Unfortunately there's a lot of problems with this book that had such an interesting concept.
Some of those problems include:
The narrator's obsession with his ex girlfriend Julia, even though based on the flashbacks they didn't even seem like they were that good for each other and that he knows that.
In general the flashbacks didn't seem to much for the book at all.
Whatever happens in the last quarter or so of the book (after he winds up at Julia's house) was just a mess. I don't even know how to explain what happened, but it was a trainwreck that I mostly glazed over just to finish the book.

This was an okay read. While I was reading it, I enjoyed it enough, but when I put it down, I didn´t gravitate towards picking it back up.

What if we could use physics to know exactly when we're going to die? It'd cost you twenty thousand bucks, though. Dare to Know follows the failed life of a salesman who works in an organization that predicts death dates.

It's an interesting yet not groundbreaking premise for a sci-fi book. I liked that the author goes deep into the death-prediction subject, not only by explaining how it works, but also how it would probably affect society and the market. And free will, well, does it really exist then?

When it came to how death dates are calculated, it got too subjective for my taste and for what's expected to be a very scientific thing. Not that it can't be subjective, but it was odd. An algorithm that works by responding to a string of nonsense words. Or death particles so complex that computers are unable to run said algorithm with them, only humans—how convenient. Or unique metaphors needed to visualize the mechanics of those particles.

The book goes back in time to different periods of the narrator's life but fails to connect them organically to provide a nice reading experience.

Another thing is that I just really dislike when the plot builds up to a certain moment the reader looks forward to, but when it comes to it, it's brushed off or goes by in a blink. (Side note: that's why I didn't like Heart-Shaped Box.) Anyway, that happens here, and as if it wasn't discouraging enough, in the last fourth of the book, the story spirals down badly. Who knows what was going on?

Thank you, @netgalley and Quirk Books, for this ARC.

There are parts of this I really enjoyed (first half), and parts I really didn't (second half). I think it's being marketed really incorrectly, as it's not really a thriller even though it appears to be one from the outside. Main characters who are not super likeable are fine, but this guy took a turn when he decided to sexually pursue someone really inappropriately young for him and it only got worse from there and it became clear that he was too misogynistic for me as the reader to even care.

I started this one, but gave up fairly quickly. It just wasn't for me.

The premise seemed really interesting and I was excited to read it, but the book didn't really deliver.
I really didn't like the protagonist and just couldn't empathize with him.
The way the book itself was written was also not really my style. This kind of story was done a lot in the 60s and 70s and this book just didn't anything new to the genre.

Really wanted to read this, but never got to it. Unfortunately just still sitting on my TBR.

The low ranking is not a reflection of the work itself, but rather speaks to the fact that I selected other books over this title.

Dare to Know has an amazing premise to an age old "what if?".
What if you could figure out the exact moment of your death? Would you?
This book was a bit quirkier and sillier than expected. I was hoping for a dark, twisty, speculative thriller. That isn't to say that the book was disappointing. If anything, it was a fascinating and fun read!
My expectations were subverted, and yet I still enjoyed what I was given.
If you want a fun, easy-thinking read, pick this up.

From a great premise to slipstream to weird. This was not the progression I was hoping for. This ended up being a mashup of about four or five entirely different books, two or three of which I might have found interesting.

If you had the option to know your exact death date, would you want to know? How would knowing affect the way you live your life?

In Dare to Know, the future offers you the chance to purchase the knowledge from a company which has developed the software to accurately predict your death date. But when the main character, a salesman for the company, finds out he has outlived his death date he goes on a journey to find out how he did it.

This book is unputdownable for the first two acts but the third became slightly laborious in style. However I was so hooked by groundwork Kennedy did in setting up the world & making me care about the character that I had to keep reading. This is a very good book.

Another book with an AMAZING idea, and a terrible execution. I could hardly even give it one star. But alas, I am required to at least give it one. I am giving it one, because it was an amazing concept. Try again!

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

This book had all the potential but it didn't delivered it to me like I expected it to. The pacing got confusing right away. I was very interested, then I got distracted and found myself not understand what was happening. It had potential, but sadly I wasn't entertained enough to like it.

I loved how random strange and twisty this one was, it really blew my mind actually. I love the idea of being able to predict peoples deaths (probably not in reality as it would make me anxious as hell) but theoretically it sounds like it would be so interesting!
I enjoyed the way it was written, it got a little confusing in parts but overall a really enjoyable thrilling unique read!

DNF @ 35%

Back when I was in high school, I read Mr. Kennedy's debut novel, The Order of Odd Fish. Admittedly I remember nothing of the book, only that I loved it and shared it with several friends at the time to get them to read it. I still own the book, and gazing at my shelf causes me to sometimes look up to see if the author wrote another book. 12 years later, I was excited to find out that he had another one coming out! I requested an eARC as soon as I found out, but I didn't get around to reading it until after the publication date. It's pegged as a sci-fi thriller, which is something that I'll pick up from time to time.

Unfortunately, I did not vibe with the writing style. The synopsis is about a salesman of a company that sells your death details to the exact date and time you will die. The salesman early on ends up in a car accident during a winter storm, and while waiting for the tow truck decides to calculate his own death. The prediction algorithm used is always correct, but his death supposedly occurred 23 minutes ago. From here, I expect the story to be told in a quick and thrilling manner in how the character is able to figure out why he may still be alive. Before his car crash, the book does explain some of the character's history as well as some of the "science" that is behind the death prediction method used. Unfortunately, the book continues to talk about the character's past, mainly his relationship with a previous lover (who will be the one to help him solve his death problem). It doesn't focus on the character's present situation at all and just keeps jumping back to the past. I didn't really find this format really thrilling as it's not building how the current/present situation is dire. It really takes you away from the problem at hand and I was bored. I'm still glad that the author has another book out there after so many years, but I don't think this one is for me.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free eARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

QUICK TAKE: very cool idea (people being able to predict someone's death down to the day), but ultimately execution left me wanting more. There's a lot of flashbacks that I just had trouble getting into, and was craving more of the present day story. Ultimately not for me.

This novel is near-future scifi - I would say future tech, but what's involved here is an algorithm and mathematics used by trained individuals to determine specific times of death. And while the plot is very real world for the most part, the real genre here is weird fiction. This becomes clear the further you get into the story and absolutely blatant in the final few dozen pages.
The protagonist is not very likeable, but you're obviously meant to feel bad for him because of the state his life is in. And he gives plenty of details, especially regarding his failed relationships. Then, of course, he discovers his time of death has passed (not a spoiler - it's in the book blurb) and gets even more lost. It definitely gets you to keep reading for the "what next" factor.

First of all a big thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for sending me a copy of this for me to read and review.

Let me tell you, this was a WILD ride and honestly for most of the book I couldn't tell you what was going on apart from the basic story line. But that was part of its charm. It does get a little confusing as the story goes on however it was so intriguing that I could not put it down.

The idea that someone, using a formula, can work out exactly when you're going to die is absolutely mindblowing.

Great premise, but the last 50 pages veered off too far into fantasyland for my liking, but it was still a fast, mildly entertaining read.

DNF at 35%. I thought the premise sounded interesting but unfortunately the execution really isn’t working for me - rambly narration from someone I’m not liking and don’t want to spend time with. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

This was definitely one of the best books I have read this year... I did managed to finish this book within a few hours. It was captivating and difficult to put down.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND