*One of The Wall Street Journal’s “25 Best Mystery Novels of the Last 25 Years”
*Edgar Award Nominee
A “hugely entertaining” (The Wall Street Journal) mystery starring “a Royal Tenenbaums-esque clan of geniuses” (Martha Stewart Living)—perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.
Days after the death of her adoptive grandfather, the mathematician Isaac Severy, Hazel Severy receives a letter. In this puzzling missive, Isaac alludes to a secretive organization that is after his final bombshell equation, and he charges Hazel with safely delivering it to a trusted colleague. But first, she must find where the equation is hidden.
While in Los Angeles for Isaac’s funeral, Hazel realizes she’s not the only one searching for his life’s work, and that the equation’s implications have potentially disastrous consequences for the extended Severy family, a group of dysfunctional geniuses unmoored by the sudden death of their patriarch.
As agents of an enigmatic company shadow Isaac’s favorite son—a theoretical physicist—and a long-lost cousin mysteriously reappears in Los Angeles, the equation slips further from Hazel’s grasp. She must unravel a series of confounding clues hidden inside one of her favorite novels, drawing her ever closer to his mathematical treasure. But when her efforts fall short, she is forced to enlist the help of those with questionable motives.
“A novel that is anything but clueless, filled with consideration and compassion” (The Washington Post), The Last Equation of Isaac Severy proves that, like Hazel, you don’t have to love math to fall under the Severy spell.
“Hugely entertaining… “The Last Equation of Isaac Severy” is full of delight. Though Ms. Jacobs’s writing has echoes of Thomas Pynchon, Nathanael West and J.D. Salinger, her terrific book displays in abundance a magic all its own.”
—Wall Street Journal
"Engaging, clever . . . .a sharp puzzle mystery, full of stimulating questions that make it impossible to stop turning the pages. . . . Isaac Severy left me with the lasting realization that mathematics is a love language. Well done, professor."
—Sophia Bush
"Clever . . . . Nova Jacobs has penned a novel that is anything but clueless, filled with consideration and compassion."
—Washington Post
"In The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, Nova Jacobs sends an endearing bookstore owner on a quest for an elusive mathematical formula--but that is only the beginning of her journey. Jacobs weaves a charming, mysterious tale about family bonds, personal ghosts, and the wondrous intersection of mathematics and art. A fun, compelling read."
—Matthew Sullivan, author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
