Review of Sleeper Beach by Nick Harkaway

2024's Titanium Noir was a bit of a left field move for Nick Harkaway. But only a bit. Looking at the context, he was writing another book at the same in the George Smiley series (Karla's Choice). It made sense to test out the noir mode, or at least something similar, in a trial novel—which Titanium Noir was. This year's sequel, Sleeper Beach, however, was a complete surprise. Titanium Noir by no way ended on a wait-and-see vibe. It was self-contained, a specimen unto itself. How could Sleeper Beach continue the story?

Sleeper Beach moves forward with Cal Sounder, main character of Titanium Noir. Now a first-dose, baby-faced titan, he remains a private investigator, however, and in the opening pages is called to a Florida resort town to examine a body that has washed up on the town's washed up beach scene. The family who owns the town, the Erskines, have hired him to find out who and why. Communist plots, gangsters, and fertilizer bombs coming out of the woodwork, Sounder must navigate a load of danger as well as the load of his new, massive size to get to the bottom of the murder.

I'm not sure Harkaway's heart was in Sleeper Beach. There are occasional bits of diction that are signature Harkaway, but only occasional. The story is noir from end to end, no real twists or surprises, which in itself is not a terrible thing. But there is low energy, little spark beneath the surface. I could draw parallels to the noir of Hammet and Chandler, particularly the way which Harkaway integrates corruption, politics, and murder. But the book's undertone feels tired, like a schoolboy forced to do homework.

Which makes Sleeper Beach Titanium Noir with a new coat of paint. There is a splash or two of Harkaway's particular style. He explores the idea of being a titan from the main character's perspective, which may attract some people's attention—as superhero as it is. And there is a properly escalated murder at the core of the book. But it feels uninspired—the delivery, the scene selection, the thematic desire. Brain wandering, I struggled to finish this one.