In the first–ever parody of one of the best–selling novels of all time, a nasty murder points to lots of sinister and important mysteries that will change the world. Why, for example, did the dead man leave so many bafflingly inane clues when a Post-it™ note would have done? Why does our code–breaking hero know so much useless stuff, and why is he usually wrong about it anyway? And what’s the truth behind that frightfully sinister symbol, the publishers ’ circle? The one that claims a thriller of such power will come along that it will render all books pointless…

The Asti Spumante Code is that book. Rather to its own surprise, it is also a literate, fast–paced thriller about secrecy, revenge, storytelling, love, landscape, and memory.and lots of other things that crop up. And it charts new territory for the conspiracy thriller. For, extraordinarily, it does not feature Leonardo da Vinci…