- Winner, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, NSW Premier's Literary Awards
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Shortlisted, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, Queensland Literary Awards and ACT Book of the Year Award
Paris: 1989. Recently retired Inspector of Police Auguste Jovert receives a letter from a woman who claims to be his daughter. Two days later, a stranger from Japan comes knocking on his door…
About the Author
Mark Henshaw is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a decorated CIA analyst with more than sixteen years of service. In 2007, Henshaw was awarded the Director of National Intelligence Galileo Award for innovation in intelligence analysis. A former member of the Red Cell think tank, Henshaw is the author of Red Cell and Cold Shot and lives with his family in Leesburg, Virginia.
Industry Reviews
`A novel of exquisite beauty, which evades categorisation.' * The Times *
'Gripping...Like a Japanese puzzle, prized for their infinite solutions and depth of revelation, each chapter builds on the one before, unfolding through levels of story to unpack deeper and deeper truths...Henshaw's ability to combine such cultural and aesthetic diversity in his fiction is not only an example of what a period of dedicated study can do, but a marker of his ability as a writer.' * Guardian *
'Henshaw's prose [is] luminous and crisp, like the snowy countryside of Japan or the barren lanes of Algiers, and the effect is instead trancelike. As the stories fold inside one another like poetic Russian dolls, I'm drawn closer to the heart of it all.' * Saturday Paper *
'[An] engrossing performance that will make readers glad Henshaw is back...With agile intelligence, with boldness in what he has imagined and tight control over how it is developed, Henshaw has announced triumphantly that he is no longer a ghost on the Australian literary scene, but one of its most substantial talents.' * Weekend Australian *
'An exquisitely written puzzle.' -- Jennifer Byrne * Australian Women's Weekly *
'Best comeback-after 26 years-and one of the best Australian novels of 2014.' -- Peter Pierce, Best Books of the Year * Weekend Australian *
'Henshaw's prose shimmers as his narrative becomes ever more nuanced, complex, and misleading.' * Kirkus *
`Henshaw doesn't offer the easy satisfactions of much puzzle-literature, but the many turns and shifts make for a constantly engaging read...An interesting, engaging work...Fascinating.' * Complete Review *