The Stars Turned Inside Out: A Novel

Summary

“Many and wondrous are the charms of this witty, suspenseful, and enchanting book.” —The Wall Street Journal

A suspicious death at a renowned Swiss laboratory raises unnerving questions in this “science-based thriller that fuses physics and philosophy in mind-bending ways” (Booklist)—from the Edgar Award–nominated author Nova Jacobs.

Deep beneath the ground outside of Geneva, where CERN’s Large Hadron Collider smashes subatomic particles at breathtaking speeds, a shocking discovery is made when the tunnel is down for maintenance: the body of Howard Anderby, a brilliant and recently arrived young physicist. But security shows no evidence of him entering the tunnel.

Eager to keep the death under wraps until more is known, CERN brings in private investigator Sabine Leroux, who has her own ties to the lab’s administration—and more than a passing interest in particle physics. Meanwhile, Howard’s colleague and budding love interest Eve, shattered by his death, determines to reconcile what she knew of Howard with his gruesome fate.

“Science, love, greed, and betrayal collide in a tense read that never loses its deliciously eerie edge” (Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal) as Sabine digs into petty academic rivalries and personal secrets. At the same time, an escalating international physics arms race heightens tensions and fuels speculation of a mole at the lab—throwing loyalties into question and revealing what sort of knowledge may be worth killing for.