsively, no. This was not a book that I would stay up late to read. I keep wondering - did Friedman write this for himself or for the reader? We are always told to write what you know, and if this is what Friedman knows, I know enough.

Anyone who completes a project should get some credit for having done so. I found little else redeeming in Corrupted Humours; Friedman valiantly earned his one star.

I would like to thank the author, Bottom Turtle Press, and NetGalley for the advance review copy. I have voluntarily left this review.

Corrupted says it all.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. I made it a little more than half way through and finally had to bail due to the recurring misogynistic scenes. Up to that point I enjoyed the witty repartee and didn't mind looking up the obscure vocabulary peppered throughout the content or following the frequent diversions into minutia which were often superfluous to the story. However, I never cared much to know who dun it and decided to move on before yet another scene depicting female degradation.

When Dr. Snaedeker dies unexpectedly on the operating table - a routine polyp removal ending in a literal explosion of his intestines - his sister Betty is convinced something nefarious occurred despite the various investigations into the incident that were performed and deemed the incident an accident or Dr. Snaedeker’s own fault. She seeks help from her cousin Skip who employs Owen Berk, a writer and former private investigator, to look into the matter.

Berk begins his investigation into the odd and ultimately deathly event. Dr. Snaedeker suffered from a disease in which his body could not process starches properly and made his body produce an abnormally large amount of gasses and flatulence. The hospital and other investigators have concluded this disorder coupled with the doctor’s own negligence in the pre procedure process caused his unfortunate demise.

Researching the death acts as a sort of muse for Berk and as we learn of his findings during the investigation, we are also presented with his novel which is based off the people in Dr. Snaedeker’s life.

This was an incredibly unique and hyper sexualized novel with varying, intertwined storylines. We follow Berk’s love life and infatuation with a woman nearly a third of his 60+ years, the bizarre death of the doctor, the doctor’s unorthodox and illegal practice methods, and Berk’s novel about the Chatelaine. I most enjoyed the story about the Chatelaine and her exploration into her own sexuality.

Admittedly, the story was a bit confusing and I actually didn’t realize the Chatelaine’s story was Berk’s novel until a ways into the book. The overlap between the “real” and fictional characters was very blurred but I think that added a really nice literary element to the book.

If you can stick with it and can handle the bizarre (and honestly gross) medical disorder and discussions, I think this one is worth it and I am happy to have read it. It’s unlike any other novel I have read before.

Thank you to NetGalley, BookishFirst, and the publisher for a copy of this novel.

I realized pretty quickly that this book was not going to be for me but I stuck it out in hopes it would get better. The premise seemed interesting, but the whole thing was bizarre and a struggle to get through. The writing was convoluted and pretentious and none of the characters were like able. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I like to read from the villain’s perspective but this pushed that envelope. The story seemed like a cross between a hipster’s dream of what old age should be and a child’s fascination with flatulence. A doctor is killed by explosion during a routine surgery and his sister hires Mr. Beck to investigate. This causes him to dig and be inspired to write an unrealistic BSDM novel based on the lives of the people involved. I suppose every book is for somebody, but I can’t recommend this one.

The description of this book sounded so intriguing and fun. The book itself, though, was tedious and confusing. I finished, because I don't feel I can write a review without reading the entire book. But it was a slog. Neither the main story nor the story-within-the-story were compelling or even, at times, comprehensible.. I thank NetGalley for a free copy in return for an honest review.