The List

In British writer Adegoke’s complex and revelatory U.S. debut, an online magazine editor in London is put in a difficult position after her fiancé is anonymously accused of harassment and physical assault at an office party. Ola Olajide has made her reputation by reporting on predators in the music industry, and she and her partner Michael Koranteng have garnered many online admirers as a prominent Black couple. A month before their wedding, an anonymous list of allegedly abusive men shows up on social media with Michael’s name on it. Though he’s cheated on Ola in the past, she refuses to believe he’s guilty. Michael is convinced that his former fling, Jackie, named him out of revenge for breaking things off with her, though he keeps this suspicion from Ola. Adegoke does a thorough job of tackling the many issues involved: there’s strong evidence against other men on the list, which causes Michael to appear guilty by association and attracts ire from an online mob, a situation that hurts Ola’s credibility as she neglects to join them in taking down her fiancé. The story is full of poignant turns and nuanced insights, such as when Michael examines how he was negatively conditioned as a boy by a misogynist culture. This page-turner has bite. Agent: Hayley Steed, Madeleine Milburn Literary. (Oct.)