Water of Death - Softcover

The classic noir private eye is someone whose life orbits around the violent and macabre--normality defies their raison d'être. Such is life or Quintilian Dalrymple, the blues-haunted hero of Paul Johnston's dystopian future, Water of Death.

By 2025, Britain has split into independent city-states, with Edinburgh as the "perfect city." Everything from electricity to sex is rationed and a zero-crime level has been achieved at the cost of individualism. "Quint" is a quintessential PI, whose existence is justified by sudden violence and relegated to the dregs when the effects of global warming hit Edinburgh. With water rationed, citizens are mindlessly devoted to two things: the year-round tourist festival and the weekly lottery (Grand Prize: a five-minute shower per week for a month). The mundane peace is shattered with the death of a demoted "auxiliary", or policeman, found in the Water of Leith. The only clue is a bottle of lethal contraband whisky and, as the body count rises, Quint must deal with duplicity, corruption and a ruthless conspiracy.

Johnston beautifully mixes Noir and Orwellian politics with the bonus of sly social satire: "... the Council set up a compulsory lottery last year, turning greed in to a virtue and most citizens into deluded fortune hunters." Stylish and imaginative, it's a captivating mystery with a dash of science fiction. --Danny Graydon

Praise for WATER OF DEATH
'The mixture of sardonic, occasionally vicious wit, the brilliant concept of this city of the future, and a strong plot are the mixture as before and very tasty it is' Birmingham Post

A hugely entertaining fantasy ... engagingly imagined (The Times on BODY POLITIC)

Think of Plato's Republic with a body count (The Sunday Times on BODY POLITIC)

'Johnston's future city is a dark place, even in the Big Heat of post-global warming summer. Over three novels featuring Quint Dalrymple, he has charted the political and social development of a totalitarian state struggling to find a balance. But this is never a dry treatise, for Johnston's vision is shot through with the bleakest of black humour, never losing sight of the humanity of his characters. This series is getting better all the time' Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News

'An acclaimed crime series...Johnston brings an intelligent perspective to the dark excitement of the thriller'
Nicholas Blincoe, Observer

An intricate web ... Johnston is a Fawkes among plotters ... Quint's career looks set to blossom (Observer on BODY POLITIC)

A powerful, fantastical thriller (Night and Day (The Mail on Sunday) on THE BONE YAR)

'Both prescient and illuminating'
Ian Rankin, Daily Telegraph

This is first-rate crime fiction with an original twist (Sunday Telegraph on THE BONE YARD)

'A thoroughly enjoyable tale'
Sunday Telegraph