The Manual of Detection - by Jedediah Berry (Paperback)

About the Book

In this tightly plotted debut novel, an unlikely detective, armed only with an umbrella and a singular handbook, must untangle a string of crimes committed in and through people's dreams.

Book Synopsis

"This debut novel weaves the kind of mannered fantasy that might result if Wes Anderson were to adapt Kafka." --The New Yorker

Reminiscent of imaginative fiction from Jorge Luis Borges to Jasper Fforde yet dazzlingly original, The Manual of Detection marks the debut of a prodigious young talent.

Charles Unwin toils as a clerk at a huge, imperious detective agency located in an unnamed city always slick with rain. When Travis Sivart, the agency's most illustrious detective, is murdered, Unwin is suddenly promoted and must embark on an utterly bizarre quest for the missing investigator that leads him into the darkest corners of his soaking, somnolent city.

What ensues is a noir fantasy of exquisite craftsmanship, as taut as it is mind-blowing, that draws readers into a dream world that will change what they think about how they think.

Review Quotes

RQNA

aBryan Burrough has long been one of this nationas best storytellers, but he has outdone himself with his tour de force, "The Big Rich," Set amid the rough and tumble of the Texas oil fields and stretching to the halls of political power in Washington, this epic tale reveals the hidden undercurrents of modern American history that flowed from four families of unimaginable wealth and recklessness. With an unerring eye for detail, Burrough dissects their lives and histories, starting with the patriarchsastruggling, poorly educated men who might have remained forever unknown if not for their success at pulling black ooze from the ground. "The Big Rich" lays bare their arrogance and aspirations, their principles and hypocrisy, their daring and foolishness, taking readers deep inside a world of affluence that has remained secret for far too long. It is, quite simply, a triumph.a
aKurt Eichenwald, author of "The Informant" and "Conspiracy of Fools"

About the Author

Jedediah Berry was raised in the Hudson Valley region of New York State. His first novel, The Manual of Detection, won the Crawford Award and the Hammett Prize, and was adapted for broadcast by BBC Radio. His story in cards, "The Family Arcana," was published as a poker deck by Ninepin Press, and was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award. His short fiction has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Best New American Voices and Best American Fantasy. Together with his partner, writer Emily Houk, he runs Ninepin Press, an independent publisher of fiction, poetry, and games. He lives in Western Massachusetts.