Review - Bobby Ray Breaks the Universe by Rob Rosen

In an alcoholic rage, Bobby Ray wants to kill his neighbor. The man did sleep with his husband, after all, providing the final straw that ended their stormy marriage. He has a brick in his hand, ready to do the deed when an actual angel appears to stop him. Then, a demon also shows up to egg him on. Bobby Ray is confused enough to abandon the attempt to take a life, for now. He's broken nine of the ten commandments, and the demon now seems quite insistent that he break the tenth. The devil even offers up a lot of enticements to do it. Why are both beings so focused on Bobby Ray? It seems there is more at stake here than just his soul.

Rob Rosen brings his quirky sense of humor to this rather biblical paranormal fantasy tour de force through the holy land as Bobby Ray, his ex-husband Matty, and several friends they make along the way attempt to unravel the mystery, and keep Bobby Ray from killing anyone.

The story is related entirely from Bobby Ray's point of view. He's very much a southern good ol' boy. Bobby Ray is definitely not a good person, but he's far from evil. He's way out of his depth with the situation he finds himself in, but Bobby Ray seems to attract people willing to help him out.

The friends Bobby Ray collects along the way include his ex-husband Matty, an Israeli policeman, and a couple of Palestinians. It's a very interesting mix. Most of the men show an interest in Bobby Ray, such that it's a bit of a question as to which one he will end up with at the end, if any of them. It's just another mystery on top of the potentially apocalyptic question about the angel and demon.

There are a lot of very funny lines in this book, as I'd expect from this author. However, it didn't quite work for me, at least not at first. Once the sleuthing started to get serious about halfway through, it became more of a page-turner. I think it was the Christian theme, which is a little hard to take these days, even when it's being satirized.

“Bobby Ray Breaks the Universe” is available from Smashwords and Amazon.