Anne Brooke: fiction writer

Now here's a novel of top-class magic surrealism with a touch or more of the great Murakami. I totally loved it. The off-the-wall protagonist James is a delight, with his life lived in the borderland of being awake and being asleep. I also loved the characters in the cafe, including the delightful pianist Delilah, who has her own secrets - but not necessarily the ones James thinks she might have. And the murder gives the necessary tension and forward motion to the story, without dropping into the everyday realms of the crime genre at any level, thank goodness.

It's a delight all the way through, with a perfect, and perfectly wise, ending, to boot. A classic in the making, if there's any justice in the world.