Author:Juli Zeh,Christine Lo
Sebastian and Oskar have been friends since their days studying physics at university, when both were considered future Nobel Prize candidates. But after their graduation, their lives took very different paths; while Oskar holds a prestigious research post in Geneva, Sebastian worries that he hasn't lived up to his intellectual promise, having chosen marriage and fatherhood as an exit strategy.
A few days after a particularly heated argument between the two men, Sebastian leaves his son sleeping in the back seat while he goes into a service station. When he returns, the car has disappeared without trace. His phone rings and a voice informs him that in order to get his son back he must kill a man. As Sebastian's life unravels, the only person he can safely reach out to is Oskar...
A compelling novel, thrilling yet profound...This book makes for a wonderful read, gripping until the last page. A masterpiece!
—— Financial Times DeutschlandA thrilling read as well as a terrific mental workout
—— Laura Wilson , GuardianAn intelligent an beautifully crafted existential thriller ... Zeh's lyricism and intellect lend the book a depth often lacking in mainstream thrillers
—— Big IssueA clever and truly entertaining read
—— The IndependentZeh constructs an impressive matrix of information for each of her key players and provides descriptions that are vivid and original ... Her often unexpected imagery is precise and pithy ... this philosophical thriller is well paced; one turns the pages impatient for the denouement
—— Times Literary SupplementDark Matter by Juli Zeh - a much-acclaimed German writer - is the kind of crime novel often described as philosophical, literary, psychological or even intellectual...That is no bad thing, but only if well executed, as Dark Matter undoubtedly is...Unusual and intriguing
—— Marcel Berlins , The TimesOne might think that such perfection, such erudition must leave the reader untouched...but it does not. For that, Zeh's labyrinth is built too cleverly, its corridors are adorned with witty elements, her sentences are of extraordinary brilliance
—— Die WeltA compulsive read ... ingenious and deftly-handled
—— New HumanistIt is certainly the best novel I've read so far this year, and should mark Zeh as one of Europe's brightest younger novelists
—— Crime TimeInteresting and original novel
—— Literary ReviewClever and gripping
—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent Summer ReadsEvery chapter is taut, suspenseful, almost Hitchcock-esque. Zeh's style is fluent but also elegantly sparse... An absolute gem of a book.
—— The BookbagFrom every angle - character study, philosophical discussion or straightforward plot - it shines with crystalline intensity, and so far as one can tell, nothing is lost in the translation. Complex and supremely elegant, this is a book to relish
—— Joanna Hines , GuardianThis is a book and a half
—— Giles Broadbent , Wharf