COMPLICATION

An intricate, bold, literary thriller with dark histories and wild secrets set in contemporary Prague.

A serial killer with a penchant for severed hands. A watch that runs backward and forward at the same time. An Eastern European gangster known only as Rumplestiltskin. The Nazi invasion of Prague, Soviet-era Czech secret police, 16th century alchemy and black magic. Mild-mannered American Lee Holloway never thought any of these would intrude upon his ordinary life.

But that was before he received a mysterious letter from a woman named Vera, a cryptic missive implying Lee's estranged brother Paul, who disappeared years ago in Prague, was actually murdered in an attempt to steal The Rudolf Complication, a priceless watch commissioned by the eccentric Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, rumored to hold the power of eternal life. When Lee goes to Prague to investigate, his involvement with the enigmatic Vera, as well as the guidance offered from a mysterious travel book, triggers a series of violent and bizarre events that force Lee to confront disturbing truths about his brother as well as himself. Unless Lee can reconstruct the final hours of his brother's life, and separate truth from myth in this haunted city, he might not get out of Prague alive.

Complication is a twisted, mind-bending, contemporary thrill ride in the spirit of such mind-bending narratives as House of Leaves and Memento set in the dark heart of Europe, a place where old ghosts and ancient legends still walk the streets.

Isaac Adamson is the author of Tokyo Suckerpunch and other books in the Billy Chaka mystery series. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two children. He doesn't own a watch. Tokyo Suckerpunch was a highly illustrated book, part of a mystery series that HarperCollins published in the US, in 2000. Hokkaido Popsicle and Dreaming Pachinko were the next two book, in 2002 and 2003 respectively. There is a feature film version of this book in development, starring Tobey Maguire for Sony Entertainment.