The Night Market

Moore’s unusual new novel is both a love story and a cyberpunk police procedural, read dramatically and with appealing sensitivity by actor Cronin. Set in a slightly futuristic San Francisco, it begins with detective Ross Carver and his partner Cleve Jenner being called to a horrific crime scene late at night and being confronted by cold and impersonal FBI agents in hazmat suits who force them into a decontamination shower. A few days later, Carver awakens in his apartment, where he is in the care of his neighbor, the beautiful Mia Westcott. He has no memory of the night he visited the crime scene or the days since; it turns out neither does Cleve. Cronin captures the detective’s mixture of groggy confusion over what happened to him and his curiosity about the mysterious Mia—he doesn’t quite trust her, but he wants to and hopes she can lead him to an explanation of his disturbing blackout. That she does, with considerable detection on his and Cleve’s part, but with the revelation comes the discovery of a massively malevolent plot. Cronin’s performance adds depth and dimension to Moore’s disturbing portrait of an honorable man and an empathic woman who take a stand against evil. A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover. (Jan.)