My Sweet Girl

Sri Lankan author Jayatissa debuts with a dark, twisty psychological thriller. Thirty-year-old Paloma Evans was adopted at 12 from an orphanage in Sri Lanka by wealthy, loving American parents. Paloma’s life should be perfect, but she’s never felt she deserves her privileged life. After her parents go on an extended charity tour of Sri Lanka, Paloma drinks herself into blackouts, and perhaps hallucinations. Or are they? When she discovers her roommate murdered in her San Francisco apartment, she calls the police and passes out in the hallway. But the police find nothing. The body has disappeared without a trace. The building super allows Paloma to review the hallway surveillance tape, and the only person she sees is herself, taking cleaning supplies from the supply closet. Meanwhile, she’s also started spotting Mohini, a mythic evil spirit who terrified her when she was a child in Sri Lanka. Paloma is either losing her grip on reality, or her secret past has caught up with her. Jaytissa expertly ratchets up the tension. Noir fans will find a lot to like. [em]Agent: Melissa Danaczko, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (Sept.) [/em]