How many books had she written before this one?
 Pessl burst onto the scene in 2006 with "Special Topics in Calamity Physics." She received a six-figure advance, almost unheard of for a first-time author, a ton of hype and even some snarky backlash over her photogenic looks. But the book lived up to expectations, selling some 200,000 copies and landing on The New York Times' list of Best Books of 2006. 
 