Honestly very funny story considering how consistently depressing and self-destructive main character is, but I guess that is one of my favorite genres. The twist was mostly a surprise, which is fun for a change!

I loved the twist on an almost typical detective noir.

The audiobook narrator deserves a grammy for their accents; they were so hilarious and caught me off guard each time.

The audio on this is pretty fantastic. I don't love female leads who are unreliable because of addiction, but honestly, while her addiction is there, it isn't why people don't believe her. She mostly just doesn't even tell anyone why she is pursuing this story of trying to find a person she met once. I really enjoyed the conversation at the end between Soloski and the narrator. I feel like this would probably be amazing for someone who loves theater. For me, it was just entertaining.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy!

Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski
4.5/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

•••Spoiler free review below•••

Here in the Dark is a witty thriller, focused around a theater critic at a NYC magazine who is sucked into a (potential) murder mystery. She assumes a role and plays an amateur detective determined to investigate the disappearance of a journalist when police won't. Real life and theater begin to blur together until you'll be questioning what is real and what is part of the show. If you have the chance, I highly recommend the audio version of this book. It is FANTASTIC and sets the scenes so perfectly. I felt like I was sitting in a theater watching a show unfold the entire time I was listening!

Read this book if you like:
- psychological thrillers
- a book that reads like a performance
- twists and turns
- NYC setting

Here in the Dark will be released December 5th and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
.
.
.
Special thanks to Macmillan Audio for sharing a free copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a definite dark and suspenseful read. The author takes a seemingly “normal” investigative plot and gives us a twist, I for one did not see coming! The main character, a theater critic, gets wrapped up in an investigation after she is the last to see a man who has gone missing. She begins to use her talents as an actress to dig into the disappearance and aspects of her own damaged self start to unveil. Soon she finds herself in perhaps the most twisted role she’s had to play.

Thanks @netgalley for providing me an audiobook version of this book for review. This book was read by Tony Award winning actress Laura Benanti and she definitely brought her talent into this read!

Must read if you like suspenseful reads such as The Other People by C.J. Tudor and Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-Format: Audiobook, Genre: mystery, thriller, psychological suspense, Women’s Fiction

I love Vivian! She is snarky, cynical, and everything I ever want from a female protagonist! Her flaws and brokenness took me back to my own insecure feelings as a single 20 to 30-year-old female. Vivian has so many poor coping mechanisms, and yet, continues to survive despite her discontent. The author explores the challenging character traits including self-loathing and self-destructive behavior while taking us through an excellently thought out thrilling mystery. I can see how this protagonist may be difficult to relate to given her illicit activities with pills and alcohol, but I found myself cheering for her to solve the mystery and come out on top safely. Narration for this audiobook was what made this audiobook work for me. Laura Benanti is well known for her craft, but her voice acting on this audiobook was far above the status quo. She managed to narrate the entire story with multiple characters including multiple male characters, and I never once was confused about who was who or what was happening. I don’t know that I would’ve enjoyed listening as much if she hadn’t been the voice actor. This is my first Laura Benanti audiobook, but she is definitely one of my top three audiobook narrators! There’s nothing else to say but this book is AMAZING, and you’re missing out if you do not listen to it or get your hands on a copy to read!

Thank you @NetGalley, #AlexisSoloski, @LauraBenanti, and @macmillan.audio for this advanced audiobook copy for an honest review!

#NetGalley #psychologicalsuspense #mystery #thriller #womensfiction #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #LauraBenanti #macmillanaudio #TheMidNOCBookClub

If you're looking for new, atmospheric, suspenseful read set in the world of theater, this is one to consider.

Releases: December 5th, 2023

My overall thoughts:
The story was overall mediocre. It wasn't especially thrilling for a murder investigation, the mystery wasn't original, but there were things about this book that I did enjoy despite wanting more excitement. I think this is a great example of a 3 star read. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, but it entertained me while it was in my hands (or rather, in my headphones), and therefore worthwhile for those looking for this type of experience.

What I loved:
- Soloski uses wonderful imagery and descriptive language. I felt very immersed in the environments of the characters. The vocabulary was diverse and well selected.
- The use of many sets was the driving force behind the pace of this book. The story wasn't very fast paced, but switching from place to place pulled the reader through the story, and since each setting was so well described, it was exciting to follow our character around her world.
- Zero romance. I admire when I book can simply just be...
- I loved the relationship between our FMC and her best friend. It reminded me of me and by bestie, and those moments were the only times I felt our FMC had an actual personality.
- The Audio Narration by Laura Benanti was STELLAR! She has been added to my list of "Auto-Listen Narrators." She was great at the variety of character voices, and I thought represented the FMC well. I also loved the author interview at the end, which gave me more insight into the book. I wish I had listened to the author interview before the book, and I think I would have engaged with the story differently knowing some of it actually happened.

What I didn't:
- The FMC was not likable or redeeming. She is a critical and cynical thinker, alcoholic, anxious, and a bad partner and employee, because she is pretty self-centered at her core. I understand why the character is like this for the story's sake, but it didn't make me root for her or really care what happened. I didn't need her to win, and I think that was a big element that was missing in this story.
- I've read this plot so many times that nothing really surprised me.

Similar Reads:
Here in the Dark reminded me a lot of Still Lives my Maria Hummel. Also centered in an Art community, with jealousy and criticism motivating murders.

A big thanks to @Netgalley for the early copy of this Audio Book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski, narrated by Laura Benanti is absolutely spectacular. My review is the length of a novel and doesn't do it justice.

https://www.novellives.com/2023/12/03/here-in-the-dark-by-alexis-soloski-review/

Here in the Dark

Author: Author: Prize-winning New York Times theater critic, Alexis Soloski
Narrator: Tony Award-winning actor, Laura Benanti
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release: December 5, 2023

My Rating: 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

If you love audio books and/or theater, this book is easily captivating. The last hour is so satisfying and the narration is beyond perfect!

Dark glamour in the Manhattan theater district. Vivian is a damaged and relatable theater critic. After a doctoral student she interviews goes missing, and the police seem unconcerned, she begins her own investigation.

A mystery and psychological thriller, read it! A bonus for the audio version, there’s a fabulous interview at the book between the author and the narrator.

#book #bookstagram #books #bookreviewer#fiction #newrelease #darkglamour #captivating #mystery #thriller #psychologicalthriller

As I was listening to this audiobook, Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski, I saw it being played like a movie in my head. The mystery parts were very engaging but the theater parts that did not have anything to do with the mystery parts were a little boring and I found my mind wandering off a bit. I think theater is just not my thing and the author didn't make it interesting enough. The narrator was great, had distinct voices for everyone which is very important. I really enjoyed the interview by the narrator and the author at the end and made me like this audiobook a little bit more.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of the audiobook. #netgalley #hereinthedark

Vivian Parry, a theater critic, and former actress likes being in the dark. Likes becoming a different character. I do love that she gave honest reviews in theater just as I do with books. It was a quick read with a slow plot and unreliable, uncomplicated characters. Vivian also has a medical condition, causing her to be in the dark, that was explained too many times. When a man interviews Vivian, but then goes missing, she is on her own mission to find out what happened to him. I thought the murder / mystery was going to be more involved in the theater, but that wasn’t the case. The ending was just OK. No huge twist for me.

I requested this one on a whim and I am so glad I did. Anyone who is a fan of theatre is going to love this one. Read the synopsis for the plot, but it was very well crafted psychological game of a novel and it was fun looking for the clues along with our MC. I will say that the MC was extremely damaged, which I usually love in a protagonist because it makes them feel more real, but there were times that I struggled with just how messy Vivian was. She was supremely unlikable, but also sympathetic, which I believe was the author's intention. It was plotted and paced very well and at no point did I feel bored. It was also narrated expertly. I think this is one of the most well done narrations I have heard in a while. The narrator really nailed Vivian's attitude and made her come to life. I really enjoyed this book and I would love to read more of this type of work from Soloski and more from this narrator as well.

I just finished Here In The Dark by Alexis Soloski The narrator was Laura Benanti Who I think did a phenomenal job they also had an interview at the end of the book and although I didn’t listen to the whole thing I still enjoyed how the author came to write the book which is always my favorite question to an author. This book is about Vivian Perry who is a theater critic drug attic alcoholic willing sex partner with whoever and a bereaved daughter. She gets asked to be interviewed by a man named David Adler and although she would usually give a hard pass because she is vieing for the top spot where she works she thinks getting a little publicity would impress her boss Roger when she meets with the graduate student who she finds at first strange and thinks he may be playing apart… somethings she knows all about she duly noted and then goes about her business. A few days later David’s fiancé arena calls and tells the bemused critic that she was the last person to see her fiancé because he is now missing. For Vivian who lives a very isolated life with the exception of her multiple sex partners she will start receiving strange notes coming into contact with even stranger people and in the end like most good stories the revelation is a curveball. The end of this book is almost like a magic trick because what you are expecting is nothing like the thing you get I was so shocked by the turn this story took after she visited the hackers house because it then becomes instead of a “who done it“ it turns into a “I’m sorry, what did they do?“ due to such a phenomenal ending and a surprise ending there was something about the Frivolous Way, Vivian gave herself away that made me sad for her and I know she was mourning the loss of her mother suffering with mental issues and I just wanted to give her a hug and felt sad through most of the book not to mention that whole sexcapade with the detective and the abuse just made me feel gritty and like I needed a shower having said that I still am giving this book 3 stars because it was a great story and as I said what a twist but I do not read books to feel sad throughout most of it her lifestyle is definitely a depressing one I do want to thank McMillan audio and Net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski

Thank you to @netgalley, @flatironbooks, @macmillanaudio, and the author, #alexissoloski for the opportunity to read this #advancedlistenercopy in exchange for my #honestbookreview. This book is out December 5.

Theatre critic Vivian Perry doesn’t shy away from brutal honesty in her reviews. A former actress, she’s no stranger to bad reviews and tough feedback. But she gets thrown off course when she is approached by a mysterious man asking to interview her. Shortly after their odd encounter, the interviewer goes missing and she is the last one who saw him. Fueled by alcohol, pills, and morbid, all-consuming curiosity, Vivian falls down the rabbit hole of investigating his disappearance.

This was so wild! I’ve been waiting for a good consuming suspense read with what feels like an unreliable narrator like this since I read The Silent Patient. Lovers of true crime and crime scene investigation books will enjoy this as well as those who enjoy psychological suspense. I highly recommend this book as well as the audiobook format - Lauren Benanti kills it and there is a Q&A between the narrator and author at the end that was amazing as well!

TWs: alc*hol and drug ab*se, casual sex, rough sex, sui*ide, more

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ - 4.25/5

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I love how Laura Benanti handled ALL of the narration in this book! She seamlessly switches characters and I was never lost or confused about who was talking. The story itself blew me away! It was the best mystery/comedy/suspense I’ve read all year! I had no idea how everything would end up but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride! If you only have one more book to read this year, look no further! Perfection!

Not only is Here in the Dark an incredibly well-executed work of psychological noir fiction, it's also one of the best-narrated audiobooks I've ever listened to. I highly recommend the audio version of this novel, read by Tony Award-winning actress Laura Benanti. Benanti's skilled narration combined with the subject matter, which author and New York Times theater critic Alexis Soloski obviously knows intimately, made this such an engaging and rewarding reading experience for me.

Our girl Vivian is a bit of a mess. A former actress, she now works as a junior theater critic for a Manhattan magazine, spending her nights in a dark theater seat and her days eviscerating the shows she sees, one scathing word at a time. In between, she indulges in alcohol and pills and anonymous sex, taking every opportunity, no matter how extreme, to numb herself from the grief she still feels for her mother, even years after her death.

When a student asks to interview Vivian, she reluctantly agrees, thinking that it may help her obtain the promotion she's been angling for. But the interviewer dredges up things Vivian would rather not discuss, and shortly after their interview, he disappears. When the police refuse to investigate his disappearance, Vivian decides to conduct her own investigation, going undercover and playing a part for the first time in years. But nothing could prepare her -- or the reader -- for what will be revealed in the final act.

Here in the Dark is an intensely character-driven, slow-burning psychological thriller that captivated me from the very first page. Vivian is one of those complicated, self-destructive, broken female characters that show up a lot in the post-Gone Girl book world, but I assure you that nothing about Vivian feels derivative. Soloski delves deeply into Vivian's psyche, past, and motivations to create a complex, sympathetic character you can't help but root for, even though Vivian definitely doesn't want your sympathy or support. She doesn't want you to see her at all.

Vivian is also very funny, with a wry, sarcastic sense of humor, which adds much-needed levity to a plot with some extremely dark elements and scenes. I appreciated Soloski's willingness to engage with disturbing subject matter as she paints a raw, provocative portrait of how destructive unhealed wounds can be.

Here in the Dark is expertly-plotted and suspenseful, with a surprising and thoroughly satisfying conclusion. If you listen to the audio (which you should, if you are able), be sure not to skip the conversation between Benanti and Soloski at the end. It was a treat to listen to them discuss their lives, careers, and this book and its characters. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the early listening opportunity.

I really enjoyed the narration with this book. I thought the narrator's tone really brought life to the main character and fit her personality perfectly. Vivian, our main character was snarky, jaded and self-destructive, and for me, the tone really brought her to life.

Vivian is a theater critic. One day, she meets with a man on a project he is working on, only to later find out that she was the last to see him before he went missing. Vivian starts to get dragged into the investigation, but eventually goes overboard with her quest to solve the case.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but I found this to be a fairly unique premise. The plot kept me guessing until close to the end, but I did figure it out slightly before Vivian did.

I thought the author did a great job building up Vivian to be this completely unreliable narrator. She was a hot mess before the story even got going. She had a drinking problem and a sleeping pill dependency, and when she gets involved playing amateur sleuth, you spend the whole book going back and forth trying to figure out if you can believe what she believes.

Overall, it was a solid read.

This audiobook is dark and witty and I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s writing and the narration by Tony award winning Laura Benanti. Being a theater critic herself, Alexis Soloski wrote what she knew when creating her main character, actor turned critic Vivian Parry. Vivian finds herself in a sort of cat and mouse game in which she takes on the role of detective trying to figure out who is playing against her. I wouldn’t say it is full of shock and twists as you may crave from thrillers, however it is a slow burn and pleasantly surprising. This is Soloski’s debut novel and I can’t wait to see what else she comes up with!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Vivian Parry, a former actress turned theater critic crave lost herself once. It’s been years since the loss of her mother caused Vivian to lose control of her identify and she hasn’t stopped numbing herself since. When she isn’t leaving scathing theater reviews, she’s finding ways to make herself disappear from the world. When a local college student requests to interview Vivian, she agrees hoping to help her case for a promotion. But the disappearance of the student shortly after the interview, causes Vivian to launch her own investigation into his life and could lead her down a dangerous path.

I have a love hate relationship with unreliable narrators. I don’t HAVE to like a narrator to feel connected to them or enjoy the story, but I need some sort of redeeming quality to hold my attention. For Vivian she’s funny. She’s snarky and though she tends to self-sabotage, I couldn’t help but be drawn into her chaos.

I never fully bought into the story. On one hand, it’s different and Soloski writes from her own experiences as a theater critic. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure where our plot was going for most of the story and found the pacing to be somewhat slow. I honestly had a hard time buying that Vivian would take such an interest in a random student when she doesn’t seem to care much about anyone, even those closest to her, so the plot felt a bit farfetched. Add in a super out there / unrealistic ending and well, this one just didn’t do it for me.

I can certainly appreciate what Soloski was attempting, but as someone who is over thrillers of women self-medicating and being gaslighted, it fell flat for me. I did primarily listen to the audio and while I did really enjoy Laura Benanti’s narration, the pacing was too slow for the reward.

If you are a theater fan, you’ll definitely enjoy this thriller, but it’s a 2.5 rounded up to 3 star read for me.

Here in the Dark comes out December 5, 2023. Huge thank you to Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for the ALC of "Here in the Dark" by Alexis Soloski. I was on a road trip recently and needed a new book for listening. I had this on my NG shelf and didn't read the blurb before I began listening. I love doing that because I go into the story not knowing ANYTHING.
I loved this listen. It was a fast story that developed intrigue as it went. I really liked the flawed character and I found myself rooting for her throughout. Fast finish!

Thank you for this book and exchange for my honest review.
Unfortunately, I struggled to get into the plot of the story. It just did not capture my interest.