Uncorrected Proofs (A Novel)

A deliciously inventive and immersive novel for fans of Cain's Jawbone and the books of G. T. Karber: A reclusive writer dies under suspicious circumstances. His proofreader knows the truth. In this book, he has hidden 1,000 mistakes. Only those who find them will be able to piece together the secret message and solve the puzzle.

Uncorrected Proofs is filled with errors—typos, lexical and grammatical mistakes, malaprops, factual inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and omissions—a thousand infelicities of every kind. But it's not the result of poor proofreading. In fact, the Proofreader planted these errors himself, to play with readers as the incomparable Niccolò Errante once did with him.

Errante was a great, mysterious, enigmatic writer who loved no one. A select few, the Proofreader among them, had the privilege of calling him a friend. At some point in their relationship, Niccolò and his Proofreader began playing a game. Errante would send short stories purposely filled with errors, mistakes that were clues leading to a secret message. The two played this game until the famed author’s untimely death: June 3, 2025, when, after a meeting with his publisher, an inebriated Niccolò threw himself off the balcony of his home apartment.

His trusted friend knows that Errante did not commit suicide and has concealed the truth of his death in the thousand mistakes scattered throughout this book. Only the most astute who manage to find them will be able to piece together a secret message and solve the mystery of Errante’s demise. Who will accept the challenge?

Translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon