A MILLION MONKEYS

In Cather’s novel, worlds collide when a cop starts investigating a series of deaths that match those in a SF story.

It’s the year 2045 as police officer Eliza Benveniste and her partner, Jamie Cloud, approach a new crime scene: Glenn Sommars was shot in his bathroom and found by his wife when she returned home. The name of the victim alone sets Jamie on edge, but his reaction intensifies when he notices a copy of Rebellion at Broken Oar, a SF novel gaining some popularity, in the home. While interviewing the family, Eliza learns that, while Glenn was certainly not well liked by his kin and that his wife and children had motive, all of their alibis are solid. Strangely, the first character to die in Rebellion at Broken Oar has the same name as the real-life victim (the family members also have the same names as those in the novel), and was killed in the same way. In the book, “Glenn Sommars” was on a distant planet when he was shot, but all the other details are eerily similar (“That’s really spooky. Twilight Zone spooky,” Eliza observes). Soon, a second murder occurs, and again, the name and manner of death perfectly match the second fatality depicted in the novel. As Eliza desperately searches for the author, who seemingly must be connected to this all somehow, it begins to seem like the creator may be even closer than she could guess. Cather effectively blends a police procedural with a thrilling space odyssey, with all of the darkness and death that can occur in both genres doubly amplified. The large cast of characters, some duplicated across realities, may lead to some reader confusion, but the players who matter the most remain distinctive and hard to forget. The author has clearly put in the research work, as Eliza’s investigation feels deep, thorough, and by-the-book. The payoff at the end is quite literally explosive.

This genre-bending mystery/SF yarn will draw readers in and keep them engaged.