In another fantasy-thriller meld from Arthur C. Clarke Award recipient Beukes, Detroit detective Gabriella Versado is unsettled by the discovery of a body that is half-boy and half-deer.

Beukes (The Shining Girls) has fashioned Detroit into her own unique, dark dreamscape in this supernaturally charged thriller. In it, the torso of a young boy has been found fused to the hindquarters of a tiny deer, and Det. Gabriella Versado is under intense pressure to find the culprit. Gabi has no way of knowing that she's dealing with something more than human, and the case consumes her, even as it alienates her from her conflicted teenage daughter, Layla. Meanwhile, Jonno Haim is looking for the next big story, and the Detroit Monster may be his ticket to the spotlight. But the cost of Internet fame could be more than he's willing to pay, and Thomas Keene (aka TK), a homeless man, tries to protect his friends against a threat that seeks to transform the city to fit its own unearthly vision. VERDICT Detroit could easily be called the city of broken dreams, but in this highly atmospheric novel, Beukes sketches a metropolis full of hope and vigor, in spite of a monster roaming its streets. A powerful look at our fascination with social media and the transformative power of art and imagination round out this genre-defying chiller's captivating and terrifying narrative. [See Prepub Alert, 3/24/14; also highlighted in "Books for the Masses," Editors' BEA Picks, LJ 7/14, p. 31.]—Kristin Centorcelli, Denton, TX

Against the decaying backdrop of present-day Detroit, a series of horrific crimes appear to be the work of a twisted serial killer. But layered onto the story is a cynical look at the future of journalism and a big dollop of the supernatural. Beukes is a hugely inventive author, never afraid to borrow from whatever genre gets the job done. (LJ 7/14)