sleuthing, shamus. The writer begins to take on the detective’s identity, losing himself in a real-life sleuthing job of his own while descending into madness.

 

“City of Glass” is the story of a mystery writer who is reeling from personal loss — an ever-present theme in Mr. Auster’s work — and who, through a wrong number, is mistaken for a private detective named, yes, Paul Auster. The writer begins to take on the detective’s identity, losing himself in a real-life sleuthing job of his own while descending into madness.

In some ways the book was a classic shamus tale. But Mr. Auster chafed at being limited by genre. “You could also say ‘Crime and Punishment’ is a detective story, I suppose,” he said in his 2017 book, “A Life in Words,” a self-analysis of his own work.

a detective

noun. , Slang. , plural sha·mus·es. a detective. a police officer.

sleuthing

/ˈsl(j)uːθɪŋ/

noun

1. careful investigation into a crime or mystery.

   "the truth behind Joe's predicament is uncovered only after much sleuthing"