Murphy’s Luck 4: Jinx vs. Fate by Benjamin Laskin

A laugh-out-loud punchline of a read, Murphy’s Luck 4: Jinx vs. Fate by Benjamin Laskin continues the tongue-in-cheek tradition of this brilliantly strange series.

Murphy’s accursed reputation has spread far and wide, drawing the curious and the conspiratorial, as well as the Fed-Uppers, who would rather his jinx be kicked out of their lives forever. However, a secret society suspects that he might be their prophesied Impossible Man, and Murphy will have to use his universe of hobbies and merit badge skills to keep himself alive and find out their true intentions at Camp Orpheus. His exceptional daughter, Phaedra, is also being recruited for the spotlight thanks to her jaw-dropping athletic abilities on the baseball diamond, but there are some obvious hiccups for a second-grader with the skills to turn pro.

A blurry blend of miracles, curses, blessings, and schemes makes this fourth installment of Laskin’s series the weirdest and wildest yet. Peppered with one-liners, double entendres, and endlessly clever wordplay, some scenes have an almost Abbott and Costello rhythm to the dialogue exchanges. The descriptive language is just as impressively crafted, vividly summoning fantastical scenes and eccentric characters that bring this surreal adventure to life. A general suspension of disbelief is essential, but the complete unpredictability of the plot makes the reading experience undeniably fun.

Though the occasional joke falls flat, and some editorial errors stick out, this whimsical novel strikes the perfect balance of ridiculous and entertaining.