Blood Test: A Comedy

Baxter’s (Wonderlands) latest novel features Brock Hobson, a middle-aged insurance salesman who takes a blood test that predicts his future behavior. Many who have taken the blood test have gotten optimistic results, but Brock’s indicate that he will commit felonies, which he finds preposterous since he teaches Sunday school and has never committed a crime. Soon, however, the results take hold of his psyche, and he commits a murder. Throughout the book, Brock navigates his role as a single father to teenagers Joe and Lena and a turbulent relationship with his ex-wife Cheryl and her new husband Burt. Burt is bigoted, homophobic, and disrespectful towards Brock and his son Joe, who is gay. Thus, tensions build between Brock and Burt. Billed as a comedy, this novel could be considered a comedy of errors, as the blood test’s predictions make Brock more and more reckless. Antagonists Cheryl and Burt are described with few redeeming characteristics, which may make them seem flat to some readers.