A noir-inspired missing persons mystery with a theater critic as the protagonist and narrator? Hell yes! Alexis Soloski has written an incredibly dark and uncomfortable story, but wow, could I not put this down. Vivian Parry is the embodiment of an acerbic, troubled theater critic; she loves nothing more than a good pan, and she describes her fellow critic at a fictitious New York magazine as having the "aesthetic discernment of a wedge salad." Like many of the troubled and mentally ill characters in the classic plays she loves, Vivian also numbs her unresolved trauma over her mother's death with too much alcohol and pills. And after a graduate student who interviews Vivian for his thesis goes missing, the former actor assumes the role of detective.

Soloski's writing is razor sharp and unique. Vivian has such a dry, dark, and witty voice (theater references abound). I also loved that this novel so beautifully expresses the ritual of going to the theater: The power of sitting in a darkened room and immersing yourself in art for a couple hours of escape from real life. Plot-wise, I loved the breakneck pace, but my one quibble is that the ending was rushed.

This is a dark, dark, dark novel that had me on edge, and I couldn't put it down. It's not a light read, and some readers might think Vivian's unlikable, but I understood her darkness and despair, and I certainly related to her belief that the theater is a special, sacred place of refuge and reflection.