The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes

The Somnambulist

Jonathan Barnes

A wonderful mix of Victorian gothic and fantasy crime. Very fast, very funny and quite unbelievable (I think) and much better than its cover.

Extract
Instead he turned to Moon and said: 'You're not a man accustomed to failure.'
'True.'
'You're used to solving crimes after an hour or two in the Stacks, to unravelling riddles from your armchair, to coming up with vital insights in the arms of some misshapen girl at Puggsleys'.
Moon sounded almost afraid. 'How do you know about this?'
Cribb shrugged. 'You told me. Or rather you will.'
Parallels
  • The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas
  • The Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
  • The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters. by G W Dahlquist