First published 2006
Richard Jury sits alone in the Old Wine Shades, a London pub, when Harry Johnson slides into the next seat. This rich, handsome stranger spins an incredible tale across three nights. His friend Hugh Gault, a quantum physicist specializing in string theory, lost his entire family nine months ago. His wife, son, and dog vanished while house hunting in Surrey. No trace, no clues, no leads. Then the dog returned. Harry knows about quantum mechanics, the same field where Hugh excels, and he speaks of string theory's strange ideas about reality itself. Jury wonders if Harry is playing an elaborate joke or telling the truth. When Jury starts investigating, every detail checks out exactly as Harry described. The missing family, the physicist husband, the mysterious disappearance. Everything matches until they discover a body. Now Jury must determine what really happened to the Gault family and whether Harry Johnson is what he seems.
Genres: suspense, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: missing-persons, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London, Surrey
Period: Contemporary
391 pages · Paperback · Berkley