The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A "fresh, genre-bending thriller" (Los Angeles Times) set in the near future when water is scarce and a spy, a hardened journalist and a young Texas migrant find themselves pawns in a corrupt game.

"Think Chinatown meets Mad Max." NPR, All Things Considered

In the near future, the Colorado River has dwindled to a trickle. Detective, assassin, and spy, Angel Velasquez "cuts" water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ensuring that its lush arcology developments can bloom in Las Vegas. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in Phoenix, Angel is sent south, hunting for answers that seem to evaporate as the heat index soars and the landscape becomes more and more oppressive. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist with her own agenda, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas migrant, who dreams of escaping north. As bodies begin to pile up, the three find themselves pawns in a game far bigger and more corrupt than they could have imagined, and when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only truth in the desert is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.

The Drowned Cities, Instrument of War, and Ship Breaker, a New York Times bestseller, are among the many works of Paolo Bacigalupi. Finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Printz Award. He's also the author of The Doubt Factory, an Edgar Award nominee; Zombie Baseball Beatdown, a story for younger readers; and The Water Knife and The Windup Girl, two blockbuster adult novels. Pump Six and Other Tales was his debut collection of short stories. With Tobias S., he co-wrote The Tangled Lands.