One thing you can say about Matt Ruff is that his book are interesting and different. And Bad Monkeys is not an exception. The title is based off a South Parkepisode and is broken in a slightly different way than Sewer, Gas & Electric (my review). In that book, the plot goes completely off the rails near the end of the book. In this story, Ruff tries to throw in too much plot near the end. It goes from a (fairly) straight forward story with a whiff of confusion to a double/triple/quadruple switch where it’s not clear which of the many fronts is the correct one. But, it is a fun ride to get there. So, let’s see what the ride is all about.

Jane Charlotte is in prison and being interviewed by a psychiatrist. The story she told the police ensured the psychiatrist would visit. Jane claims to be in an organization dedicated to fighting evil and her group (within the organization) is in Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons (aka Bad Monkeys). She is a field operative who takes out the Bad Monkeys (evil people) upon orders of Department of Optimal Utilization of Resources and Personnel (aka Cost-Benefits). Cost-Benefits makes decisions based on research gathered from Department of Ubiquitous Intermittent Surveillance (aka Panopticon).

Jane tells of her life as an almost evil person pulled away from her brother Phil and her mom and after a period of bad decisions was recruited to join the organization. As she tells the story, the psychiatrist tracks down the information. The information the psychiatrist is able to track down is very close to her story, but with enough differences to make you wonder if she is telling the truth or if the organization is changing the information behind the scenes. You are supposed to wonder if you are in George Orwell’s world or Philip K Dick’s world. But there are enough clues in there to help you figure it out.

As Jane rolls out the story of her life, the psychiatrist focuses on her story of her brother Phil. Was Phil alive in his own life, killed by a serial killer (and haunting her memories) or the leader of the Troop (the organization’s enemy who thrives on evil). The facts of the case can lead you into any of the directions especially as you find out that the disinformation campaigns on both sides could be changing the facts to meet their needs.

Overall this is a fun and crazy ride that tries to cram too much into the last couple chapters and that causes overall confusion without much resolution. You leave the story wondering what happened, but not in a good way. I love Ruff’s stories (and am looking forward to his new book The Mirage), but he has issues with the endings of his books. That’s the main thing that keeps me from recommending him higher. But here, the characterization and the plot (until the end) are wonderful and drag you along an exciting and confusing story that keeps the reader interested until it rushes the ending and confuses the reader. Recommended.