Inside Job

By: Connie Willis

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Rob, a professional debunker, is watching yet another performance by a supposed psychic. But as she calls forth the spirit entity known as Isus, another voice suddenly interrupts. And this one is so unexpected and so real, even the hardened skeptic finds he can't help but believe.

This engaging, humorous tale of the beyond won a Hugo Award for Best Novella.

©2005 Connie Willis (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novella, 2006

"Highly enjoyable, somewhat educational and will leave readers happy at the end." (Publishers Weekly)
"Irresistible entertainment." (Booklist)

A delight!

I love Connie Willis. This is not a major work but it is so much fun. Worthy.

Hugo Award Winning Novella

I have a goal of eventually reading all of the major SFF award winners, including novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories, so that???s why I picked up Connie Willis???s Inside Job when I saw that it was available on audio. Inside Job won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2006. Just a couple of months ago, by the way, Connie Willis received the SFWA Grand Master Award (January 2012).

Inside Job is a story about Rob, a professional debunker of pseudoscience, and his new partner Kildy Ross, a beautiful and famous actress. They attend s??ances and visit faith healers, psychics, and palm readers, always figuring out how these hucksters are cheating the gullible and publishing their findings in their magazine, The Jaundiced Eye.

Mostly it???s the same thing over and over: an earpiece, hidden wires, a confederate in the right place. Their latest case, however, is the toughest one ever. When they attend a seminar by the new psychic in town, Ariaura Keller, she begins channeling the spirit of H.L. Mencken, the famous skeptic who reported on the Scopes Trial and famously said, ???Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.???

Rob and Kildy are determined to discover how Ariaura is channeling Mencken. But, more puzzling, why would a psychic who makes money tricking her audience be regaling them with monologues by H.L. Mencken? The resulting investigation is exciting, suspenseful, full of delicious logical quandaries, and often very funny.

Eventually the reader wonders if there???s such a thing as being too skeptical. At some point, you have to have faith in something or someone. What kind of relationship would you have with your loved ones, for example, if you kept demanding irrevocable proof when they said they loved you?

Inside Job was a quick read and a fun and educational story with likable characters and a delightfully silly plot. I listened to Audible Frontiers??? version which was narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris, who I liked very much.

Clever and Fun but Too Short

Famous early 20th century wit H.L. Mencken is being channeled by a new age charlatan. A skeptic journalist and his beautiful movie star assistant have to figure out if it's really the spirit of Mencken or an elaborate ploy to dupe the gullible masses.

Connie Willis's award-winning novella from 2005, perhaps rendered somewhat obsolete it our current post-truth era where it wouldn't even matter if the channeling was real or fake, is still a lot a fun, with excellent narration, but it's still too short, ending rather abruptly.

For me personally, this tasty morsel does restore some of my faith in Willis -- I loved her novel Bellwether, which covers some of the same ground as Inside Job, but I totally abhorred Doomsday Book. Now I want to give her another chance (though maybe not returning to the Oxford series).

I'd go full five stars with this novella, except that Willis passes up a chance to really take a deeper dive into Mencken, who may or may not have been a serious racist and anti-semite -- in all of the time spent trying to determine if the spirit is really him, asking him about his complicated views on race is never considered.

Fun Paranormal!

This was a quick and fun paranormal fiction piece. When a new psychic act comes to town, ex-actress Kildy decides that her boss needs to see the show. Rob, a journalist and professional skeptic doesn't do channelers with Kildy's nudging it goes to a performance. In the end, he gets more then he bargained for and maybe the story to end all stories.

The dialog between Kildy and Rob make this novella. It was a fun and witty listen that has convinced me to pick up more by Connie Willis.

Inside Job

The narrator was good but the story was neither mysterious nor interesting. At the end, I just wondered why it had been written. In my view it didn't seem to have much purpose.

Not up to her usual standard

Sets the stage and then has no way to end the story. Very disappointing. Far from her usual effort.

Terrific, but too short

I have just discovered Connie Willis after reading "Not to Mention the Dog". The author tweaks just a few small things about everyday life to make an interesting and sometimes funny semi-fantasy, a sort of "what would happen if...." This book was great fun and kept me interested throughout. I'd advise not wasting a credit on it due to its short length, but wait until there is a sale and buy it. You won't be disappointed.

A Silly Witty Treat

Love Connie Willis and I adore this shorter book. It's about what happens when spiritualists go real. Too funny and way too wonderful.

Nothing Special

It is nothing special. It did not bore me. I smiled about 15 times, laughed aloud 3 times and frowned and grimaced the rest of the time while driving from Durban to Johannesburg while listening to this a part of the way.

Delightful light novella

Would you listen to Inside Job again? Why?

Yes, This story is well written, a delight after what seemed like listening to a string of sloppily written books. It is also very well read. The fact that it is just under 2 1/2 hours is perfect for a trip or other occasion when you don't want to commit to a long book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rob. I like that he is the professional skeptic who questions his own gullibility in this case.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It had me smiling throughout because it was so well writtern -- sly and humorous.

Any additional comments?

Don't expect a deep story, but if (like me) you enjoyed Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog then I think you will also enjoy this novella.