"My namesake, Herbert Hoover, was one of the worst presidents in US history, and so my parents named me Herbert for some reason I’ll never understand."

Herb is a riveting character with no tolerance for nonsense and a penchant for sarcasm and wit. For someone who works in Hollywood (especially in his line of work) you kind of need those defense mechanisms. He's a very interesting choice to view the world of Public Opinion through—he deals with some of the worst people in the industry and *creates* some of the worst people in the industry because of his skill in blackmail and fraud. No request is too steep for the right price.

This story forces you to face the darker sides of the people and industry we all idolize. It forces you to think about how much we see in the media is true, and how much has been severely manipulated to generate some type of reaction or opinion out of us. What's actually happening with the rich, famous elite? Are my opinions actually mine, or were they generated based on fictitious reporting?

Herb, the conniving IT guy with ties to the movie industry, takes center stage in this twisted tale. When a celebrity's laptop falls victim to encryption, Herb conveniently swoops in to fix it—for a hefty fee, of course. Little do they know, Herb is the one responsible for the encryption in the first place.

But that's just the beginning. Herb's nefarious talents are sought after to ruin a man's life, and he's even hired to bribe critics into writing favorable reviews for a movie. As if his life wasn't complicated enough, Herb finds himself entangled with a porn star who moves in with him and later gives birth to their child.

However, this house of cards eventually comes crashing down, bringing Herb's scheming world to a dramatic end.

Throughout this unconventional narrative, the author peppers the story with numerous movie references, delves into the dark history of stars meeting their demise during film productions, and even provides details on IT scams and a homemade chloroform recipe. It's a wild ride packed with unexpected twists and intriguing tidbits that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I found this dark book to be very witty and entertaining.
Many thanks to the author and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Has potential but the somewhat choppy prose made it a slow read and that made it difficult to continue, plot was interesting though!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

It was enjoyable. A bit slow for me.

I really am such a sucker for a dark, unlikable protagonist, and Pettijohn does a great job of creating that,

Dark and entertaining. I thought the prose style is average, I research about the author and learned that he is a journalist, which shows in his writing, direct and simple. I didn't expect that I will enjoy this novel as I love reading beautifully crafted words, but the plot and characters are engaging and the fact that the topic is timely and real.

The protagonist, Herb or Melvin is like everyone, flawed, but it would hardly make you root for him. He is someone that you would like to listen to based on the information he has but it also made him a monster, together with the other men in the story. The characterization of men in this book is predatory, on the other hand females are weak and voiceless.

This story is reality that I wish only exist in fiction books.

Public Opinion is not necessarily a book I would have gravitated towards. The protagonist, if you can call him that, is a liar, swindler, extortionist, tech savvy narcissist who has few redeeming qualities. Milton, or should I say Herb, is a Hollywood fixer who exacts revenge or extorts film critics using the Internet. He falls in love with a porn star and falls in with a real Hollywood heavy. Again, not a book that would generate my interest.

But I could not put it down! The writing is very good and the story moves along at a brisk pace. There is satire, but not laugh out loud humor. The scenarios seem implausible, but are they? Perhaps the book is more of a comment on the real Hollywood than most of us know. And more enlightening are the ways the Internet can be used to ruin lives and reputations. Much food for thought here.

I did not care much for the ending - it seemed a little too abrupt. Not what I anticipated, but it did have a touch of irony. All-in-all I enjoyed the book, I think in spite of myself.

Unlike most back-of-book descriptions I’ve read, this one’s not too far off the mark. The only detail up for debate is that I don’t think Herb ever tries to build a conscience. The twist is that he ends up ruining his own life. The "no matter how" is true: he never backpeddles or thinks twice about having done what he has.

> "...since I’m dedicating my prime working years to protecting certain slimeballs online while destroying others, something deep inside me can sense that Ruby’s emotionally erratic behavior could someday destroy my life. There is, perhaps, some twisted sense of inevitable karma that subconsciously turns me on."

Public Opinion is worth a read for the nonfiction chunks, plus the "ethically agnostic" perspective character's millennial-age references like "Does this smell like chloroform to you?" It is what it is: a three-star book: I enjoyed it, but it's not getting put on any of my lists.

That said, you can't convince me Nathan Pettijohn is real after all that.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Public Opinion by Nathan Pettijohn.

Unfortunately, I made it about 60% and just couldn't keep going. I can handle grit, and debauchery, but it needs to take me somewhere. This just started to stagnate, and after awhile, I felt like I was just sitting in a cesspool for the fun of it. I lost interest in the story early on, and was happy to put it down.

This book was not great, but I will say it reminded me of "Heartburn" but for edgelords what with all the how-tos.

This review contains spoilers.

"Public Opinion" is Holden Caufield meets Wolf of Wall Street meets the very worst underbellies of Hollywood that you read about after going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole on the Internet.

Herb (a.k.a. Melvin) is a hacker with a moral compass that closely resembles the compass from Pirates of the Caribbean -- that is to say, whatever end Melvin wants, he'll find the means by which to reach it morally justifiable. I found the first part of the book pretty enjoyable, although harrowing. Herb introduces his reader to the darkest parts of the Internet and the consequences of feeling too comfortable in a world that doesn't value data privacy. Herb walks the reader deftly through his line of work as a "Hollywood garbageman," which is hacker-mixed-with-blackmailer to the extreme. Herb doesn't pass judgment on any of his extra-legal activities; in fact, he justifies them to the reader by stating that a little bit of anarchy is healthy.

This attitude shapes the rest of the book, but only when Herb finds anarchy to be in his favor. His Holden Caufield-esque judgment of all of the rest of the characters in the book becomes the throughline of each chapter: he makes sure that the audience knows that Hollywood is a bunch of phonies, marriage is for phonies, listening to your girlfriend's concerns about allegations of sexual violence in your workplace is for phonies... in fact, the best course of action is to brew your own chloroform to use on your girlfriend to cut these arguments short.

It was this judgment (with no possibility of introspection) that made this book a tough read for me. The plot gets darker and darker, Herb becomes less of an opportunist and turns into one of the most despicable people in Hollywood. After finishing the book, I had the impression that the plot got caught up in the idea of exploring so much debauchery that no type of satisfying conclusion to the story was ever possible.

All in all, this book is a great quick read if you're in the mood for something exploring the moral depravity of the Internet age and what people with exorbitant amounts of money can get away with. The first third of this book is really enjoyable, but once the plot took off, I was left wanting more exploration of the terrors of the Internet age and less justification of what Hollywood elites can get away with.

Public Opinion
by Nathan Pettijohn

I really learned too much about the dark side of the internet. This was a dark book, filled with things that are very disturbing. How I wanted to like the book, but just could not. Made me feel as if I should just stop. I did finish, but I can't say it was a book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Corduroy Books for a chance to preview this e-book before it hits stores in four days. The protagonist, Herb, scams people for a living. He’s one of the most unlikeable characters I’ve ever met between the pages. In several spots in the book, the author gives you a step-by-step guide on how you can also commit cyber fraud. Not sure how smart that was, unless he was giving false instructions.

Herb meets Ruby during the course of conducting business and falls in love with this porn star. They have a baby together and then things get south quite quickly.

Herb’s crimes get more and more serious and he kills someone.

A Kirkus reviewer called this title “disturbing.” I should say so. Yet Pettijohn has a knack for putting a story together that you don’t want to put down. I hope next time he uses some likeable characters in his novel.

Public Opinion is a dark, witty and scandalous look at the underbelly of Hollywood and it is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic and uncomfortable and horrifying at times. And yet, I was strangely fascinated by it. I did love the writing style. The pace was pretty steady. The characters, while deplorable, were interesting. There are no heroes in this story, even our MC Melvin/Herb is pretty shady. Much like Joe Goldberg in the book You, since Public Opinion is written in Melvin’s POV, you start, not necessarily rooting for him, but understanding him and his easily bought, jump roping morality. Until he does something really awful and then you remember that he might not be the worst of the bunch, but that’s still not saying much. This book is 100% not for everyone. If you can’t get into unlikeable characters, I’d avoid it. But if you’re looking for something that’ll get you really out of your comfort zone and say “Jesus Christ” every other page, give it a go! This was far from my usual types of books, but I’m glad I went for it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC.

Whew, this one was a ride. Buckle in and hold on tight.

Melvin is an online aficionado, crafting personas and shaping lives in the court of public opinion through the use of the internet. A hacker, some would say. Melvin has the ability to control the narrative through social media, media management, and and misinformation campaigns. He’s not just your average troll, though. Melvin works for Hollywood’s elite, taking care of problematic stories as they arise and shaping the narrative to reflect well (or at least less poorly) on his clients. The lengths that Melvin is willing to go to for the right amount of cash is jaw dropping. Everything can be fixed, and every fix has a price.

I haven’t ever read a story quite like this before. It read as part how-to guide to being a well rounded criminal, and part crime thriller. Melvin is taking us on a journey with him, and explaining everything that he’s doing along the way. This will be one of those stories that sticks with you for a long time.

There is not one character in this entire book that you’re going to love. You likely won’t even have the slightest bit of empathy towards any of this bunch. But you also will absolutely have to know what could come next after what you just read. Pettijohn captured a overwhelming sense of mystery around the main character in a way that was pure art. Melvin takes us right along with him through every nefarious step along the way, even going so far as to become our criminal professor, but as a reader I still wasn’t sure that I knew anything real about this guy.

After finishing this book, I can’t help but to wonder how much my opinions of the rich and famous have something to do with an army of Melvins that are out there shaping public opinion. How much here is a stretch for an entertaining story and how much is legitimately happening on a regular basis? Is Pettijohn a very talented storyteller, or is he just sticking to the facts? So. Many. Questions.

TL/DR: If you’re looking for a feel good novel, this isn’t for you. This one is going to touch on just about every trigger you could think of. You’re going to feel uncomfortable, unsettled, disturbed, and a little sad with humanity at points. But, Pettijohn is a talented storyteller and did an amazing job bringing his (unlikeable) characters to life. If you’re into the dark and twisty, saddle up and dive on in.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

It was slow and hard to get into. I finished it mostly because I don’t like to DNF books. It just wasn’t that interesting to me.