The Last Equation of Isaac Severy

Renowned mathematical genius Isaac Severy has predicted his own death, and one of his last acts is to type a letter, asking Hazel, his adopted granddaughter, to track down and deliver his final equation to a trusted colleague. Hazel abandons her failing bookstore in Seattle to join her family in Los Angeles for Isaac's funeral. A student of literature, she's always felt out of place in a family of mathematicians. Doubtful of her abilities and in competition with cousins, academics, and shadowy corporations, she struggles with whom to trust. Her older brother, also a survivor of their troubled childhood and a once-close confidant, is a police detective caught up in his own investigations. Hazel encounters old Hollywood hotels, poisonous seeds, Italian tweeds, and Mark Twain disguises as she puts two and two together.