Here in the Dark

An acid-tongued New York City theater critic investigates a stranger’s disappearance in Soloski’s uneven debut. Vivian Parry quit acting after her mother’s death triggered a downward spiral that led to a drug overdose. Now a junior theater critic at a Manhattan magazine, Vivian mimics the functions of a healthy person by day so she can lose herself in a new play every night. When graduate student David Adler asks to interview Vivian for his thesis in exchange for a spot on a panel he’s organizing at a prestigious conference, she agrees; the exposure could land her a promotion. She ends the interview abruptly, however, after David’s questions take a pointed and personal turn. Weeks later, David’s fiancée calls, claiming Vivian was the last person to see him before he vanished. A little digging reveals that David’s promised panel never existed. Vivian embarks on a sex-and-substance-fueled quest to locate David and suss out his motives for contacting her, leading her to cross paths with a private investigator and a sketchy online gambling startup. Though Vivian’s self-destructive tendencies and jaundiced first-person narrative nod at noir, Soloski’s plot and characters lack nuance and authenticity. Theatergoers may appreciate Vivian’s copious references to classic plays, but crime fiction fans are likely to be left wanting. Agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Company. (Dec.)