Follow Me into the Dark

Sullivan’s debut novel (after her memoir, The Sky Isn’t Visible from Here) opens with a gripping scene in a hotel room where a woman’s hair is on fire. As Kate, the narrator of the first chapter, describes the incident, certain details become clear: Kate’s mother is dying of cancer; Gillian, the woman in the hotel room, has been sleeping with Kate’s stepfather; and Kate is the one who set Gillian’s hair on fire. Other details, however, remain hazy as a story of intergenerational pain, abuse, and mental illness unfurls. Truth becomes slippery as the narrative jumps in time and point of view, leaving as many questions as clues. Gillian has her own story of grief to share, and Jonah, Kate’s stepbrother, seems to match the profile of a local serial killer. It quickly becomes clear that many of the characters’ own accounts cannot be trusted, and reading becomes an exercise in fitting the pieces together. Many moments are engaging, but vagueness and withheld information obscure the more compelling human mysteries of the book. (Mar.)