Biography of X is a fictitious biography of an artist/singer/producer/agitator,
ostensibly written by her wife in pursuit of objective truth about X in spite
of her lifetime of constructing different personas.
It’s raw and painfully
human, while also being meticulous in its worldbuilding. The fact that it’s
also one of the most plausible alternative history novels and one of the
best meta-fictional novels I’ve ever read is the icing on the cake.
National Bestseller. A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Finalist for the 2023 Brooklyn Library Prize. Named a best book of March by Apple Books and Amazon, and a most anticipated book by The New York Times, Esquire, The Guardian, Time, BuzzFeed, Electric Literature, Literary Hub, and Chicago Review of Books
“A major novel, and a notably audacious one.” ―Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“It feels fairly rare for a novel to be hugely intelligent and moving and fun in equal measure, but with Biography of X, Catherine Lacey somehow―magically―makes the nearly impossible look easy.” ―Lauren Groff
Nina
Allan is one the UK’s greatest science fiction writers working today, and yet often, her work
is barely speculative at all. Conquest concerns a missing conspiracy
theorist who is obsessed with the possibility of an upcoming war against
aliens. Yet, it’s structured far more like a detective story than a classic
science fiction novel – though the complete SF novella buried with the book is
another story.
Allan’s interspersing of academic texts further blurs the line
between fact and fiction.
Rachel's boyfriend Frank is different from other people. His strangeness is part of what she loves about him: his innocence, his intelligence, his passionate immersion in the music of JS Bach. As a coder, Frank sees patterns in everything, but as his theories slide further towards the irrational, Rachel becomes increasingly concerned for his wellbeing. There are people Frank knows online, people who share his view of the world and who insist he has a unique role to play. In spite of Rachel's fears for his safety, Frank is determined to meet them face to face.
Golden Age detective mysteries are my comfort reads,
and locked-room mysteries even more so. Tom Mead’s revival of the classic form
is note-perfect, but it’s more than a mere pastiche.
Stage-magician-turned-detective Joseph Spector is a terrific addition to the
ranks of inspired detectives.
I raced through this novel in a couple of
sittings, followed by the sequel – and I’m assured
there are more Spector mysteries to come.
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Best Mysteries of 2022 Selection
In this "sharply-drawn period piece" (New York Times), a magician-turned-sleuth in pre-war London solves three impossible crimes
In 1930s London, celebrity psychiatrist Anselm Rees is discovered dead in his locked study, and there seems to be no way that a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. For who better to make sense of the impossible than one who…
Sherlock
Holmes's discovery of a mysterious musical score initiates a devious Christmas
challenge set by Irene Adler, with clues that are all variations on the theme
of 'theft without theft.'
In the snowy
London lead-up to Christmas, Holmes's preoccupation with the "Adler
Variations" risks him neglecting the case of his new client, Norwegian
arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who has received a series of threats in the
form of animal carcasses left on his doorstep.
Could they really be gifts from
a strange spirit that has pursued Nansen since the completion of his expedition
to cross Greenland? And might this case somehow be related to Irene Adler's
great game?
