How far would you go for your best friend? If she begged you to, would you kill her?
Nathan Lucius, 31, is an ad salesman at a Cape Town newspaper. Disaffected, hard-drinking and plagued by blackouts, Nathan lives alone and has only one true friend, a woman named Madge. But Madge is dying slowly of cancer, and when she asks Nathan to end her pain, she sets off a shocking string of events.
A modern-day answer to Crime and Punishment, My Name Is Nathan Lucius is a taut and unforgiving exploration of the intersection of violence, trauma, social responsibility, and memory. Stylish, intense, and unforgettable, this glittering noir gem will appeal to readers of Irvine Welsh and Chuck Palahniuk as well as fans of Thomas Harris and Dennis Lehane.
Praise for My Name Is Nathan Lucius
"Noir at its darkest, cunningly executed."
—Newsweek
“Without question one of the year's most ambitious, suspenseful, tightly controlled and expertly executed novels . . . Lucius is a Cape Town Raskolnikov . . . In a dizzyingly dazzling complication of before and after, Winkler implicates the reader as judge, jury and executioner in a wider set of criminal entanglements, both forging intense sympathy for the troubled Lucius, and forcing the reader to consider whether this disaffected man is capable of much greater, more disturbing acts of violence . . . Winkler's lean, lithe sentences ripple with allusive intensity and gritty detail.”
—LitNet, South Africa
“A meticulously crafted thriller-cum-trauma novel that explores broader themes of morality, responsibility, society and the human psyche . . . When the key revelations unfold, they are genuinely shocking . . . Winkler's novel is satisfying clever, his character and plot pithy, elusive, sharp and captivating.”
—Aerodrome, South Africa
"It is with steady confidence that Winkler builds out his protagonist's psyche in this exploration of memory, death, friendship, euthanasia, and psychological trauma."
—Mystery Scene Magazine
"The twists and turns that Winkler provides make the novel addicting from its unusual beginning to its final sentence, which is a revelation all by itself. Be prepared."
—The Book Reporter
"Winkler delivers a superb noir thriller. Readers of Chuck Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh will savor the psychological twists and turns, while aficionados of Dennis Lehane and Thomas Harris will enjoy Winkler’s exploration of the protagonist’s morality and responsibility."
—Library Journal, Starred Review
"Daring . . . If you do pick it up, clear the schedule, because you'll need to finish it before you'll be able to do anything else."
—Kingdom Books
"My Name Is Nathan Lucius is bleak, ambitious, and thought provoking, and it will find fans among lovers of both darkest noir and transgressive literary fiction."
—Booklist
"Those with a taste for the darkest of noir will be gratified."
—Publishers Weekly
