Award-winning author Tochi Onyebuchi's new standalone novel is hardboiled fantasy noir: Raymond Chandler meets P. Djèlí Clark in a postcolonial West Africa.
Fortune always leaves whatever room I walk into, which is why I don't leave my place much these days.
Veteran and private eye Boubacar doesn't need much, least of all trouble, but trouble always seems to find him. Work has dried up, and he'd rather be left alone to deal with his bills as the Harmattan rolls in to coat the city in dust, but Bouba is a down on his luck deux fois, suspended between two cultures and two worlds.
When a bleeding woman stumbles onto his doorway, only to vanish just as quickly, Bouba reluctantly finds himself enmeshed in the secrets of a city boiling on the brink of violence. The French occupiers are keen to keep the peace at any cost, and the indigenous dugulen have long been shattered into restless factions vying for a chance to reclaim their lost heritage and abilities. As each hardwon clue reveals horrifying new truths, Bouba may have to carve out parts of himself he's long kept hidden, and decide what he's willing to offer next.
From the visionary author of “Riot Baby” and “Goliath”, Harmattan Season is a gripping fantasy noir in the tradition of Chandler, Hammond, and Christie that will have you by the throat-both dryly funny and unforgettably evocative.
"Dion Graham's lilting West African accent for Boubacar, the down-on-his-luck, trouble-always-finds-him detective in this dark story of broken dreams and third-world intrigue, is nothing short of mesmerizing. Graham's noir-style tone invites the listener into the back alleys, political corruption, and heart-pounding violence of this audiobook's surreal postcolonial dystopia. Here, women can vanish without a trace, and the streets can be a child's only home. As Boubacar searches for a mysterious woman who appeared on his doorstep, every detail is penetrating, the language is raw and utterly human, the depths are haunting yet philosophical. Think of a cross between Albert Camus and Raymond Chandler. A master voice talent paired with a master storyteller--what could be better? B.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine"
