The Real-Town Murders

by Adam Roberts

Overview

Alma is a private detective in a near-future England, a country desperately trying to tempt people away from the delights of Shine, the immersive successor to the internet. But most people are happy to spend their lives plugged in, and the country is decaying.

Alma's partner is ill, and has to be treated without fail every 4 hours, a task that only Alma can do. If she misses the 5 minute window her lover will die. She is one of the few not to access the Shine.

So when Alma is called to an automated car factory to be shown an impossible death and finds herself caught up in a political coup, she knows that getting too deep may leave her unable to get home.

What follows is a fast-paced Hitchcockian thriller as Alma evades arrest, digs into the conspiracy, and tries to work out how on earth a dead body appeared in the boot of a freshly-made car in a fully-automated factory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473221475
Publisher:	Orion
Publication date:	08/24/2017
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	876 KB

About the Author

Adam Roberts is commonly described as one of the UK's most important writers of SF. He is the author of numerous novels and literary parodies. He is Professor of 19th Century Literature at Royal Holloway, London University and has written a number of critical works on both SF and 19th Century poetry. He is a contributor to the SF ENCYCLOPEDIA.

Table of Contents

Part 1

1 The Body in the Boot 3

2 Madame Michelangela 10

3 Dial 'C' For Caring 24

4 Civil Digestion and its Discontents 33

5 Derp Throat 44

6 Mastema 54

7 Flight 62

8 Branch Line 70

9 Hospital 86

10 Lez the Mis 94

11 Aperio 106

12 Bang 124

Part 2

1 Consent 129

2 Alf the Sacred 143

3 Cafeteria Blues 149

4 Drive, She Said 155

5 The Kennet and the Thames 166

6 The Drones 174

7 Vertical 181

8 Not Areas 191

9 The Woman Who Sneezed in Shakespeare's Nose 198

10 Strangers on the Terrain 208

11 Topaz 213

12 The Meaning of the Ring 222

Editorial Reviews

This is witty, smart, cleverly structured and, like the master's finest films, hooks the reader from the opening moments and never lets go. Dial M for Marvelous.—STARBURST MAGAZINE

A time-travelling nerd applies Kant with lethal results in this dazzling philosophical adventure...this is really walking the literary high wire, and Roberts not only keeps his balance, he makes the spectacle compelling—The Guardian

The kind of elegantly playful fun at which Roberts, almost routinely it seems, excels.—SFX MAGAZINE

using lit-fic techniques and by not playing by the genre rules, [Roberts] rises to the challenge that Mitchell sets down—SFX

The Real-Town Murders is thoughful, clever and effortless fiction that successfully blends hardboiled noir with near-future scifi to create a rich, rewarding story. Highly recommended.—SF BOOK

The Thing Itself is evidence of Adam Roberts' inimitable brilliance.—Tor.com

A gleeful homage to future noir.—SCIFINOW

Gripping and ingenious.—CRIME TIME

I do appreciate a novel that makes me think while also entertaining me. The Thing Itself marries the two to perfection. There is so much packed within these pages and, without doubt, it's one of those memorable novels that will stand to repeated readings over the passing of time. A book of the year for me, for sure.—For Winter's Nights

The sort of chase thriller that Hitchcock used to film.—MORNING STAR

Personally, I found it deeply fascinating...The closest reference point for me was Philip K. Dick's VALIS trilogy which fits in the same general literary area but "The Thing Itself" is definitely much more fun.—Upcoming 4 Me

As ever, Roberts's use of the genre to explicate ideas - the allure of virtual reality and the consequent aff ectless society - is done with grace and economy, and what might have been a grim read is leavened by moments of irreverent black humour.—GUARDIAN

An antic collision of Agatha Christie and British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror... Smart, deliciously witty and immensely engaging, it is Roberts at his playful best.—James Bradley, author of Clade

From the Publisher