Thirty years ago, professor of mathematics Grant McAllister wrote seven perfect detective stories to demonstrate his deep understanding of the genre, but now he lives in seclusion on a remote Mediterranean island, counting the rest of his days. Ambitious editor Julia Hart comes knocking on his door, and together they must revisit those old stories: an author hiding from his past and an editor keen to understand it. But in Alex Pavesi's innovative debut, there are things in the stories that don't add up. McAllister incorporates some inconsistencies that a sharp-eyed editor begins to suspect are more than mistakes—they may be clues, and Julia finds herself with a mystery of her own to solve.

"Pavesi constructs a remarkable puzzle that turns readers into literary detectives with every new twist. Both a celebration and a reinvention of mystery fiction."—Matthew Pearl