OK, first things first. What’s an architectural thriller? I’m so glad you asked. In the case of Lucas Harari’s Swimming in Darkness, it’s a thriller that centers its story on the details of architecture. It’s a story where architecture plays a major role, second only to our human protagonists. And it’s a genre I didn’t know existed before picking up Harari’s new book (translated by David Homel).

Frankly, I’m not sure if there are other books that comprise this genre. But there should be.

In its most basic terms, Swimming in Darkness is an unsettling – but absorbing – graphic novel that follows Pierre, a young Parisian, in the wake of a breakdown during which he unconsciously destroyed his thesis and dropped out of architecture school.

Either in an attempt to “start over” or as an unintended consequence of his breakdown (it’s not entirely clear which), Pierre becomes consumed by the subject of his lost thesis: the Therme Vals, a hotel and spa complex built over a natural thermal spring in the Swiss Alps. Specifically, though, architect Peter Zumthor’s haunting design of the hotel and spa itself.

You don’t have to dig very deep to find so much more. Beneath that thin surface, the book is an examination of folklore, local legend, existential dread, and the mysteries of modern architecture. Quite the combination, I know. And it’s totally captivating.

The Therme Vals is a real place. Peter Zumthor’s architecture is very real – and very creepy. (Seriously, check out these photos. Harari absolutely nails the chillingly detached atmosphere of the pools.) And there might be a real legend about a mountain near an Alpine village that has a mouth and periodically swallows up unsuspecting tourists.

But Pierre’s story, though it has echoes of Lucas Harari’s own life (he also briefly studied architecture), is entirely fictional. Harari uses Pierre as our way in to this unfamiliar story, and through him we see hungry mountains, secret rooms, disappearing doors, mystical (almost Jedi-like) powers, and a “colorful” cast of characters.

Really, the less said about the actual plot, the better. You should go into this one blind, as I did.

Swimming in Darkness is one of the biggest out-of-left-field surprises for me this year, and it’s all the more impressive because it’s Harari’s debut book! As I said, he nails the eerie atmosphere of the Therme Vals, and he’s managed to make every page look effortless and polished. This does not look like the work of a debut graphic novelist. This is a capital A Achievement.

Harari has set the bar high, and it’s going to be tough to follow.