One Night Gone

Laskowski’s first novel (after Bystanders, a short story collection), an evocative and beautifully crafted tale of suspense, features a girl and a woman, separated by 30 years, who each narrate their entwining stories. In 1985 in Opal Beach, N.J., teenager Maureen Haddaway: “Vanished into the summer. And no one cared.” In 2015, 40-year-old Allison Simpson has been fired as a TV meteorologist in Philadelphia following the posting of her public rant about her philandering ex-husband on YouTube. Depressed and humiliated, she needs to get away and agrees to house-sit in Opal Beach, where she forms a friendship with the manager of a local coffee shop, who still mourns the loss of Maureen. The two begin a quest to discover what really happened to the bright, troubled teen. The voices of the two narrators are vibrant, as are the descriptions of Opal Beach. At the heart of this intriguing thriller lies a disturbing awareness of society’s inclination to view women as disposable. Laskowski is off to a fine start. Agent: Michelle Richter, Foreword Literary. (Oct.)