TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE

Cory O'Brien's debut novel. For fans of Altered Carbon and Blake Crouch, this literary science fiction thriller is Raymond Chandler's Farewell My Lovely brought into the 22nd century. This gritty yet heartfelt mystery imagines a future where information is currency and who you are may not be all you remember.

In a near future Los Angeles, the city is barely above water and aging combat-drone veteran Orr Vue now lives a simple and small life. So, when the cops show up at his door looking for data on a murder he's not even aware he has, things get interesting for the first time in 25 years.

At first, he's happy to trade in whatever he knows about the downfall of InfoDrip's top exec for demos to buy booze and pay rent on his memory storage, but that plan goes to shit when Orr's old boyfriend, Auggie Wolf, shows up as suspect #1. Orr takes the case and suddenly finds himself the center of attention of a long list of individuals, corporations, and even a couple curious AIs, most of whom seem to want him dead. The shit we do for love, right?

Following the data trail takes Orr across the city, from the invisible homes of the uber rich, to the algae encrusted rise of Ten Town, churning up his past as he chases clues and uncovers a conspiracy that threatens Auggie's very existence. Forced to stretch his atrophied spy skills and take his illegal horde of drones out of retirement alongside his busted knees, Orr must unravel the motives of all interested parties before he loses the only person left that makes him feel his life was worth anything, or, you know, ends up dead himself.

Fast paced, funny, and full of characters you'll love to judge, TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE asks; if even your thoughts are a commodity, how do you own your own life? And can you ever really forget the things you wish you'd never done?

Cory O'Brien is the author of Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes and George Washington is Cash Money. Cory has written for numerous award-winning video games, including Monster Prom and Holovista, and designed multiple tabletop games, including Inhuman Conditions and Hand to Hand Wombat. He lives in Chicago.