The Dark Room

Set in present-day New York, this taut, twisty standalone from Gray (the Jessica Shaw series) is dense with buried motives and betrayals. Freelance journalist Leonard Blaylock participates in a group that purchases old rolls of 35mm “mystery film” from strangers, which he develops in his dark room. One day, a roll includes a photograph of a beautiful, obviously murdered woman whom Leonard recognizes as Red. He had a one-night stand with Red five years earlier, a night when she died of what he believed to be a cocaine overdose, though he fled the scene, abandoning her in their hotel room without being certain. But the photograph shows that she was murdered recently, by stabbing, and the media reported the victim to be Anna Bianco. So what really happened that night five years ago? Told from multiple perspectives—including those of Leonard, his bitter ex-fiancée, his new girlfriend (also a mystery film fan), a man who cheated on his wife with Red, and Red/Anna herself—the novel stokes a profound unease that builds to an unsettling resolution. Fans of Colleen Hoover’s Verity will find much to enjoy. Agent: Philip Patterson, Marjacq. (Oct.)