A stunningly intense debut novel about a talented young forger who continually reinvents himself to escape the authorities. ‘I swear to God this is the best book I have read in easily five years. Easily. Maybe ten years.’ Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club Following a near fatal overdose of painkillers, Daniel Fletcher is resuscitated in a Los Angeles trauma centre and detained for psychiatric evaluation. The Evaluator must ascertain whether the patient intended to kill himself, or whether he is sane, and can walk free. What the psychiatrist doesn’t know is that ‘Daniel Fletcher’ is actually John Dolan Vincent, a talented young forger who continually changes his identity to save himself from a lifetime of incarceration. John has done such psychiatric assessments before — many, many times. He already knows the answers. He can make the Evaluator think whatever he wants him to think…Written in a wonderfully tight, taut, hypnotic prose, The Contortionist’s Handbook is a beautifully-crafted, original literary thriller that holds your attention right until the Usual Suspects-style payoff on the very last page…