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Book Cover for: Breakfall, Zhanna Slor

Breakfall

Zhanna Slor

One wrong decision. One death. One missing person. One clear suspect. From the acclaimed author of At the End of the World, Turn Left comes a riveting novel of domestic suspense, sexual desire, motherhood, and marriage in modern times.

Mina Banksy, a 32-year-old writer and mother of a rambunctious toddler, is still reeling from a tumultuous divorce when two Chicago detectives show up at her door looking for her friend, Dylan. Or, more accurately, the van that she allowed him to register in her name, because Dylan, a friend from her former Jiu Jitsu gym, is a recovered addict and convicted felon. The van quickly becomes the least of her problems, as Dylan, too, is nowhere to be found. His disappearance triggers a series of events that turn everyone at the close-knit gym into suspects or potential victims, and somehow all roads lead back to Mina Banksy, and the scandal that forced her to leave the gym in the first place.

Part unconventional romance and part murder mystery, set inside the eclectic subculture of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Zhanna Slor has cemented herself as one of the most original voices in contemporary fiction, and Breakfall with have you up all night turning the pages until the electric end.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Agora Books
  • Publish Date: Apr 25th, 2023
  • Pages: 278
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.60in - 5.70in - 1.20in - 1.05lb
  • EAN: 9781957957050
  • Categories: Thrillers - DomesticThrillers - Suspense

About the Author

Slor, Zhanna: - Zhanna Slor was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to the Midwest in the early 1990s. She has been published in many literary magazines, including Ninth Letter, Another Chicago Magazine, and Michigan Quarterly Review, as well as contributing to the popular news publication The Forward. Her debut novel, AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT, was named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Crime Debuts" of the last year, and by CrimeReads as one of the "Ten Great Novels to Read This April." She lives in Milwaukee with her young daughter. Find her online at zhannaslor.com and on Twitter at @SlorZhanna

Praise for this book

PRAISE FOR AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT


NOTABLE MENTION "THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR; CRIME FICTION 2021" BY CRIMEREADS

ONE OF THE "BEST NEW BOOKS" BY BOOKLIST

ONE OF THE "10 NOVELS YOU SHOULD READ THIS APRIL" BY CRIMEREADS

ONE OF THE "SEVEN DEBUT NOVELS YOU SHOULD READ THIS MONTH" BY CRIMEREADS

"It's rare to find a debut mystery crafted with such elegance and authenticity."--NPR

"This wonderful debut is a match for patrons who enjoyed Zadie Smith's White Teeth (2000) or Rachel Zhong's Goodbye, Vitamin (2017). It's also a must for anyone who has ever had a needy Grandma who anticipates death every morning (this character alone is worth the read)."--Booklist (Starred)

"Few novels can be suspenseful, funny, and thought-provoking all at once, but Slor's has all of these qualities and more. Particularly as a debut work, AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT is a feat."--Jewish Book Council

"Slor's elegantly written and thought-provoking debut keeps the suspense high in this unconventional detective story, using her characters' musings on language and perception to enrich readers' understanding of how and why events unfold as they do. Those looking for an intricately textured tale of family relationships will be rewarded."--Publisher's Weekly

"Slor's debut is a powerful story of identity and longing. Masha's journey back toward her sister is moving and subtly haunting."--CrimeReads

"An intoxicating fever dream of a book, At the End of the World Turn Left subverts the mystery genre in surprising ways and gives us the mysteries of real life instead: the incommunicable nature of the past, the confines of family, the gulfs love must try to cover between us. A beautiful, joyful read." -- Rufi Thorpe, author of THE KNOCKOUT QUEEN, DEAR FANG WITH LOVE, and THE GIRLS OF CORONA DEL MAR

"It's the particulars of AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT that set it apart. Slor perfectly captures the neighborhood's sights, sounds, and smells, all the while struggling with what it all means."--Milwaukee Record

"AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT is a novel about the irresistible, even destructive lure of the past."--Foreword Reviews

"Don't miss AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT--one of those gems of a novel that delivers poignant observations about life in a suspenseful page-turner. As two young sisters separately search for answers in the wonderfully offbeat neighborhood of Riverwest, Milwaukee, torn in different directions by a fascinating crew of locals the reader is taken on a heart-thumping ride that explores all the important relationships that make up our lives: our relationship to our siblings, parents, friends, country, heritage, and, lastly, to ourselves, that is the person we used to be and the one we hope to become."--Jessamyn Hope, author of SAFEKEEPING

"Slor's brilliant exploration of the nature of freedom is a quintessential first generation American story told with great humor, grit, wisdom, and compassion."--Anne Raeff, author of WINTER KEPT US WARM and ONLY THE RIVER

"[The] love-hate relationship with Milwaukee is the foundation of Zhanna Slor's April 2021 debut novel AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT. Slor's novel is a combination of a mystery and self-exploration novel. It centers on the lives of two sisters who have both immigrated from the former USSR but have different approaches to what they define as home."--Milwaukee Independent

"Zhanna Slor has written a stellar debut novel of literary suspense which is also an engrossing coming-of-age story focusing on two sisters who emigrated as children from Ukraine to Milwaukee. Slor insightfully examines their experiences as young women who must confront the contradictions they find in themselves, in America, and in their parents, who both want their daughters to live as they are told to rather than find their own way in the world. This is a debut of many felicities, much heart, and more than a few comic moments. It was a true pleasure to read." --Christine Sneed, author of LITTLE KNOWN FACTS and PARIS, HE SAID

"A story about young men and women dealing with the challenges of life and making decisions, not always the best decisions and dealing with family and sometimes the ache of lost culture associations."--Riverwest Currents

"At the End of the World, Turn Left is an exploration of immigrant and Jewish identity."--Shepherd Express

"BREAKFALL is a sexy and compelling slow burn, part twisted romance, part mystery - think 50 SHADES OF GREY with a murder." --Nick Petrie, author of THE RUNAWAY"A plucky heroine, a kind-of mystery, and a lot of sexual hijinks keep it interesting." --Kirkus Reviews