The Nervous System

In Larson’s near-future crime debut, The Dewey Decimal System (2011), the eponymous hero, a former soldier once subjected to experimental enhancements that left him with a fragmented memory, tried to restore order to the New York Public Library in a city decimated by terrorist attacks. In this frenetic follow-up, Decimal busies himself retrieving and hiding files of sensitive information from the office of his former boss, DA Daniel Rosenblatt, who’s been dead for six weeks. “I should know. I shot the man myself,” Decimal admits. U.S. Sen. Clarence Howard, apparently unaware Rosenblatt is dead, threatens Decimal into trying to locate Rosenblatt. Seeking leverage, Decimal finds it in a photo of Howard with a Korean prostitute. Decimal’s frantic attempt to learn the girl’s fate leads him into hostile Korean and Chinese enclaves as well as battles with troops and police in Howard’s employ. Larson’s vividly imagined world and his quirky narrator are likely to win him a cadre of loyal fans. (July)