Synopses & Reviews
"The first time I saw Nica after she died was at Jamie Amory's Fourth of July party . . ."A stunning debut about murder and glamour set in the ambiguous and claustrophobic world of an exclusive New England prep school
Death sets the plot in motion: the murder of Nica Baker, beautiful, wild, enigmatic, and only sixteen. The crime is solved, and fast—a lonely classmate, unrequited love, a suicide-note confession—but memory and instinct won't allow Nica's older sister Grace to accept the case as closed. Dropped out of college and living at home, working at the moneyed and progressive private high school from which she recently graduated, Grace becomes increasingly obsessed with identifying and punishing the real killer.
Compulsively readable, Lili Anolik's debut novel combines the haunting atmospherics of The Secret History and the hairpin plot twists of Megan Abbott's Dare Me.
Review
“Fascinating, disturbing, mysterious, and at times, downright creepy--Lili Anoliks wonderfully twisted debut novel will intoxicate readers!” John Searles, bestselling author of Help for the Haunted and Strange but True
Review
“Great story, great twists, great insights -- a brilliant start to a novelists career.” Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Burning Room
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“One hell of a first novel. Dark Rooms is an elegant work of crime fiction with a plot as well-drawn as the characters who inhabit it. Its a fine murder mystery as well as an exploration of loss and identity...Think Megan Abbott meets Twin Peaks.” Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times-bestselling author of Don't Look Back
Review
“As much as this is a crime drama, its also a coming-of-age novel. The plot is high-suspense, but its the strength of the charactersand the strength of Anoliks hypnotic, unfussy prosethat gives the book its lasting force. Wholly absorbing and emotionally rich...Deeply satisfying.” Kirkus Reviews
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“Suspenseful, sad and, shattering...Whether or not you believe in ghosts, Anoliks debut will haunt you.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
“Insightful [and] complex ...Anoliks haunting debut is tough to put down and will stay with you for a long time. The authors characters and tone recall Donna Tartts The Secret History or Kimberly Pauleys Ask Me.” Library Journal (starred review)
Synopsis
The Secret History meets Sharp Objects in this stunning debut about murder and glamour set in the ambiguous and claustrophobic world of an exclusive New England prep school.
Death sets the plot in motion: the murder of Nica Baker, beautiful, wild, enigmatic, and only sixteen. The crime is solved, and quickly--a lonely classmate, unrequited love, a suicide note confession--but memory and instinct won't allow Nica's older sister, Grace, to accept the case as closed.
Dropping out of college and living at home, working at the moneyed and progressive private high school in Hartford, Connecticut, from which she recently graduated, Grace becomes increasingly obsessed with identifying and punishing the real killer.
Compulsively readable, Lili Anolik's debut novel combines the verbal dexterity of Marisha Pessl's Special Topic in Calamity Physics and the haunting atmospherics and hairpin plot twists of Megan Abbott's Dare Me.
About the Author
Lili Anolik is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Her work has also appeared in Harper's, Elle, and The Believer. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.