Gun, with Occasional Music

In a not-so-distant future Oakland, where evolutionary therapy has blurred the lines between species and self-medication is rampant, Conrad Metcalf is a 'chew-toy' — a private investigator in a world regulated by the Inquisitor's Office. Money has been replaced by 'karma' and the legal system often prescribes radical biological transformations as punishment or therapy. Metcalf's latest case involves shadowing Celeste, the enigmatic wife of a prominent urologist, which soon spirals into a labyrinthine murder investigation when the doctor turns up dead. Frame-up or coincidence? Metcalf, a cynical but principled gumshoe, finds himself entangled with a host of bizarre characters: a talking rabbit, a trigger-happy kangaroo, and a mysterious woman who may hold the key to everything. As he delves deeper, navigating a landscape of drug-addled musicians, corrupt officials, and existential queries, Metcalf must confront the very nature of identity and justice in a society that has lost its grip on both. Lethem's debut is a darkly humorous, genre-bending odyssey.