The Stars Turned Inside Out is an engaging and well written standalone thriller/SF/mystery by Nova Jacobs. Released 19th March 2024 by Simon & Schuster on their Atria imprint, it's 320 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out mid-Feb 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a science rich but entirely accessible mystery set in and around CERN (European theoretical physics lab in Switzerland where the Large Hadron Collider resides). The actual theoretical physics involved is not at all too much for general readers to process, however, the dual timeline, uneven pacing, and almost clinical descriptions might be a little more problematic.

It's a mystery, and the plot is so well engineered and set up and resolved so cleverly, that readers who enjoy cerebral puzzle mysteries will likely love it. There are integral touches of magical realism which was an interesting choice for a book about physicists, but not a deal-breaker. Generally fair play, full of a generous helping of philosophy, religious musings, society, climate, and the nature of the universe and our place in it, albeit unevenly paced.

Four stars. It would be a good selection for public library acquisition, science fiction fans, and possibly a book club discussion or buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I did like this book, and the premise was really intriguing, so I was excited to dive in. However, that excitement didn’t quite carry through the entire story. While the plot was good, it was a pretty slow read. I understand that the scientific details were meant to add authenticity, but a lot of it went over my head.

The whodunit mystery was definitely a highlight and kept me guessing with some unexpected twists. That said, I do wish the dialogue and technical jargon had been edited a bit more to keep the pace of the story moving.

#ARC #netgalley

Not sure Im smart enough to fully appreciate, but enjoyed the concept. Weird to me more people talking about this. The mystery was solid, enjoyed the characters

I absolutely loved this book. It was twisty, super smart, and the characters were complicated and relatable. I loved the setting and learning more about the ins and outs of CERN. The ending was perfectly executed.

This book was a hard one to get into. Howard, a new physicist at CERN, is found dead in a tunnel of the particle accelerator. Security cameras show no sign of him entering the tunnel. Trying to keep the death under wraps, CERN brings in a private investigator to solve the murder.

This was a very slow-moving plotline that didn't really go faster. There was also a lot of physics jargon thrown into the book that was interesting but bogged down the book a little bit. I also didn't care about the characters and their relationships as much. I thought they were flat. I expected more of a mystery and suspense throughout the novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC. The Stars Turned Inside Out is out now.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. The book didn't quite live up to the hope I had for it. Some parts were really interesting and thought provoking and others were a bit boring.

Nova Jacobs has a knack for writing mysteries that intertwine heady science and math with solving a death yet making each aspect relatable. Her first, The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, was stunning, and this, her sophomore effort, is equally gripping. A murder at the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN facility in Switzerland, a brilliant female investigator, and passions (love and science) keep the pace moving and the reveal was unexpected. Well done!

The book is a sci-fi wonder story. Between the long sterilized hallways, pages of calculations and top secret findings, the story is a ride! There is a murder, but there also is zero reason for said murder. Or so we think... the deep dark world of the physical realm is complex and vast. The team works to uncover secrets that originally was really just supposed to be from their work, but ultimately became more personal than they originally anticipated.

Would recommend for fans of…
✨ Interstellar
✨ Oppenheimer
✨ About Time

Nova Jacobs’ The Last Equation of Isaac Severy was a pre-booksta fave of mine…I have such visceral memories of reading it in my dorm room just days before I graduated college. It was like no mystery I’d ever read and I was deeply moved by how she balanced emotion with logic and I instantly knew I wanted to read more from her.

Thematically, The Stars Turned Inside Out is very similar. After a scientist is discovered in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, detectives must determine the cause as his colleagues are left to pick up the pieces. It’s a solid mystery but is also a very human story, and all of the characters, especially Eve, really came to life over the course of the story. No spoilers from me, but I thought the ending was fantastic – if you’ve read it, let’s discuss!

There is a lot of physics talk in this book and to be honest, I didn’t even understand half of it. But, I think it’s important to note that even though this may be the case, it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story. Jacobs does a good job of balancing the technical with a strong emotional throughline as well. Reading this was a lot like watching the last act of Interstellar – I didn’t understand what was going on, but I felt it deeply.

I wholeheartedly recommend both The Stars Turned Inside Out (and The Last Equation of Issac Severy) to any mystery fans that are looking for a unique and emotional spin on the genre.

The Stars Turned Inside Out is out now. Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE STARS TURNED INSIDE OUT is a story filled with scientific pursuits, murder, and love. Jacobs takes on a subject that could have been boring but breathes new life into it. The personalities coupled with the plot were enriched by the science aspects. The author truly creates a whole picture of devotion to one’s passion, complicated relationships, and the need for something more than just a career.

With all that said, I do have to talk about the dual timeline a bit. It took this reader several chapters and a quarter of the way through the book to get used to the pace and flow. However, once I was acclimated with the writing style, I devoured this book.

If you are looking for a science-centric novel with a bit of duplicity, death, and the possibilities of what could be in this world, I suggest reading this one. The way Jacobs plays with all facets of humanity and the way our experiences shape our views of the world is compelling. Then you add on top of that the exploration of physics to create a tale that has intrigue, secrets, and heart.

I am very sad to say The Stars Turned Inside Out was not the book I was hoping it would be. I knew going in it would be heavy on science, but I was really hoping for a bit more action and a more pacy plot. I loved the setting of a Swiss physics laboratory and that I got to hear the words dark matter in here which took me back to one of my favorite books of all time, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. There are a lot of characters in the story, and I honestly just could not keep track of who was who. I think this made the killer's reveal not all that exciting for me because at that point I was just kind of like who?

While the audiobook was good, it REALLY should have had a full cast, and I would have loved some sound effects or at least some music. I think that would have brought the story alive a bit more, and just liven things up in general for an audio listener. Lisa Flanagan is a great narrator though, and I definitely loved listening to her. The storyline itself is pretty slow and I found myself being easily distracted as I was listening. I thought The Stars Turned Inside Out had an impressive beginning and ending, but the middle made it fizzle out for me. If you love science and the quantum world this might be a better fit for you, especially if you care more about that than solving a mystery.

An interesting blend of science and murder.

I was intrigued by the murders but I did feel like the book was a little too long. I found the explanations of CERN and of physics very eye opening but I did want more of the investigation and of the detective work.

The characters were very precious to me but I did feel like we barely got to know some of them (especially Arnev!) While the wrap up was shocking and I did not see it coming, I feel like who the culprits were turned out to be a cop out. It was an easy solution to a complicated riddle of a case.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this eARC.

This was an interesting story that takes place in a very interesting place, especially if you enjoy science. Howard is a physicist who is recently arrived at CERN, a laboratory in Sweden that studies particles smashed at incredible speeds in their large hadron collider which is inside a tunnel that is 27 kilometers long. Howard previously worked at the Chinese equivalent of CERN and there is talk that he may be an agent. Howard is found dead inside the tunnel during a shutdown for maintenance. How he got into the tunnel and who turned on the machine while he was in there basically killing him by the radiation used in the process. Wanting to keep things out of the press the people in charge bring in Sabine to investigate. The story is told in a before and now timeline though there is not much time between the two periods. Howard had been seeing Eve on the quiet, and he had showed her how one could access the tunnel through a secret entrance in Chateau located on the large property. Howard's aunt had provided him with a place to live while he was working at CERN, his aunt had been one of the original people to work at the laboratory and helped designed some parts of it. Another death occurs about halfway through and the police are called in to investigate both deaths. The latter portion of the story I found flowed much better than the first part, though overall I did find it enjoyable. I would recommend if you have an interest in science. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Atriabooks for the ARC.

Nerdy murder mystery set against backdrop of a Swiss physics lab. Intricately woven plot that very much centers physics and academic ambitions. Plays with some hypothetical science, and the connection between the scientific and spiritual, but maintains a serious tone throughout. Did a nice job of feeling real and science based, while also acknowledging the possibilities of the unknown.

The book has a really strong workplace component. You learn a lot about their jobs, projects, and areas of study. All of which are well incorporated into the overarching plot. (I tend to really like books that center work. If you feel similarly, I would totally recommend this.). The downside for me was the characters. There were a lot of them, and they were a little flat and hard to keep straight. Also, the story was good, but could have been told in a more compelling way. Especially the ending which was a little too tell not show.

Overall, it was refreshing to read a murder mystery that wasn't based on overused motives like cheating, sex trafficking, serial killing, etc. I will definitely keep this author on my radar.

I was really intrigued by the blurb, but had difficulties with this one almost from the start. For a novel billed as "thrilling" it seemed that not much happened - at least not in any drama-inducing ways - for a lot of it... I had a hard time connecting to the characters, and found the book a little dryer than I prefer in fiction. I think this one just wasn't a good fit for me...

US pub date: 3/19/24
Genre: mystery
Quick summary: At the famous Geneva laboratory CERN, a dead body is discovered when the particle accelerator is down for maintenance. Two sleuths - private investigator Sabine and the victim's love interest Eve - will try to unravel the secrets.

As a woman in STEM, I love science-themed stories, and this one sounded so fun! Unfortunately, the story didn't live up to my hopes - it was hard to keep track of all the characters, and it felt like the plot moved way too slowly. I don't mind hard science, but the science here didn't integrate as well into the story as I had hoped. 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Atria Thrillers for this copy of "The Stars Turned Inside Out."

One of the physicists on the CERN Hadron Collider was found dead and a private investigator is asked to solve the crime.

It was a very interesting concept of combining hard physical science with spiritual work in a mystery setting to keep the reader intrigued.

But it was very sciency in the beginning and there were SO many characters that it was hard to keep track of the important ones.

The format used was also confusing, alternating between present and flashbacks to the past to set up the relationships between characters. The flashbacks weren't sequential so it was difficult to follow that plot line.

* 2.5 stars *
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The Stars Turned Inside Out is about the investigation of a young physicist's death. He seems to have been irradiated by the Large Hadron Collider owned by CERN where he works. However the camera did not catch his coming or what happened.
As a woman in STEM myself the science was what drew me to this book and got me to request an arc copy. Unfortunately this book just didn't turn out to be what I was hoping. It felt very all over the place and the science was kind of just pushed in with random conversations between scientists which was interesting but disappointing.
There are multiple timelines, one in the present when they are trying to solve what happened and in the past between the man who died and the woman who was with him. Both timelines left me wanting for more. It felt like two different stories that didn't line up with each other and didn't feel complete on their own.
Overall, it wasn't a satisfying mystery. It was confusing and not was what I hoped it would be.

The cover of this one sucked me in. I read the synopsis and wanted to give it a go. The Stars Turned Inside Out was a bit of a slow read for me. While I liked the idea of it, I found myself losing interest for it halfway through.