The Superlative Man

A strangely poetic hybrid of Superman comic strip and hardboiled detective novel, Thomas's debut pays homage to pulp noir with a literary twist of lyricism and surrealism. At first glance, it's the story of city reporter Harvey Gander's attempt to expose the possible corruption of the local superhero, the Superlative Man. Ultimately, though, Gander's investigation forces him to explore the landscape of his own troubled psyche. He comes full circle to his own dark past, beginning with his parents' death in an automobile accident caused by the Superlative Man (who, flying off to make a rescue, hit their windshield). He also finds himself returning to his old flame (the mysterious Violet Hayes) and his old insecurities about his worth as a writer (at 30, he's still stuck in Section B and unable to make the leap to the more prestigious news division). Working on the suspicion that the Superlative Man not only stages his rescues but also has connections to the Sultan, a sinister drug lord under whose influence Violet has fallen, Gander wanders through a retro-1940s urban landscape, meeting up with a cast of shady characters, including Elmo Jade, a savvy veteran city reporter who plays mentor to the hapless Gander and has a suspicious ability to predict the Superlative Man's next move. With the characters speaking in near-riddles throughout, the novel provides readers with oblique clues. Sometimes the inscrutability slows the pace, but Thomas generally succeeds in maintaining suspense and a certain hallucinatory beauty. (July) FYI: A lawyer in Washington, D.C., Thomas has been, among other things, a deckhand on a Greek freighter, a steelworker in Pittsburgh, a salesman in the rag trade, an intern in a mental health clinic, a middle-school English teacher, a writer for the FBI and a shepherd.