Winner of the 40th Annual 3-Day Novel Writing Contest!

If faced with reincarnation, would you want to come back as a dog, an eagle, a plant? Most poison ivy is reincarnated ivy. You can see the complexity of second lives, the intrepid narrator-detective declares. For those yet reincarnated, devotion can become muddled. And as the characters in The Second Detective learn, you can't fight the universe and regret is terrible company.

The Second Detective is a deliriously entertaining reimagining of the hard-boiled detective novel, featuring a mysterious narrator, a missing husband, and a lascivious mountain goat with interspecies interests. Aging beauty Lilah walks into the narrator's office with a photo of Babe Ruth, a story about a sketchy reincarnation plan, and the hope of finding her husband Glen. Despite misgivings, the narrator takes on her case and soon the two are galloping headfirst into gorgons, contraband blood and villainous brothers, with a sideways trip to the zoo.

There are two things you need to know: Every action is a choice that tells you something more, unless it means nothing at all.

Meghan Austin and Shannon Mullally met while earning their Masters of Fine Arts in writing at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Love Block is their first novel. Austin lives in Portland, Oregon, and Mullally lives in Chicago.

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