W. M. Akers is the author of Westside, an award-winning playwright, and the creator of the bestselling games Deadball: Baseball with Dice and Comrades: A Revolutionary RPG. He lives in Philadelphia.
The Alienist meets The City & The City in this brilliant debut that mixes fantasy and mystery. Gilda Carr's `tiny mysteries' pack a giant punch. -- David Morrell, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>Murder As a Fine Art</em> [In] W.M. Akers's superb debut, Westside, ...his research is excellent...his prose sharply crystalline. -- New York Times A fascinating, delightfully twisty mystery. Westside crosses prohibition-era New York with the dark strangeness of Neverwhere. Fierce young detective Gilda Carr makes you believe that small mysteries hold the answers to everything. -- Erika Swyler, bestselling author of <em>The Book of Speculation </em>and <em>Light from Other Stars</em> Akers' debut novel is an addictively readable fusion of mystery, dark fantasy, alternate history, and existential horror...It's like a literary shot of Prohibition-era rotgut moonshine-bracing, quite possibly hallucination-inducing, and unlike anything you've ever experienced before...The illegitimate love child of Algernon Blackwood and Raymond Chandler. -- <em>Kirkus Reviews</em> <strong>(starred review)</strong> A cast of meticulously developed and memorable characters as well as strong worldbuilding and atmospherics...Fans of genre-bending fiction will relish this inventive mix of mystery and the paranormal. -- <em>Publishers Weekly</em> Full of action and colorful characters, this genre mash-up is expertly done and will be enjoyed by fans of mysteries and fantasy alike. -- Booklist <strong>(starred review)</strong> Akers' hugely enjoyable debut marries inventive alt-history with truly strange magic and a protagonist you won't soon forget. -- B&N Sci Fi & Fantasy Blog