Girl in the Dark

December 21, 2015
Lawyer Iris Kaselstein, the heroine of Dutch author Pauw’s intriguing if flawed U.S. debut, is having a hard time managing her workload while fulfilling her responsibilities as a single mother to her three-year-old son, Aaron. Aaron’s aggressive behavior in day care forces Iris to interrupt a conference with a client, Peter van Benschop, who’s facing civil charges for using an underage teenager in a porn film. Meanwhile, Ray Boelens, an inmate convicted of stabbing his neighbor Rosita Angeli and her four-year-old daughter, Anna, to death, before stubbing a cigarette out on the little girl’s corpse, consistently maintains his innocence. Finally, Iris learns by chance that Ray is her older brother, and she agrees to advocate for him. Her natural questioning of her mother’s choice to keep Ray’s existence a secret leads to serious tension between them. The truth about Rosita and Anna’s deaths may surprise some readers, but even they may view it as a contrivance. Agent: Michael Carlisle, Inkwell Management

Starred review from February 15, 2016
Winner of the Netherlands' Golden Noose Award for crime fiction, Pauw's American debut is a tense revelation of dangerous family secrets and a challenge to preconceptions about autism. Attorney and single mother Iris Kasterlein is often forced to rely on her mother's help, so she's obligated to return the favor by house-sitting during her mother's annual spa retreat. While house-sitting, Iris uncovers a devastating family secret: she has a half-brother, Ray, whom her mother has hidden from everyone. Ray, once a gifted baker, is serving a prison sentence for the violent murders of his neighbor, Rosita, and her young daughter. Prosecutors alleged that Ray flew into a violent rage when Rosita rejected him, and, although he claimed innocence, autism and distrust proved insurmountable obstacles to helping his defense. Ignoring her mother's protests, Iris visits Ray and becomes determined to work for his release. As Iris investigates his case, it becomes clear that beautiful but manipulative Rosita had many potential killers. Ray's sad, bewildered voice is riveting as his memories inch toward revealing the truth about the murders, and Iris' struggle to understand her mother's betrayal and right her wrong is gut-wrenching and relatable. A must-read for fans of character-driven stories, such as Tana French's Faithful Place.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)