Read an exclusive excerpt from Daniel Aleman's “I Might Be In Trouble”

Yolanda Machado
·3 min read

EW can also reveal the cover of his suspense-filled, hilarious dark comedy that was inspired by a real life event.

Already a staple in the young adult world, Daniel Aleman is ready to get a little darker.

Born and raised in Mexico, Aleman made his book debut with the YA novel, Indivisible, a 2022 Tomás Rivera Book Award winner about a teen trying to keep his family together while his parents face deportation that cemented his status as a writer to watch on the rise.

Inspired by a real life event, I Might Be In Trouble, Aleman's first adult novel is a hilarious, suspense-filled dark comedy about a struggling writer who links up with someone he meets on a dating app and wakes up to find his date dead. In a panic he enlists the one person he trusts completely, his literary agent (of course), to help him figure out what to do and, well, get rid of the body.

Below, the cover reveal and an exclusive excerpt for I Might Be In Trouble, due in bookstores December 3, 2024.

<p>Grand Central Publishing</p> Daniel Aleman book 'I Might Be In Trouble'

Grand Central Publishing

Daniel Aleman book 'I Might Be In Trouble'

Excerpted from I MIGHT BE IN TROUBLE by Daniel Aleman. Copyright © 2024 by Daniel Aleman. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.

A SLIGHT COMPLICATION

It’s 6:47 a.m.

Staring at the numbers flashing on the clock brings an odd sense of comfort to my chest. The time is one of the few things I can be certain of—an undeniable fact, something to hold on to even in this moment, when I’m not sure I can trust myself or my own memory.

I’m foggy with exhaustion. Every inch of my body is protesting all the alcohol I drank last night. Nothing feels real, except for those tiny numbers shining in green. But then, unexpectedly, a million questions flood my mind: What exactly happened? What have I done? How did I end up here? It’s this last question that grabs hold of me, that makes everything else take a back seat.

How did I end up here?

I never thought of myself as capable of killing someone, not even accidentally. I find it hard to believe I’m actually responsible for doing this, but I wonder how surprised other people would be if they could catch a glimpse of me right now. They might say they were able to see something in me all along—some sort of sign that told them David Alvarez was deranged. Some indication that he might just have the gall to end a man’s life so unexpectedly, so callously.

Although, I realize with a small glimmer of hope, there’s also the possibility that it’s not callousness I’ve shown, but stupidity.

Yes, that seems a lot more likely. I’ve been stupid. Going out to meet this handsome stranger, agreeing to keep the drinks coming even when we were both wasted, bringing him back to my apartment—it was all just a matter of making one bad choice after another, wasn’t it?

I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could return to twelve hours ago and stop myself from going through with any of it—but perhaps the string of poor decision-making that led to this moment began much earlier than yesterday. It may have begun in Stacey’s office, during the last meeting I had with her. Or maybe even before that, when I started making all the mistakes that led to my career imploding.

How did I end up here?

I try to push the question away, all too aware that I’ll drive myself mad if I keep attempting to answer it. For now, there are more important things to consider, much more urgent matters to occupy myself with, two critical facts I need to focus on.

It’s 6:47 a.m., and there’s a dead body on my bed.

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