A detective tale that is all about survival

Mona Simpson's new novel, 'Casebook” (Knopf, 317 pages, $25.95), opens with a key admission from the narrator: 'I was a snoop, but a peculiar kind. I only discovered what I most didn't want to know.”

When Miles starts eavesdropping on his mother, it's in the hope that he can figure out how to convince her to let him watch 'Survivor.” By the time his tale of youthful detecting plays out, we know that Miles, his mom, and those closest to them - including Hector, Miles' best friend and collaborator - are the true, if damaged, survivors.

The book features an interesting narrative conceit. Ahead of the first chapter is a 'Note to Customer,” in which the owner of a comics shop and publishing house introduces the main text, explaining that the book is a prequel to the authors' popular comic, 'Top Sleuths.” He tells the reader, 'It was written by one, then amended by the other, who brought it here with his Track Changes still fresh. He said he added footnotes and changed the heroine's name.”

This set-up adds a layer of complexity to what is already a fairly intricate story of children intervening in adult situations on the basis of half-understood truths. The reader, often as confused as Miles and Hector as the story unfolds, is always aware that two versions of the story are in play, even if it is difficult to suss out where they might diverge and reunite.

'Casebook” upends our usual expectations for a book starring two young amateur detectives, reminding us that sometimes the day cannot be saved, but only survived.

Rob Cline is a writer and published author, marketing director for University of Iowa's Hancher and director of literary events for New Bo Books, a division of Prairie Lights.