Synopses & Reviews
Most of the time, Clay Blackburn is your average, bisexual, book scout in Berkeley, but sometimes hes a would-be private detectivewithout a license, gun, or even a business card. Despite his questionable qualifications, people still come to him for help, and he inevitably comes across more than his fair share of trouble. Through it all, hes constantly seeking the fountain of youth, the myth of paradise, the pie in the skyThe Incredible Double. Fighting his way through corporate shills, Berkeley loonies, and CEO thugs, Clay struggles to understand the secret of The Double and discover the true meaning of life. Joined by his three trusty but goofy sidekicksbest friend and lefty soldier of fortune Marvin, ex-FBI agent Bailey Dao, and smarmy but debonair Dino CentroClay confronts a host of bizarre characters, including drug casualty turned poet Loose Bruce, conspiracy theorist Larry Sasway, and Grace, the Tallulah Bankhead of Berkeley. Togetherand sometimes not so togetherthey team up to foil Drugstore Wally, the CEO with an evil plan.
Review
Owen Hill's breathless, sly, and insouciant mystery novels are full of that rare Dawn Powel-ish essence: fictional gossip.” Jonathan Lethem, author, The Fortress of Solitude
Review
"The mystery is real, the stakes are high; some people make it through while others . . . well, let's just say they're compromised. Here we have the essence of noir, a sense of life lived at the edges." Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
Fiction. Clay Blackburn has two jobs. Most of the time he's your average bisexual book scout in Berkeley. Some of the time he's...not quite a private detective. He doesn't have a license, he doesn't have a gun, he doesn't have a business card--but people come to him for help and in helping them he comes across more than his fair share of trouble. And trouble finds him seeking the fountain of youth, the myth of paradise, the pie in the sky ... THE INCREDIBLE DOUBLE. "Owen Hill's breathless, sly and insouciant mystery novels are full of that rare Dawn Powel-ish essence: fictional gossip. I could imagine popping in and out of his sexy little Chandler building apartment a thousand times and never having the same cocktail buzz twice. Poets have all the fun, apparently"--Jonathan Lethem author of The Fortress of Solitude.
About the Author
Owen Hill lives in Berkeley, California. He is the author of seven collections of poetry and Loose Ends, a book of short stories. He was awarded the Howard Moss Residency for poetry at Yaddo in 2005. The Chicago Tribune called his first mystery novel, The Chandler Apartments, one of the best mysteries of 2002. In his Tribune review Dick Adler wrote, "Berkeley, California poet Owen Hill captures the taste and texture of the yeasty street and bed life of his native turf with an eye that manages to be fresh and appropriately amoral."