Countdown City: The Last Policeman Book II [Paperback]

“A genre-defying blend of crime writing and science fiction.”—Alexandra Alter, The New York Times

Detective Hank Palace returns in the second in the speculative mystery trilogy set on the brink of the apocalypse and winner of the 2014 Philip K. Dick Award.
 
There are just 77 days before a deadly asteroid collides with Earth, and Detective Palace is out of a job. With the Concord police force operating under the auspices of the U.S. Justice Department, Hank's days of solving crimes are over...until a woman from his past begs for help finding her missing husband.
 
Brett Cavatone disappeared without a trace—an easy feat in a world with no phones, no cars, and no way to tell whether someone’s gone “bucket list” or justgone. With society falling to shambles, Hank pieces together what few clues he can, on a search that leads him from a college-campus-turned-anarchist-encampment to a crumbling coastal landscape where anti-immigrant militia fend off “impact zone” refugees.
 
Countdown Citypresents another fascinating mystery set on brink of an apocalypse--and once again, Hank Palace confronts questions way beyond whodunit. What do we as human beings owe to one another? And what does it mean to be civilized when civilization is collapsing all around you?“I always appreciate novels that have new and interesting approaches to traditional genres, and Ben H. Winters’ two novels featuring Hank Palace fill the bill.”—Nancy Pearl, NPR
 
“Winters is brilliant in conveying the ways in which people look for their best impulses but often end up as the victims of other people’s most base instincts.”—Toronto Star
 
“Don’t miss this series!”—Sci Fi Magazine

“Winters is a deft storyteller who moves his novel effortlessly from itsl3œ