Two Truths and a Lie

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“A masterpiece of shifting memory with twist after twist you’ll never see coming. Sci-fi at its absolute best.”
—Peter Clines, New York Times bestselling author of Paradox Bound and The Broken Room

“Boldly inventive, peppered with breakneck action and a blend of speculative wonder and humor, Cory O’Brien’s Two Truths and a Lie packs an unforgettable punch. Utilizing the vehicle of a thrilling, emotional, often hilarious cyberpunk detective story, it pokes at the delicate line between memory and truth, ultimately wondering whether there is even a difference. The result is ambitious, masterful, and hugely entertaining.”
—Jinwoo Chong, author of Flux and I Leave it Up to You

“Two Truths and a Lie hit me square in the sweet spot: a propulsive story and crazy cool tech mixed with healthy doses of noir, humor, and romance. But it’s more than that, too: a meditation on the amorphous and delicate nature of memory. Don’t sleep on this knockout of a debut.”
—Rob Hart, author of Assassins Anonymous

“It’s hard to believe this is Cory O’Brien’s debut, given the sophisticated plotting and world-weary tone—Two Truths and a Lie already feels bound to be a classic. O’Brien channels the spirit of Hammett and Chandler in his futuristic ode to Chinatown and The Long Goodbye. . . . The conclusion is logical, devastating, and necessary.”
—Molly Odintz, CrimeReads

“Two Truths and a Lie is a compulsively readable debut novel, an intricately plotted cyberpunk-noir mystery that takes the idea that information is currency to hilarious and shocking extremes.”
—Dexter Palmer, author of Version Control

“A stunning achievement, Two Truths and a Lie is many things at once: a hilarious satire, a gripping thriller, a meditation on memory and identity, and a love story that will have you wiping tears from your eyes, all set in a carnivalesque future where the darkest dreams of capitalism have come true. Like other great comic novelists—Thomas Pynchon, Rachel Yoder, Charles Yu—Cory O’Brien balances humor and pathos to marvelous effect, a literary magician who can do almost anything on the page.”
—Scott Guild, author of Plastic

“O’Brien’s imagination has the raw power to go toe-to-toe with Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick. This hardboiled cyberpunk gem is packed with dark wonders at every turn.”
—Daniel Hornsby, author of Sucker

“O’Brien’s . . . fiction debut is a highly intriguing vision of the near future that examines the role of memory in a functional aspect, which also underscores the utility of forgetting: ‘Funes the Memorious’ by Jorge Luis Borges meets Total Recall by Philip K. Dick, with a wry narration that balances the grim reality.”
—Henry Bankhead, Library Journal (starred review, Debut of the Month)

“Ross McDonald meets William Gibson in this superb cyberpunk mystery. . . . The noir narrative is cyberpunk perfect.”
—Don Vicha, Booklist (starred review)

“O’Brien keeps your head in the action with antic, lyrical wit and vivid . . . action scenes as Orr’s search for Mahoney’s killer becomes more brutally complex. It all works out in extremely weird, perversely satisfying ways.”
—Kirkus Reviews