Douglas Glover's raucous first novel was a finalist for the
Books in Canada
First Novel Award and sold out its first and only print run in just one month. Now mystery fans and readers of literary fiction alike can once again enjoy this witty post-modern detective tale by the author of
Elle
.
The eponymous central character in
Precious
is a boozy, burned-out reporter with an embarrassing nickname and a penchant for getting into trouble. After three failed marriages and a humiliating stint in a Greek jail, he will do anything for the quiet life. A job as woman's page editor for the Ockenden
Star-Leader
seems like just the ticket — that is, until town gossip Rose Oxley winds up dead with a pair of scissors lodged in her chest.
Suddenly Precious finds himself embroiled in a hilariously over-the-top murder mystery, brimming with delicious satire about the newspaper business and culminating in a characteristically outrageous Gloverian showdown with firearms, snowmobiles, and booze. Inviting comparisons with the novels of Jasper Fforde and Ross MacDonald,
deftly combines an ingenious literary parody with the plot of a richly satisfying mystery.