The Missing Hours

NYU freshman Claudia Castro, the protagonist of this provocative standalone from Edgar finalist Dahl (the Rebekah Roberts series), has pretty much sailed through her first 20 years—until the day she wakes up in her nearly deserted dorm during spring break with a black eye, busted lip, bruising hangover, and no idea what happened to her. Too shaken to contemplate facing her family, Claudia uncharacteristically accepts the kindness of fellow student Trevor Barber, a relative stranger from a working-class background. Claudia’s starting to get back on her feet when she receives a shattering video showing all too graphically some of what occurred during the time she can’t remember, and struggles with whether to go to the police and risk being forever defined as a victim, or seek her own vigilante-style justice with Taylor’s help. For better and worse, the glamour of Claudia’s lifestyle, including a palatial Martha’s Vineyard seaside estate as potential hideaway, make this psychological thriller pleasurable to read, but it also somewhat blunts the trauma of what is an all-too-real scenario. Though Dahl doesn’t hit a home run, credit her with ambitiously tackling a broad canvas. Agent: Stephanie Kip Rostan, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Sept.)