The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
Diving into a really good debut novel is one of my favorite experiences as a reader. Sure, there’s excitement when a tried and true favorite puts out the novel he’s been working on for years, but there’s an unparalleled feeling of discovery when you realize that a person you’ve never heard of is actually very good. And, even better, there’s (hopefully) more to come.
That’s the way I feel about Jedediah Berry. His first novel, The Manual of Detection, is a gripping read. Part noir, part magical realism, it’s both creepy and fun, and that’s not an easy balance to strike.
Charles Unwin is a clerk at The Agency, a Kafkaesque bureaucracy that solves mysteries and protects the public in an unnamed city reminiscent of New York or London. Although he’s happy with his low-level job, Unwin reports to work one day to find that he’s been promoted to detective—a job full of danger, guns and fedoras, none of which he has any interest in. To his dismay, the only people that can explain why he’s now a detective are either missing or dead. Wearing his bowler cap and armed only with his umbrella and a standard-issue copy of The Manual of Detection, Unwin must track down the legendary (and missing) detective Travis Sivart if he’s ever to return to his job as a clerk.
The pithy quotes from Unwin’s copy of The Manual of Detection that begin each chapter are fun, as is seeing our would-be detective’s attempts to follow in the footsteps of the great Detective Sivart. But there are more forces at work than Unwin can know, and his carefully ordered world is soon turned completely upside down. Unwin finds evidence that many of Sivart’s most famous cases, including “The Three Deaths of Colonel Baker” and “The Man Who Stole November 12th,” were solved incorrectly. Even worse, Enoch Hoffman, Sivart’s arch-nemesis, may be at it again, controlling the city’s populace through their dreams.
Berry’s setting alone is reason to read this novel. Charles Unwin’s forays into the city present us with a gloriously intricate portrait of a place where rain drenches the streets constantly, villains from the Travels-No-More Carnival drive around in a steam-powered truck and phonographs are all the rage. But even with these differences from our own world, we know this city, and the surreal touches are perfectly placed to keep us on our toes and always wanting more. There’s a mastery of language and setting here that is thrilling—especially considering that this is Berry’s first novel.
Whether you consider yourself a mystery lover, a science fiction/fantasy nerd, an expert of magical realism or a literary snob, you will love this book. The Manual of Detection is a great work of debut fiction, and one that I think will make Jedediah Berry an author to watch for devoted fans of every genre.
BookPeople 