Narrated by a fifteen‎-year‎-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes‎,‎ this dazzling novel weaves together an old‎-fashioned mystery‎,‎ a contemporary coming‎-of‎-age story‎,‎ and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions‎.‎ Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7‎,‎057‎.‎ Although gifted with a superbly logical brain‎,‎ Christopher is autistic‎.‎ Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him‎.‎ At fifteen‎,‎ Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbour’s dog Wellington impaled on a garden fork‎,‎ and he is initially blamed for the killing‎.‎ Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer‎,‎ and turns to his favourite fictional character‎,‎ the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes‎,‎ for inspiration‎.‎ But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage‎.‎ As Christopher tries to deal with the crisis within his own family‎,‎ the narrative draws readers into the workings of Christopher’s mind‎.‎ And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator‎:‎ The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotions‎.‎ The effect is dazzling‎,‎ making for one of the freshest debut in years‎:‎ a comedy‎,‎ a tearjerker‎,‎ a mystery story‎,‎ a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read‎.‎