SHIFTERS

Book ID/图书代码： 12691011B49459

English Summary/英文概要： Investigative journalist Cynthia Wills is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her father after a protracted illness and addiction to painkillers. She is sent to report at a murder scene, where a woman’s body is being pulled from the Thames. Delving deeper into the case, she uncovers a series of murders which appear to be linked; a serial killer is preying on blonde women across London. She publishes a series of exclusive articles on the so-called ‘Barbie Killer’, and her career seems to be taking off.

Her home life soon runs into trouble, however. Cynthia’s boyfriend Damien, a medical researcher, suffers from recurring nightmares and he decides to start taking a new miracle drug called Niton, which eradicates the need for sleep. He wants her to share the changes in his lifestyle, but she fears possible side effects after witnessing a test subject in the grip of hallucinations. Damien thinks the baggage she’s carrying over her father’s addiction is holding her back.

As the drug moves into the mainstream, Damien surrounds himself with fellow users - or “shifters”, as they are now known - becoming progressively more intolerant of sleep and sleepers, including Cynthia herself.

When she is passed over for promotion at work in favour of a less experienced colleague who is also a Niton user, the new tensions in their relationship overspill. She stands by her refusal to “shift” and Damien responds by regretfully breaking up with her, saying that although he still loves her, they no longer inhabit the same world.

Cynthia’s investigation into the Barbie Killer case uncovers several new clues, leading to a string of exclusive articles. But her achievements are barely acknowledged by her editor, a militant “shifter”. Believing herself to be the victim of a new form of prejudice, Cynthia goes undercover to write about the anti-sleep movement, donning makeup to recreate the telltale dark circles around Niton users’ eyes. But when she runs into Damien, he mistakes her disguise for a sign that she has finally “shifted” and suggests renewing their relationship. Keen to win him back and looking for an inside scoop, she plays along.

With the world changing around her, Cynthia feels more and more isolated, both socially and professionally. She immerses herself in the hunt for the Barbie Killer, retracing his steps and tracking down witnesses. But her search leads to a frightening discovery about the threat Niton poses to society. Cynthia must decide whether she is prepared to risk everything in order to reveal the truth, as the investigation into the serial killer converges with the world of the shifters.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 调查记者辛西娅•威尔士近来正忙于接受自己因为饱受病痛折磨而以止痛药为生的父亲死亡的事实，却突然被派去一个谋杀现场进行报道，在现场她看到了一具从泰晤士河打捞上来的女人尸体。在深入细究这一谋杀案后，她惊人的发现了一系列相似的谋杀，很显然某位连环杀人凶手正在伦敦范围内大肆捕猎金发女子。得知这一联系后辛西娅发表了一系列关于这位“芭比杀人狂”的独家新闻，随后，她的事业也似乎因此开始起步了。

然而她的家庭生活似乎也渐渐开始陷入危机。辛西娅的男友达米恩是一位药物研究院，最近却饱受反复出现的噩梦的困扰，他决定开始尝试服用一种全新的特效药氡（Niton），以彻底消除睡眠。他迫切的想要辛西娅也尝试分享他全新的生活状态，丹辛西娅拒绝了，她曾经见识过这种药在试验阶段的副作用--使人产生幻觉。达米恩认为是她父亲对于药物的巨大依赖让她却步了。这一药物逐渐在人群中盛行起来，达米恩的周围围绕着同他一样的使用者---或者称其为“转型者”，这些人渐渐的越来越不能容忍睡眠和睡觉者，也包括辛西娅。

这一切在她未能得到理想的升职机会，相反的却由一名没什么经验的吸食“氡”的同事获得后，他们的对立关系更为激烈，一触即发。她人就坚持不服用尼森，这引来了男友的不满，只能同她遗憾的分手，达米恩宣传尽管他还爱着她，他们却已经永远的不属于同一个世界了。

辛西娅对于“芭比杀人狂”的案件调查又有了新的进展，成为了一条系列独家，但显然她的工作成绩并没有的到编辑的赏识，一位她的编辑更是一名激进的氡服用者。辛西娅相信自己不知不觉间以沦为了一种新兴偏见的无辜受害者，她决定在暗中进行着秘密采访，意欲记录下这场“反睡眠”运动。她模仿氡服用者的面容，在眼下化上厚厚的黑眼圈。但当她某此巧遇达米恩，她的前男友错误的把她的伪装当成了耶已经成功“转型”的标志，因而提议重新恢复他们的关系。一心想要赢回男友，并抢得内部独家的她信心满满的开始了这场游戏。

然而随着她周围的世界日渐改变，辛西娅日渐觉得孤独无助，缺乏社会交往，和工作上的孤独感日渐吞噬着她，她沉迷与对“芭比杀人狂”的追踪中，不断跟踪其行踪，不漏过任何可能的目击者，然后随着调查的不断深入，她发现了氡给社会造成的巨大威胁。此刻辛西娅必须做出决定，既然连环杀人犯与“转型者”的世界有着脱不净的千丝万缕的联系，那么她是否已经做好准备无论付出任何代价也要揭开事实的真相？(兼职翻译-DC)

Awards/获奖情况：

About the Author/作者介绍： 我出生在伦敦，但在我还很小的时候，我们全家移民加拿大。在麦吉尔大学，我获得心理学学位，随后我在一家以活人志愿者测试新药的药物研究公司做实验助理。在接触了两年的听诊器与尿样后，我重新退回到大学中，获得新闻硕士学位，随后就职在《环球邮报》（加拿大唯一的全国性报纸）和《温哥华太阳报》作为记者。为了经历一种全新文化环境中的生活，我移居香港，在那里，我就职于南华早报，首次担任专栏作家，随后有担任了记者，最终成为了一名幽默专栏作家。7年后我回到伦敦，在BBC谋得职位，负责写作BBC在线新闻。随后我曾一度转行电视行业，目前，在CNN国际栏目工作。我有一个女儿，凯特琳，今年三岁。

I was born in London, but my family emigrated to Canada when I was very young. I earned a psychology degree at McGill University in Montreal before taking a job as a lab assistant at a medical research company, testing drugs on human volunteers. After two years of stethoscopes and urine samples I retreated back into university, re-emerging with a Masters in Journalism. There followed a stint as a reporter at the Globe and Mail (then Canada’s only national newspaper) and the Vancouver Sun. Keen to experience life in a different culture, I then moved to Hong Kong, where I joined the South China Morning Post: first as a feature writer, then as a reporter, and finally as a daily humour columnist. Seven years later I returned to London and took a job at the BBC, writing for BBC News Online. I later switched into television and now work as a producer/writer for CNN International. I have a three-year-old daughter named Caitlin.

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