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Riverhead
June 2009
On Sale: June 2, 2009
448 pages
ISBN: 1594483825
EAN: 9781594483820
Paperback (reprint)
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Fiction
A fresh, imaginative debut novel about a young police
officer in northern California struggling to keep the
peace—and maintain a grip on reality—in a town where the
dead outnumber the living. Colma, California, is
the only incorporated city in America where the dead
outnumber the living. The longtime cemetery for San
Francisco, it is the resting place of the likes of Joe
DiMaggio, Wyatt Earp, and aviation pioneer Lincoln Beachey.
It is also the home of Michael Mercer, a rookie cop trying
to go by the book as he struggles to navigate a new realm of
grownup relationships—including a shaky romance with an
older woman; a growing alliance with his cocky, charismatic
partner, Nick Toronto; fading college friendships; and an
aching sense of responsibility for a local rich kid who
Mercer rescues from a dangerous prank in the
cemetery. But instead of settling comfortably into
adult life, Mercer becomes obsessed with the mysterious fate
of his predecessor in the police unit, Sergeant
Featherstone, who seems to have become confused about
whether he was policing the living or the dead. And as
Mercer delves deeper into Featherstone's story, it appears
that Mercer's own sanity is beginning to slip—either that,
or Colma's more famous residents are not resting in peace as
they should be. With all the playful sensitivity of
Haruki Murakami and the haunted atmosphere of Paul Auster,
but with a voice all his own, Doug Dorst has crafted an
irresistible, compelling debut.
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