Welcome to my stop on “THE INTROVERT CONFOUNDS INNOCENCE” by Michael Paul Michaud Blog Tour. This is a very unique mystery/detective suspense novel that I had the privilege of reading on behalf of Books on the Bright Side Publicity and Promo.

About the Book

THE INTROVERT CONFOUNDS INNOCENCE continues the story of the eponymous anti-hero introduced in THE INTROVERT.

With his life disrupted by an unscrupulous work colleague and a bully at his son Toby’s school, things go from bad to worse when his neighbor’s abusive boyfriend goes missing, plunging the introvert into the center of a murder investigation.

Increasingly hounded by a meddlesome detective, and with his thoughts continually urging him to make people “red and open” and to “achieve it” with his girlfriend Donna, what follows is a sometimes brutal, oftentimes hilarious, and absurdist account of the life of one very anti-social and unexpected anti-hero.

Review

I started out my review of Michaud’s first of this series with this sentence…….. “When a book starts out with a dedication that states “for the weirdos” an immediate smile crosses my face, I already know this one is for me.” So when the dedication for the second novel said the same exact thing I knew that sentiment still held true, and the weirdos were off on another weirdo ride.

The Introvert Confounds Innocence written by Michael Paul Michaud is the sequel to his novella “The Introvert” about an antisocial vacuum salesman and the “drama” that seems to surround him. This odd and weird dark humor that Michaud seems to write so well carries through effortlessly with this follow up novel, making this just as enjoyable as the first. We find the nameless anti-hero now living with his girlfriend Donna and his son Toby. He seems to be more aware of his urges and more in control, but don’t be fooled, we still have our tendencies to drift off here and there and think about making people “red and open.”

This time around the introvert’s son is being bullied at school, there is a new work colleague that is extremely competitive, and he discovers there is something not quite right with the couple next door. Not to mention the painfully annoying detective he must deal with when his neighbor disappears, This novel is just as good if not better than the first in the series. With new characters and a new story line, we still have the dark and clever writing about a very anti-social man that for some reason you can’t help but feel sorry for, yet laugh out loud moments and cringe worthy scenes that truly worthy of any top rated author. The un-named man is just as weird as ever but you still can’t help but like him.

Second novels are so hard to write, let alone a sequel, but Michael Paul Michaud has not only made a success of his sophomoric attempt, he has also achieved something quite difficult; a follow up that is every bit as extraordinary as the first in the series. Now we find out that there is a third book in the works: The Introvert Bears Filthy Witness. I can only hope we continue on the same path (sadly for the Introvert it will be one of making people “red and open” if things work out the way readers want, but I feel sure there will be moments he can “achieve it” as well). I can only say that I am officially now a fan of Michael Paul Michaud and now a follower of The Introvert Series.

In my first review I said that it takes a brilliant mind to be able to write something like this and keep the reader entertained and interested at the same time, and Michaud has proved himself worthy of that comment by being able to follow through once again. Another solid 4 stars. I can not wait to see what’s next on this adventure. I love this authors unique mind and style. Thank you to Michael Paul Michaud, Black Opal Books and Sarah Hardy from Book On The Bright Side Publicity and Promo for the opportunity to read and review this book for my unbiased and honest review.

Purchase Links

click country for link

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

Author Bio

I am an American-Canadian citizen, a criminal prosecutor, and author of BILLY TABBS (& THE GLORIOUS DARROW) (bitingduckpress) and THE INTROVERT series (Black Opal Books). I have a B.A. in English from McMaster University, an Honors B.A. in Political Science (summa cum laude) from McMaster University, a J.D. from The University of Western Ontario (with an international exchange completed at Washington & Lee). I have won awards for both my community service and my work as a criminal prosecutor. I am a member of Crime Writers of Canada and International Thriller Writers. I also strive to maintain a strong social media author presence, including at facebook.com/michaelpaulmichaud, and have made regular appearances on SiriusXM’s Canada Talks. I am an unabashed and unapologetic zealot of Twin Peaks. Literary influences are primarily Orwell, Dickens, Vonnegut, Dostoevsky.

I was inspired to write The Introvert after reading Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky) and The Stranger (Camus). It has been likened to Dexter and American Psycho meeting Office Space and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. I also consider it the most unorthodox of animals rights books. Every dog lover should read them.