Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski (Raven, £16.99)
New York Times culture reporter Soloski makes great use of the day job in her first novel, which centres on the misanthropic theatre critic Vivian Parry. A family tragedy put paid to her acting career and now she is reckless, self-medicating, known for her scathing reviews: “an imitation of myself” who only feels alive in the darkness of an auditorium. “Firmly” in her 30s but still a junior critic, she is desperate for promotion and agrees to be interviewed by graduate student David in exchange for a spot on a panel at a prestigious conference. When the questions reveal an unsettling knowledge of her past, she walks out – and is later contacted by David’s distraught fiancee, who says that he has disappeared, and that Vivian was the last person to see him. When it becomes clear that David is not who he claimed to be, Vivian immerses herself in the role of amateur detective. A sharp, funny and pacy slice of Manhattan noir that manages to be over-the-top and weirdly plausible, with a terrific payoff.
