The Sideways Life of Denny Voss

A Novel

By: Holly Kennedy

In this poignant and funny novel, a man who is defined by his limitations sets out to fight a murder charge—and discovers unexpected truths about himself, his family, and the world at large.

On the surface, Denny Voss’s life in rural Minnesota is a quiet one. At thirty years old, he lives at home with his elderly mother and his beloved blind and deaf Saint Bernard, George. He cleans up roadkill to help pay the bills. Though his prospects are limited by a developmental delay—the result of an accident at birth—Denny has always felt that he has “a good life.”

So how did he wind up being charged with the murder of a mayoral candidate—after crashing a sled full of guns into a tree?

As Denny awaits trial, his court-appointed therapist walks him through the events of the past year. Denny’s had other scuffles with the law, the first for kidnapping a neighbor’s cantankerous goose. And then there was the time he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. It seems like whenever Denny tries to do the right thing, chaos ensues.

Untangling the events around the murder reveals even more painful truths about his family’s past. He’s always been surrounded by people who love him, but now it’s up to Denny to set his life on a new course.

©2025 by Holly Kennedy. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“The Sideways Life of Denny Voss will be a modern classic. Kennedy’s Denny is not idealized. Instead, he is fully revealed, with a clarity not seen in the pages of a novel since Carson McCullers wrote The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. His story is a meditation on justice, bigotry, gun violence, and equity. Read it, perhaps as I did, all night, in one sitting, then look deep into your own community—and into your own heart.” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“I can’t rave enough about this novel. The Sideways Life of Denny Voss is simply magical, a heart-wrenching, unconventional tale that moved me from laughter to tears. Denny is a true original, an authentically portrayed protagonist who leaps off the page. His story is irresistible. I want to know him. I want to be his friend. And even though the feel-good ending was perfect, I didn’t want his story to end.” —Patricia Wood, PhD in disability studies, author of Lottery

“The Sideways Life of Denny Voss is a coming-of-age story that ticks all my boxes. Beautifully written, authentic characters that will tug at your heart, and the kind of story that will keep you turning the pages long after lights out. It’s the best novel I’ve read in a very long time. Don’t miss this one!” —Lesley Kagen, New York Times bestselling author of Whistling in the Dark and Every Now and Then