Golden State

October 29, 2018
This disappointing postapocalyptic thriller from Edgar winner Winters (Underground Airlines) boasts an irresistible setup: in the near future, California is a sovereign state governed by absolute truth, and telling a lie can result in jail time or worse. Laszlo Ratesic, a veteran police officer whose innate ability to know when someone is lying helps him piece together unsolved crimes, investigates the death of a construction worker who fell off of a roof during a job. The seemingly accidental fatality is filled with anomalies, which leads Ratesic and the young female officer he’s mentoring to uncover a grand-scale conspiracy with staggering implications. While the story, in which every second of the populace’s lives is meticulously recorded, is tonally comparable to Orwell’s 1984, the thematic impact simply isn’t there. Some of the societal elements seem contrived, such as how every citizen must archive every single life event in a journal, and the reveal at the end is too nebulous to be completely effective. Winters’s exploration into the nature of truth will grip many readers, but this ambitious novel misses the mark. Agent: Joelle Delbourgo, Joelle Delbourgo Assoc.

Kiff VandenHeuvel's nuanced narration elevates this dystopian thriller, drawing listeners into Winters's futuristic vision of California. What is now a state has become a separate nation in which truth is revered and lying is a crime. Lazlo Ratesic is a long-serving member of the Speculative Service, which is made up of individuals who can sense--and thus police--liars. Initially, VandenHeuvel portrays Lazlo as a hard-boiled archetype: gruff, gravelly, and blunt. Yet as Lazlo, his world, and his most recent case are revealed to be increasingly complex, VandenHeuvel layers poignancy across Lazlo's rough edges and brings a childlike tenderness to his faith in the "Objectively So," making it all the more devastating when that faith is shattered. This inventive tale of disillusionment is sure to intrigue listeners. R.A.H. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

June 1, 2019

Set in a different version of Southern California, Winters's (World of Trouble) latest work features Laszlo Ratesic, a policeman who can literally detect lies under a government in which lying for any reason is a criminal offense. Laszlo is saddled with a young new partner, a recently ended marriage, a brother who died in the line of duty, and a conspiracy that may go all the way to the top. Narration by Kiff VandenHeuvel keeps listeners engrossed and the story moving. VERDICT A fun and competently written sf police drama dystopia that will keep readers turning pages. Recommended for fans of 1984, Brave New World, noir detectives, worldbuilding sf, and philosophy. ["Highly recommended for fans of dystopian fiction, especially those who enjoy classics of the genre": LJ 10/15/18 starred review of the Mulholland: Little, Brown hc.]--Tristan Boyd, Austin, TX

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.