Glitter in the Dark

A hard-drinking columnist sets out to find a missing musician in Lyuzna’s vibrant debut. In 1920s New York City, Ginny Dugan lives with her showgirl sister and writes a tepid advice column for Photoplay magazine about fashion, makeup, and comportment. The advice Ginny dispenses runs counter to the way she lives her life, given her fondness for strong booze, casual sex, and pugnacious repartee. An evening out at one of Harlem’s hottest nightspots hurls Ginny into a life-threatening adventure when she witnesses the kidnapping of celebrated jazz singer Josephine Hurston. Afterward, Ginny runs to her editors, hoping she can seize on the event to break into serious journalism. Given her good-time girl reputation, however, no one takes her seriously, so she continues to dig into the matter on her own. As more women disappear from Manhattan nightclubs, she unearths a netherworld of drugs, extortion, and murder. Ginny sits comfortably among the ranks of classic private eyes, with all the moral ambiguity and world-weariness noir fans could want—plus a welcome dash of queerness, courtesy of a sapphic romance subplot. Though the action occasionally feels overstuffed, Lyuzna’s ambition impresses. A sequel would be welcome. Agent: Chris Bucci, Aevitas Creative Management. (Apr.)