The Art of Racing in the Rain, Stein. Yes. Not far into the book, Stein’s narrator says

For me, a good story is all about setting up expectations and delivering on them in an exciting and surprising way.

And that is just what Racing in the Rain does: you learn certain things very early, and you get the rest of the book to watch the inevitable unfold, with occasional surprise and excitement. There are a number of features that I might usually find more irritating, but right now, it worked for me.