The fourth psychological thriller from Michael Marshall Smith (writing under his truncated pseudonym) is a departure from his Straw Men universe. Its a Seattle based thriller which deceptively begins as a genre piece, goes on to transcend genre conventions and eventually develops into a dark rumination on identity, relationships, paths not taken and the nature of ourselves. Marshall Smith's usual themes, concerns and metaphors are present but have been refined to the point of grand eloquence and this time around have been coupled with a use of imagery which puts this on a par with so-called literary fiction: architecture becomes symbolic of the human psyche and old unrepaired radios haunt living spaces like the regrets that we all carry with us. I can't really describe the plot without blowing it, suffice to say, you need to experience it for yourself and I highly recommend that you do. Whether writing as Marshall or Marshall Smith, this is a novelist who has always been way ahead in his field and he only gets better with every book. If you haven't experienced him in either incarnation, you've missed a treat and this novel is a perfect place to begin familiarising yourself with his work
The fourth psychological thriller from Michael Marshall Smith (writing under his truncated pseudonym) is a departure from his Straw Men universe