Fata Morgana
A police thriller set in the glitter of 19th century Paris where people of fashion line up to have their fortunes told with mysterious accuracy.
WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING
“Kotzwinkle’s lyrical star twinkles — ultraviolet and infrared — above Second Empire Paris... whimsical, delicately ghoulish, and genuinely erotic... with a double whammy dénouement.”
“Kotzwinkle knows that mysteries are the most satisfying of books. Inspector Picard follows the trail of the gypsy Lazare, and the elements which emerge from the fraudulent glitter of Paris — the tarot cards, the jeweled gowns trailing in the filth of the Paris streets — fall magically together. The chase... is perfect.”
“Gaudy, decadent, smoothly polished, this beguiling novel is... a feat of stage magic, well-versed and well performed by a fine craftsman.”
“Kotzwinkle is the magician... creating police Inspector Picard and working a wondrous spell over the reader... Kotzwinkle manipulates reality... to reveal uncanny, terrifying glimpses of the world unseen... The revelation of his archvillain’s true identity continues to absorb and surprise the reader chapter after chapter.”
“Pure magic. The mystery turns on the convoluted history of an old master toy maker who makes his toys with such skill that they have lives of their own. It would be advisable to sit down while reading what the toys finally do.”
“Detective story and fairytale that entertains from start to finish.”
“Alternately dark and glittering... a first rate vaudeville turn, a comedic mask lightly stretched over enigmatic questions... a witty sendup of the detective story, an intriguing meditation on illusion and the conjurer’s art, an antic fantasy done with a richness of invention that doffs a hat to Dickens... Inspector Picard’s quest takes him across a vividly imagined Europe, a continent of the mind, peopled with wonderfully baroque characters. The illusion, in all its myriad forms abounds. Everywhere there are magical happenings... and everywhere, there is the magic wrought by Kotzwinkle himself.”
“A magical mystery tour. Kotzwinkle is the conjurer who winks us, blinks us back to the realm of childhood wonder.”
“Paris, 1861, a time of fortune making, petty princes and Great Whores... Kotzwinkle has re-created the era and enhanced it with an aura of mystery where things are not quite what they seem, where life-and-death are perhaps just a Fata Morgana. An engrossing and enchanting work... a splendid achievement.”
“Wit, cleverness, daring invention... a rare treat.”
“Elegant entertainment.”