The House of Fame

Starred review from November 28, 2016
British author Harris’s stellar third crime novel featuring North London police detective Nick Belsey (after 2014’s Deep Shelter) combines an intriguing and surprising plot with an uncompromisingly bleak worldview that fans of Cornell Woolrich’s despairing noir fiction will relish. At one point, Belsey observes that everyone’s “sick and evil; humanity’s redeeming feature was its laziness—most people kept their malevolence in fantasies.” Belsey’s in a tough spot as the book opens—an allegation of gross misconduct has led to his suspension, and an anonymous call tips him off that the Independent Police Complaints Commission is about to lower the boom. He holes up at recently closed Hampstead police station, where Maureen Doughty, a woman needing his help, finds him. Belsey takes pity on Maureen, whose 41-year-old son, Mark, has disappeared. He accompanies her to her flat, where he finds disturbing indications of Mark’s obsession with mega pop star Amber Knight, whose upcoming wedding has sparked a media frenzy. In his search for Mark, Belsey emerges as a memorably flawed protagonist. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management.