The King Of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

 

When Horatio gets a call saying that his best friend, Benjamin Dane, is in trouble he packs his bags and heads from London to New York.  The two met in college and have been best friends since although Horatio wishes that there could be more.  Benjamin's father has died a month or so ago and Benjamin is not dealing well with the blow.  He is a fragile sort at best and the ending of his relationship with his fiancee, Lia, had almost done him in.  Benjamin had an uneasy relationship with his father and when he finds out that his mother has married his father's brother within weeks of the death, it all becomes more than he can handle.

When Horatio gets to New York, he finds Benjamin in a bad way.  But he manages to get him to pull things together a bit.  But Benjamin has an idea that he can't let go.  He believes rather than his father having overdosed on purpose that he has instead been murdered.  But who would have done it?  His uncle, now stepfather?  Paul, who was his father's right hand man and Lia's father?  His mother?  A business rival?  Benjamin is determined to find out the truth and a gala given at the theatre his father started is his stalking ground for the killer.  Can he determine the truth?

This is a masterful novel.  It is obviously a retelling of Hamlet in modern times and what a retelling it is.  The characters are fully developed and each is intriguing.  The reimagining of the main character discovering his queer roots gives a new depth to the story.  The three witches are imagined as having  a New Orleans background and there is a figure that brings chaos wherever he appears.  The writing is fantastic and the pacing grabs the reader and takes them along on a terrifying ride.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.