Nothing Tastes as Good

A Novel

By: Luke Dumas

Narrated by: Graham Halstead, Ali Andre Ali, Raquel Beattie, Cassandra Campbell, James Anderson Foster

The nationally bestselling author of The Paleontologist and A History of Fear returns with a spine-tingling new thriller about a weight loss treatment with terrifying side effects.

Retail worker Emmett Truesdale has never fit the Southern California mold of six-pack, suntanned masculinity. Over three hundred pounds, he carries the weight of his childhood trauma and millennial ennui around his waist and in his soul. After trying every diet under the sun, he remains stuck—in his dead-end job, in love, and in his body.

Desperate for help, he enrolls in a clinical trial for a new weight loss product called Obexity. The treatment is as horrifying as the results are miraculous and as Emmett sheds pounds at superhuman speed, every part of his life improves overnight.

Unfortunately, Obexity comes with some killer side effects, including lost stretches of time and overwhelming cravings. Worse, people who were cruel to him have started disappearing and when the police warn of a cannibalistic killer on the loose, he fears that Obexity is turning him into a monster. But how can he give it up now that people are finally starting to treat him like he’s human?

Nerve-racking, sinister, and at times surreal, Nothing Tastes as Good is an unputdownable thriller that combines the body horror and social commentary of The Substance with the best of Stephen King and keeps you guessing until the final page.

so good!

this was great! it was hard to walk away from, great narration and an excellent story. the only slightly annoying thing was narrating the emojiis, so might be better in normal read format. Kept me on my toes and loved it!

Not knowing what would happen next

I was unsure about the plot at first, but couldn’t stop listening. The characters, vivid descriptions, and twist and turns left me wanting more. Highly recommend!

Slow burn, great ending

The story is a bit of a slow burn, but the last third is action packed with a good pay off. I would like to have had a bit more gore or suspense, but it's a very interesting concept.

those Pokémon references....

I'm a millennial and I grew up with Pokémon. hell, I still play the games but those references throughout the story were so cringe

COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER

Started off strong. I felt connected to Emmett and was rooting for him. But as it went on, it started to feel a little too silly, and his constant self-sabotage (I get it, but still) became frustrating to read.

I wanted it to hit harder on the horror. It took forever to even get to the medical trial, like halfway through and I thought that’s when things would finally pick up. Nope. It stayed a slog.

Overall, it had potential, but it just never fully delivered for me.