JOURNAL OF THE SUPERNOVA
Booklife Reviews
“Decadent apocalyptic cruise sails into a thrilling mystery”
Available October, 2025
Cover Art
The Story
The nearby star Betelgeuse is about to explode, an event whose consequences for life on Earth are uncertain. Hugo Evans, an American art historian living in London, receives an invitation from a man he has never met, reclusive artist Rothesay Ambrose Urquhart, to an “end-of-the-world” Mediterranean cruise aboard the meticulously restored prewar motor yacht Mulvane. There are twelve guests in total, all strangers to one another, and also to their host.
Early in the voyage, one of them is lost overboard. It is not clear if this was an accident, a suicide, or a murder. Another passenger, sharp-witted lawyer Oriana Welles, recruits Evans to help her investigate.
“Brace…excellently weaves many threads—the end of the world, curiosity surrounding Urquhart, the eccentricity of the voyage he hosts, the abandon that dictates most of the tour—to form a compelling narrative. Despite juggling apocalyptic anxiety, artistic rebellion, and Mediterranean decadence, Brace never loses sight of the central plot: a murder mystery set against humanity’s final days. While the world may remember the cruise for its provocative calendar, Evans and his fellow passengers will remember it for far more sinister reasons—and therein lies the heart of this captivating novel“
BOOKLIFE REVIEWS
“A beautifully restrained and cerebral mystery set against the looming backdrop of cosmic catastrophe. Brace has a controlled and confident way of writing that ensures every moment is elegant, restrained, and perfectly suited to the reflective tone of the narrative. It’s a conceptually brilliant novel from the start…[The] character work is also beautifully subtle and psychologically rich, avoiding caricature throughout and offering delightfully well-rounded, thoughtful, deep portrayals of genuine people that you can fall in love with. The narrative pacing is riveting …Dialogue interchanges sparkle with intelligence and wit, and are layered with subtext as they move the plot along naturally. With unsettling, beautiful, and quietly profound moments from start to finish, Journal of the Supernova is an engrossing story that lingers long after the final page“
INDIES TODAY
Hardcover, paperback, and eBook, 340 pages