Slow River, Nicola Griffith
I've read this before, recently I grabbed it off the shelf, thinking it was a different book and found myself stuck with nothing else to read on a long flight. Luckily this held up very well to a second read. Sort of combination of speculative fiction and environmental outcry (like Stephenson's Zodiac, though I think this is a much better book). It's unfortunately been touted as gay fiction which I think does the book a disservice. Yes the main character is a lesbian, but it's not talked about in the story, it simply is as she is. Which really is how it should be in fiction and real world, not a big deal, simply accepted, right? I find it disappointing that critics and others would choose that as something to focus on in this story, because the story is so great and not really about that. Basically it's about the heir to a huge financial corporation, who gets kidnapped and ends up on the other end of the food chain. It's told in real time and series of flashbacks, which Griffith does an excellent job of not making confusing and revealing information slowly, so you figure out the mystery as the protagonist does. My only real complaint is that they never name the city the main character is in which is weird, since every other place she goes is named. It's left vague enough that it could be Scotland, Norway or Sweden and for some reason not knowing really bothered me. Otherwise, excellent, book, enjoyable read, totally recommend it.
AJAX BELL 