Cahokia Jazz: From the prizewinning author of Golden Hill ‘the best book of the century’ Richard Osman

Francis Spufford

'Utterly immersive' Spectator
'Thrilling' Financial Times
'Unlike anything else you will read this year' Daily Express
'A classic of alternative history' Observer
'A delight' Sunday Telegraph

A Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman and Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year

A thrilling tale of murder and mystery in a city where history has run a little differently -- from the bestselling author of Golden Hill.

In a city that never was, in an America that never was, on a snowy night at the end of winter, two detectives find a body on the roof of a skyscraper.

It's 1922, and Americans are drinking in speakeasies, dancing to jazz, stepping quickly to the tempo of modern times. But in this 1922, things are a little different. Beside the Mississippi, the ancient city of Cahokia lives on - a teeming industrial metropolis, containing every race and creed. Among them, peace holds. Just about. But that body on the roof is about to spark off a week that will spill the city's secrets, and bring it, against a soundtrack of wailing clarinets and gunfire, either to destruction or rebirth.

The multiple-award-winning Francis Spufford returns, with a lovingly created, richly pleasure-giving, epically scaled tale set in the golden age of wicked entertainments.

What readers are saying:

***** 'A marvellous, atmospheric, beautifully written and gripping read that dares to hope, amidst a background of bleak darkness and the pulsing joy of jazz, that I recommend highly.'

***** 'Original, imaginative, thought provoking, engrossing, engaging and beautifully written with characters who are credible and engaging. What more is there to ask for from a master at the top of his game. I enjoyed this as much as Golden Hill, which is praise indeed.'

***** 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union is an obvious point of comparison; I also got echoes of James Ellroy, though with more light in the darkness, or maybe just a greater readiness to forgive humanity's failings. There's perhaps a dash of Earthly Powers too, and at least one nod to The Leopard; exalted company, to be sure, but Cahokia Jazz can hold its head high among them.'