Death and the Salesman

In an age when all the state capitals are just a Google search away, the character of traveling encyclopedia salesman Lem is charmingly nostalgic. And he's not the only bizarre character in David Liss's new novel, The Ethical Assassin, an absurd, murderous romp through Southern Florida.

Lem meets up with the titular assassin while pitching his encyclopedias to a redneck couple who get gunned down. Through amazing powers of persuasion (read: manipulation), the outlandish "ethicist" convinces Lem not to go to the police with the truth, while entangling Lem with a former conjoined twin, an ambitious police chief and a whole host of other oddities thriving in Florida's marshy underbelly.
Wed., March 1, 6:30 p.m.