THE DINOSAUR FEATHER is a dark and suspenseful novel revolving around a central debate in dinosaur evolution—and the story of several scientists who just might kill to settle the issue once and for all. It’s been voted Danish Crime Novel of the Decade!
This Friday, we’d like to give you the chance to read Chapter 1 of The Dinosaur Feather!
Sissel-Jo Gazan’s debut novel is a classic of Scandinavian noir, from its richly imagined and deeply flawed characters to its scintillating exploration of one of the most fascinating aspects of contemporary dinosaur and avian research.
Biology postgraduate and hopeful PhD Anna Bella Nor is just two weeks away from defending her thesis on the origin of birds when her supervisor, the arrogant and widely despised Dr. Lars Helland, is found dead in his office chair at the University of Copenhagen. In the dead man’s bloody lap is a copy of Anna’s thesis.
When the autopsy suggests that Helland may have been murdered in a fiendishly ingenious way, the brilliant but tormented young Police Superindendent Søren Marhauge begins the daunting task of unraveling the knotted skeins of interpersonal and intellectual intrigue among the scientists at the university. Unfortunately for him, everyone involved–from embittered single mom Anna Bella Nor to Marhauge’s own ex-wife, who is pregnant with her current husband’s child–has something to hide, presenting the detective with the greatest professional and personal challenge of his entire career.
Praise for The Dinosaur Feather
“Gazan’s brainy thriller…Gazan orchestrates the suspenseful action and overlapping lives of her complex characters with deceptive ease…[A] moving exploration of such broader themes as parenthood, love, and the potentially poisonous results of living with lies.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The asides-the dissemination of DNA, the structure of dinosaur skulls-prove as intriguing as the central mystery. A top-flight thriller that’s poisonous, smart and outrageously entertaining.” —Christopher Fowler,Financial Times
“Intelligently plotted and psychologically believable.” —Marcel Berlins, The Times
“Imaginative…a book with an independent, capable female lead, and one in which scientific research is central.” —Maxine Clark, Eurocrime