The Final Chapter
-
- $19.99
-
- $19.99
Publisher Description
‘CB Everett is a master of fiendishly plotted, intelligent mysteries’ MARK EDWARDS
A missing author. A lost manuscript. A final chapter that could reveal the truth.
Ten years ago, bestselling literary novelist Jonathan Durward vanished without a trace - leaving behind no body, no answers, and no final book.
Now that missing manuscript has finally surfaced. But it isn’t the masterpiece anyone expected. It’s a spy novel: pulpy, outlandish, and packed with clichés, tradecraft and Bond-style twists.
Jonathan’s former publisher asks his closest friend, fellow author C. B. Everett, to annotate the novel and separate fact from fiction. But as C. B. reads, he begins to spot unsettling echoes of real people, real events - and perhaps the truth about Jonathan’s disappearance.
Because hidden inside this strange, slippery thriller may be a confession. Or a clue. Or a trap.
As C. B. is drawn deeper into the mystery, one question becomes impossible to ignore: did Jonathan vanish - or was he written out of the story?
Clever, twisty and irresistibly readable, The Final Chapter is a brilliantly meta mystery about friendship, identity and the stories we tell ourselves - perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Janice Hallett.
'A metafictional tour de force’ THE GUARDIAN
‘A clever piece of crime-fiction, crime is concealed within this intriguing novel within a novel’ THE TIMES
‘A fiendishly clever thriller with a brilliant sting in the tail. Highly recommended’ CASS GREEN
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Everett, a pen name for crime novelist Martyn Waites (the Tom Killgannon Mysteries), delivers a slyly entertaining metafictional mystery. Ten years ago, handsome literary wunderkind Jonathan Durward seemed to vanish into thin air, and all efforts to find him have come up empty. When a new Durward manuscript for a novel titled Russian Doll arrives at his publisher's offices, they're overjoyed by the opportunity to cash in on his still-popular name. Everett, a writer and former friend of the author, is asked to annotate and edit the work. He agrees, and is slightly horrified to find that the new book is an espionage tale focusing on a British government assassin rather than the highbrow work on which Durward built his reputation. Each of Durward's action-packed chapters is followed by lengthy notes from Everett that tie incidents in the novel to those in the authors' lives and brood on the vagaries of the publishing industry. As Everett reads the manuscript, he becomes increasingly convinced that Durward has embedded messages in the text for him to find and decipher. The Nabokovian conceit goes off the rails somewhat in the muddled finale, but Everett gets plenty of points for playfulness. Adventurous mystery fans are likely to enjoy this one.
