Three A.M.

The opening of John’s compelling debut, set in an unnamed near-future U.S. city, could come straight out of a 1950s hard-boiled detective novel (“She was blond, of course. Eyes as gray as midnight fog and lips stained red”), but soon, the irony of the fog reference becomes clear. Fifteen years earlier, a horrific new illness devastated the entire country. Even worse, a fog settled in permanently over the world, making sunlight only a faded memory. Those living in quarantined cities must navigate by touch, aided by dimly lit orbs. In this hellish environment, ex-soldier Tom Vale survives by working as a PI who’s more than willing to strong-arm witnesses, crooks, and recalcitrant clients. The entry into his life of the blond bombshell, who wants him to exonerate a prisoner accused of murder, unsettles Vale’s grim routine and leads him to some disturbing secrets. John’s unsparing, hard-edged depiction of cynicism and immorality marks him as an author to watch. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. (Mar.)