Part of me wants to give this book 3 stars, but each time I read it, about 10 years apart, I sat down and didn’t get up until it was finished. Is that the mark of a 3 star book? No, it’s more than that.

This book is so incredibly weird and wonderful. Reading it feels like you just watched a classic crime noir film and fell asleep during the credits and dreamt up your own. But it’s a dream so the absurd is everywhere but it makes perfect sense. Elephants out of nowhere? Sure. Sleepwalking assistants? Why not. Dreams within a dream that maybe you’re dreaming right now? That checks out.

If you feel like you’re dreaming while reading this book I think it accomplished exactly what it set out to do. That’s at least worth four stars I think. And will I remember any of the details of this book a week from now? I kinda don’t think so. And you know what? That tracks.

As for nitty gritty review stuff I’ll just say I appreciate the lack of tropes in this. A newly promoted detective? Ok…. But is he a bumbling idiot whose colossally stupid decisions end up working out the best in the end anyway? ……no. Our main character is certainly out of his element and he doesn’t want the job in the first place, but he recognizes immediately if he wants to stay alive he had better use his brain even if it isn’t trained in the arts of detection. Is there a female character? Yes, several. Are the blank personality femme fatales? No, they contribute greatly to the plot through their own interests and motivations which all vary greatly from each other.

I had to look up a lot of words in this book which I actually enjoy. I could tell based on the context what they essentially meant but I love learning new vocabulary. The one thing I was already familiar with was the hurdy-gurdy. Thanks, Brian David Gilbert, for that one!

I say if you’re even the least bit curious about it, read this book. It’ll be a one of a kind experience for sure.