A Dark Comedy · Literary Fiction
Paid to Cry
She cries for a living. She just can't cry for him.
About the novel
Sharp, funny, and quietly devastating.
Frankie Vane is the best professional mourner in the business — paid to weep, convincingly, at the funerals of strangers who'd otherwise go into the ground unwept. She's extraordinary at it, for one simple reason: she hasn't felt a thing in twelve years.
Then her agency launches a service grieving people before they die, and hands Frankie a stack of pre-booked funerals. The fourth file is her own estranged, dying father's. He has paid, in advance, for a room full of strangers to mourn him — and left one instruction: his daughter must never be told, and never be sent.
So she goes anyway. Under a false name. Telling herself it's just research.
What begins as the strangest job of her career becomes the first honest thing her family has managed in twelve years — a reckoning with grief, performance, and the last kindness a stranger can do you. Paid to Cry will make you laugh out loud, and then, somewhere near the end, it will catch you. Full room. Front row. No tissue.
Inside the book
A selection of part titles from the printed edition.
- 1The TradeHow Frankie learned to weep on cue, and why.
- 2The New ServicePre-booked mourning, paid in advance.
- 3File FourThe file no one is supposed to see.
- 4Under a False NameGoing anyway, for reasons she won't say.
- 5Front Row, No TissueThe first honest thing in twelve years.
Editorial notes
From early reviewers and editorial readers.
"She cries for a living. She just can't cry for him. The premise is so good you don't want to know anything else — and the book is so much better than its premise."
Kindle Editorial Review"Sharp, funny, and quietly devastating. The romance of rooms in which a single person lets themselves stop performing — that is the engine of this book, and it is well-built."
Independent Reader"A novel about the job of grieving for strangers, and how the work finally costs you something you actually owned. Recommended for fans of dark-comic literary fiction."
Subscriber ReviewFrequently asked
Short answers to common questions.
What kind of book is this?
It's a dark comedy / literary novel about grief, performance, and the small technical work of going to your own father's funeral under a name that isn't yours.
Where can I buy it?
The Kindle edition is sold worldwide on Amazon at amazon.com/dp/B0H853VVXT. It's included in Kindle Unlimited where eligible.
Is there a sample chapter?
Yes — a short editorial passage is on this site at /sample.
Where can I read more about the author?
Short bio on this site at #author; full list of books at the cross-link strip below.
About the author
Graham Miranda writes novels and nonfiction that share one trait: a quiet suspicion of the easy answer. Paid to Cry began as a short story about a stranger at a funeral and grew into a novel about what we owe people who can no longer pay us back. He publishes independently on Amazon Kindle.
Begin reading
Available now as a Kindle book on Amazon. Read the first chapters for free.
Available worldwide on Amazon Kindle. Included with Kindle Unlimited where eligible.