Dystopian ecological mystery drenched in a Neo Noir atmosphere and set in Los Angeles, it follows a writer, Patrick who travels to Hollywood for the movie adaptation of his novel. While California is invaded by a new trendy water brand and ravaged by wildfires, Patrick encounters the secretive and weird producers, a set full of amateurs and the main actress, a troubled starlet named Cassidy.

I liked the dense, lush literary prose which read like a fever dream. The novel was written in a 3rd PoV where the characters thoughts and memories were shared but at random times which threw me off at first. I felt some monologues and descriptions could have been trimmed down because they were distracting and didn’t add anything substantial to the plot. Some characters felt superfluous. Maybe I would have preferred a more focused look on the mystery itself, and felt the ending could have been tighter especially concerning the effect of the fake water.

I did like the mystery in itself, the dread atmosphere, the weird and the strange behaviours , the present tangible threat of wildfires vs the ominous water brand that creeps into the everyday life. It’s like you realise bit by bit that something is not quite right in that world. I did like how one of Cassidy’s old tv show is used as a parallel to the mystery going in the book.

A good book despite some pacing problems for me.

Something New Under the Sun

Alexandra Kleeman