Origin: A Novel

Lena is a fingerprint expert at a crime lab in the small city of Syracuse, New York, where winters are cold and deep. Suddenly, a series of crib deaths-indistinguishable from SIDS except for the fevered testimony of one distraught mother with connections in high places-draws the attention of the police and the national media and raises the possibility of the inconceivable: could there be a serial infant murderer on the loose?

Orphaned as a child, out of place as an adult, gifted with delicate and terrifying powers of intuition, Lena finds herself playing a critical role in the case. But then there is the mystery of her own childhood to solve. Could the improbable deaths of a half-dozen babies be somehow connected to her own improbable survival?

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Origin: A Novel

Lena is a fingerprint expert at a crime lab in the small city of Syracuse, New York, where winters are cold and deep. Suddenly, a series of crib deaths-indistinguishable from SIDS except for the fevered testimony of one distraught mother with connections in high places-draws the attention of the police and the national media and raises the possibility of the inconceivable: could there be a serial infant murderer on the loose?

Orphaned as a child, out of place as an adult, gifted with delicate and terrifying powers of intuition, Lena finds herself playing a critical role in the case. But then there is the mystery of her own childhood to solve. Could the improbable deaths of a half-dozen babies be somehow connected to her own improbable survival?

29.95 In Stock
Origin: A Novel

Origin: A Novel

by Diana Abu-Jaber

Narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers

Unabridged — 14 hours, 29 minutes

Origin: A Novel

Origin: A Novel

by Diana Abu-Jaber

Narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers

Unabridged — 14 hours, 29 minutes

Audiobook (Digital)

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Overview

Lena is a fingerprint expert at a crime lab in the small city of Syracuse, New York, where winters are cold and deep. Suddenly, a series of crib deaths-indistinguishable from SIDS except for the fevered testimony of one distraught mother with connections in high places-draws the attention of the police and the national media and raises the possibility of the inconceivable: could there be a serial infant murderer on the loose?

Orphaned as a child, out of place as an adult, gifted with delicate and terrifying powers of intuition, Lena finds herself playing a critical role in the case. But then there is the mystery of her own childhood to solve. Could the improbable deaths of a half-dozen babies be somehow connected to her own improbable survival?


Editorial Reviews

Miami Herald - Amy Driscoll

"A mystery of cold beauty and dark isolation, written with crystalline precision…haunting and compelling…It’s a little film noir, a bit independent-woman-detective thriller, and winningly fresh in its approach."

Andre Dubus III

"With prose as cool as a razor yet as wildly impressionistic as a fever dream, Diana Abu-Jaber takes us deeply into Lena Dawson and her search for a killer that must first begin in the lost forest of her own psyche. Origin is a gripping exploration of the elusive nature of identity and one’s own remembered past, the innocent and guilty alike. This is a superbly written and utterly compelling novel."

People

"Beautiful prose makes this one special."

Chicago Tribune - Jessica Treadway

"Abu-Jaber is a gifted and graceful writer, deft at evoking a scene and creating pace that almost turns the pages itself…This novel’s characters are complex and vividly drawn."

Eugene Weekly - Molly Templeton

"Origin is a haunting story, icy cold in its upstate New York setting but glowing with the unusual brightness of its heroine…What propels Lena’s story is the delicate, balanced, engrossing way Abu-Jaber perfectly intertwines Lena’s personal story with that of the case she’s investigating and sets both threads in a Syracuse so vivid you envision it without even trying."

Vanity Fair - Elissa Schappell

"[A] gripping mystery."

Anita Shreve

"A dark, noirish literary mystery with an entirely unique detective-heroine. The characters stayed with me long after I had finished the book. I’m not sure I’ve ever read anything like it, which alone is reason to celebrate."

USA Today - Olivia Barker

"From the outset, Origin makes you want to know how it all ends—and begins…Abu-Jaber certainly has her finger on the pulse of what makes a memorable thriller: smart, spare writing, strong character development and nail-nibbling suspense. Setting the story during a long, dark upstate New York winter amplifies the foreboding, elegiac tone."

Seattle Times - Adam Woog

"Riveting…Heartbreaking questions—of mothers and daughters, and of love withheld and given—lie at the heart of this thoughtful, multilayered novel."

Product Details

BN ID: 2940169690590
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date: 06/01/2007
Edition description: Unabridged
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