Price range: £4.99 through £9.99
With a new foreward from bestselling and Edgar award-winning author Jordan Harper, this reissue of the cult classic The Contortionist’s Handbook follows a talented forger who continually reinvents himself to escape the authorities. A great read for fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh.
Following a near fatal overdose of painkillers, Daniel Fletcher is resuscitated in a Los Angeles emergency room and detained for psychiatric evaluation. Through a series of questions and tests, the psychiatrist must ascertain whether the patient intended to kill himself, or whether he can walk free. What the psychiatrist doesn’t know is that ‘Daniel Fletcher’ is actually John – Johnny – Dolan Vincent, a brilliant young forger who continually changes his identity to save himself from a lifetime of incarceration. Johnny has done such assessments before – many, many times.
As he creates an elaborate bluff for the evaluator, Johnny reveals the true story of his traumatic past – a broken family, descent into the sinister world of forgers and criminals, and his one chance of salvation in the beautiful and elusive Molly. But time is running out; as his underworld clients lose patience and the psychiatrist’s net closes around him, Johnny has to negotiate the escape act of his life.
Evoking the boulevards and strip bars of 1980s LA with cinematic intensity, The Contortionist’s Handbook is a darkly hypnotic and stunningly original debut.
“One of the best books of the year. This cracking debut is packed with quirky characters that I adored. Ellett’s dialogue sparks off the page and the rural Texas setting where the county dump is a landmark is hypnotic and unceasing.”
— Carole Barrowman, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“Funny, heartfelt, and suspenseful, Ain’t Nobody Nobody is terrific from the first page to the last. Grab it.”
— Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award-winning author of the Unsub series
“(An) auspicious debut…Ellett balances the goofiness of the crimes and setting with some effective storytelling, never letting the real emotional stakes for the characters get obscured. Carl Hiassen fans will find a lot to like.”
— Publishers Weekly
“This debut novel is most notable for Ellett’s supremely witty prose and the oddball but deeply relatable characters. Readers looking for a fresh, offbeat voice in the mystery genre will find it here.”
— Library Journal
“Good plot material, and the author handles it with skill. And humor. Harper Ellett is also after a poetic affect, and she displays considerable talent.”
— Booklist
“The dark poetry of East Texas has found a new, lyrical voice in Heather Harper Ellett’s debut book, Ain’t Nobody Nobody, where the landscape is as feral and potentially deadly as the predators that inhabit it; and where love and loyalty can prove as dangerous as greed and betrayal.”
― Kathleen Kent, Edgar-nominated author of The Dime
“A gritty, well-written story with so much heart. Ellett is an exciting new voice on the mystery scene, and Ain’t Nobody Nobody is a fantastic read for those who like a straightforward mystery with flesh-and-blood characters and a strong sense of place.”
— Criminal Element
