Eureka

Description

Sex, drugs, cinema and stardom in a glorious technicolor romp through London's Swinging Sixties. 'Powered by a satisfactorily pacy plot and oiled by Quinn's effortless prose, this is a book that slips down as easily as a gin-and-it' Guardian Summer, 1967. As London shimmers in a heat haze and swoons to the sound of Sergeant Pepper, a mystery film - Eureka - is being shot by German wunderkind Reiner Werther Kloss. The screenwriter, Nat Fane, would do anything for a hit but can't see straight for all the acid he's dropping. Fledgling actress Billie Cantrip is hoping for her big break but can't find a way out of her troubled relationship with an older man. And journalist Freya Wyley wants to know why so much of what Kloss touches turns to ash in his wake.

Anthony Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1964. From 1998 to 2013 he was the film critic for the Independent. He is the author of six novels- The Rescue Man, which won the 2009 Authors' Club Best First Novel Award; Half of the Human Race; The Streets, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Walter Scott Prize; Curtain Call, which was chosen for Waterstones and Mail on Sunday Book Clubs; Freya, a Radio 2 Book Club choice, and Eureka.

In the various layers of a slick, enjoyable plot, the glossy surface finish never distracting from the messiness beneath, art reflects life and also reflects itself... There is wit and entertainment aplenty... What brings it all delightfully together is Quinn's flawless, easy-going prose. He never once puts a foot wrong... Clever, certainly, but in just the right measure. -- Peter Stanford * Observer * Powered by a satisfactorily pacy plot and oiled by Quinn's effortless prose, this is a book that slips down as easily as a gin-and-it, but larger questions lurk beneath its polished surface... Eureka... is in glorious Technicolor. -- Clare Clark * Guardian * Quinn's prose is elegant and his eye for the evocative details of social history acute as he chronicles the pleasures and perils inherent in Nat's pursuit of love and art. -- Nick Rennis * Sunday Times * A cast of wonderfully vivid characters ducks and dives its way through London's beau monde... There is something Evelyn Waugh-like about Eureka, not just it its depictions of the escapades that privilege can afford, but in the ease and seeming effortlessness of Quinn's prose... Few eras have been as well documented, but Eureka succeeds in bringing it to life in a new and hugely entertaining way. -- Simon O'Hagan * i * Anthony Quinn's growing series of period novels about London life is fast becoming one of contemporary fictions most dependable pleasures... Quinn offers sexual intrigue and a class-crossing mystery plot straddling the glitzy and grimy, all told with a rampantly infectious sense of fun. -- Anthony Cummins * Metro * Quinn's immersive approach to his historical fiction means we're soon woozy with the sounds and sights of that significant year when the Beatles changed music history, homosexuality was decriminalised and cinema was playing with our minds. -- Siobhain Murphy * The Times * Quinn isn't as big as he should be; with luck, this zesty, punchy, yet also hard-edged black comedy will give him the readership he deserves. -- Malcolm Forbes * National * A hugely entertaining read set in London's Swinging Sixties. * Bookseller * Swinging London and its inhabitants come alive under the expert touch of Anthony Quinn, who always finds the dark heart of the story. -- Sarra Manning * Red * Some of the characters in Anthony Quinn's novel have appeared in his earlier fiction. They have a richness and depth that come from his long familiarity with them and here they are placed in a tale that brilliantly evokes the febrile world of sixties London. -- Nick Rennison * BBC History Magazine *