Moon Sugar, by Angela Meyer

A young Australian sex worker goes missing in Berlin and, as he left a note, the Police rule the case a suicide. Back in Melbourne, his flatmate and his sugar mummy are in grief and disbelief and separately make their ways to Europe to try to find out what happened. There Kyle and Mila team up and, as well as investigating Josh’s movements, each goes on a journey of self-discovery. So far so good. Mila and Josh had been involved in some kind of experiment with consciousness, possibly involving drugs, which seems to have triggered his disappearance. How does this link to the experiences of an American astronaut 23 years previously, who is dealing with the aftermath of a mistake made in space? The answer is beyond stupid, with a bizarre and holey plot, cardboard characters, a didactic tone and a ludicrous outcome. The real question is how does drek like this get published?