Synopses & Reviews
How can you solve a murder when the clues are so dumb?
Private investigator Trike Augustine may be a brainiac with deductive
skills to rival Sherlock Holmes, but they’re not doing him any good at
solving the case of a missing gazzilionaire because the clues are so
stupefyingly — well, stupid.
Meanwhile, his sidekicks — Max the
former FBI agent and Lola the artist — don’t quite rise to the level of
Dr. Watson, either. For example, when a large, dead pig turns up on
Trike’s floor in the middle of the night, none of them can figure out
what it means.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking as the astronomical reward being offered diminishes drastically every day.
That, plus the increasing reality that their own lives are in danger,
lift this astonishing debut beyond its hilarious premise — a smart man
befuddled by the idiotic—and turns it into something more than just a
smart homage to Sherlock (with maybe a touch of early Jonathan Lethem
thrown in). It becomes a compelling and compulsive thriller... with
the added bonus that the prose is often as breathtaking as the tale.
Review
“Bookseller and debut novelist Cook’s humorous take on various whodunit and noir tropes is…spot-on.” Library Journal
Review
“A beautifully written postmodern novel of deduction that merrily,
wittily blows up its genre’s conventions while at the same time
re-energizing possibilities for the 21st-century detective story.” Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Review
“A comedic mystery, filled with the sorts of digressions and lunacy that
will entertain readers wondering what an episode of Benedict
Cumberbatch’s ‘Sherlock’ series might be like if it were written by
Quentin Tarantino.” The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Review
“[A] rollicking debut novel.” Boston Magazine, Must-Sees for March 2015
About the Author
Josh Cook is a bookseller at Porter Square Books in Somerville, Massachusetts. His fiction, criticism, and poetry have appeared in numerous leading literary publications, including The Rumpus, The Millions, and Bookslut, and he is the blogger for Porter Square Books’ blog. This is his first novel.