There are some really interesting aspects to this book. In parts it is thrilling; in others, bewildering.
Genre-wise, it took me a while to find my bearings. It begins largely as a detective story, with everyday family interactions sitting alongside hints of something much stranger. As you read, those elements pull you in unexpected directions. The blurb offers a tantalising introduction:
Our curiosity tore reality apart.
Our tenacity pulled it back together again.
In the Overlap, everybody has a twin. A doppelganger. Identical in every way, down to the smallest atom.
Detectives Ven and Doug Viridem have made no progress in tracking down the Devourer – Greater York City’s elusive new killer. That is, until Ven discovers a witness who unexpectedly turns his life upside down in ways he could never have imagined.
What starts as a hunt for a murderer snowballs into the greatest – and most dangerous – case of Ven and Doug’s careers. Cannibals, otherworldly beasts, and rifts in reality are the least of their concerns. As secrets are uncovered, the mysteries of the Overlap begin to unfold all around them.
The brothers must find the killer before it’s too late. The fate of the world – all of the worlds – may be at stake.
Science gone wrong. Doppelgangers. That is enough to set the mind racing about what bizarre storyline might unfold. Initially, though, the focus is firmly on the detective story. It took me a while to understand the relationship between Ven and Doug, and the other pairs of twins or siblings added to my confusion. I expected these relationships to become clearer as the story progressed, but I wasn’t expecting the process to be quite so slow.
The pacing suffers a little at the start. The first third is largely devoted to the detectives’ hunt for the killer, mixed with background information and family interactions. There are thrilling moments, and as the killer’s identity gradually emerges, you are reminded that this is more than an ordinary crime novel. It is the foundation for something much grander; it simply takes a while to unfold.
The final two thirds move at a better pace, although flashbacks and lengthy passages of dialogue still interrupt the momentum in places. Some occupy entire chapters, leaving you eager for the action to resume.
The overall story is inventive and fascinating. Multiple realities are familiar territory in cinema, but I found this treatment particularly interesting: accidental discovery, gradual communication and the catastrophe that follows when worlds connect. It isn’t the easiest plot to follow, however. The slow release of information kept me both guessing and confused for much of the first two thirds. Even at the end, there were aspects I didn’t fully understand, although later books may shed more light on them.
The prose is accessible and clean. There is a slight tendency to show something and then immediately explain it, but this did not significantly detract from my enjoyment. The characters could be more distinctive, particularly the two detectives. Given that we are dealing with doppelgangers, their similarities make sense, but Ven and Doug sometimes blurred into one. Their behaviour and voices were so alike that I occasionally lost track of which was which.
As a debut novel, this is a strong entry. The premise is intriguing; the prose is readable and there is plenty to keep you guessing. Crime readers may appreciate the scene-setting and investigative focus of the first third, while science-fiction readers will find much to enjoy in the wider premise. Personally, I found the pacing frustrating, but the imagination behind the story kept me reading, and I finished the novel satisfied with its conclusion.
