Dayfall

In Ares’s disappointing debut, a countdown thriller set in what appears to be the near future, homicide cop Jon Phillips takes down a serial killer outside his jurisdiction, catching the eye of Rialle King, mayor of Manhattan. She wants Jon to catch a killer in the city, but there’s a catch: Manhattan has been “perpetually shrouded in night” for the decade since a nuclear event between India and Pakistan caused flooding and impenetrable darkness along much of the northeastern U.S. seaboard. The return of full daylight, dubbed “Dayfall,” is expected to occur in 24 hours, with apocalyptic implications for a city that’s become accustomed to the dark. Jon and his tough-talking partner, Frank Halliday, must find a knife-wielding killer before chaos erupts. Also at stake is a referendum vote between King and millionaire Gareth Render, who runs a private security company and plans to make it the city’s official law enforcement agency. The futuristic world is thinly drawn, and elements such as a string of nightclubs with a day care next door to facilitate 24-hour partying feel forced. With clunky prose, Ares heavy-handedly plays on current events, referring to King as the “liberal” mayor while lingering on the anti-Muslim views that Render shares with Jon’s love interest, Mallory. A few twists don’t elevate this muddled endeavor. (Mar.)