Temper

April 1, 2019
Actor Kira Rascher’s life changes forever when she takes a leading role in Temper, a play put on by Chicago’s Indifferent Honest Theater Company, in Fargo’s page-turning debut. Kira is thrilled at the prospect of working with the famous director and actor Malcolm “Mal” Mercer. But she’s not prepared for his toxic coaching techniques, which happen to include inviting her abusive ex-boyfriend to rehearsal to help Kira tap into her darkest emotions and deliver them on stage. Despite this experience and warnings from other actors and her roommate and stunt coordinator, Kira is convinced she can handle Mal. As she slips deeper into Mal’s world, Kira becomes desperate for his approval and starts to lose control of herself, even hitting him while rehearsing a fight scene. The tension rises as the narration alternates between Kira and the company’s executive director, Joanna Cuyler, who’s desperate for Mal’s affection and views Kira as a threat. This intense psychological thriller builds to a devastating, if somewhat inevitable, climax. Fargo is definitely a writer to watch. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich, & Bourett.

May 1, 2019
The theater is a tempestuous, bloody place to be in Fargo's prickly debut. The struggle is real for 30-something stage actress Kira Rascher. She lives hand to mouth with her best friend (with benefits), Spence, works a day job she hates, and auditions for theater roles every chance she gets. She longs to star opposite the enigmatic Malcolm Mercer, who runs Chicago's Indifferent Honest Theater Company alongside his partner, and platonic roommate, Joanna Cuyler. Auditioning for Malcom for a new two-person play called Temper is a visceral experience, but not just for Kira. Joanna hates Kira on sight, pointing out that "she's beautiful, to be sure, but in an obvious way. Nearly vulgur." Kira gets the part, opposite Malcolm, and to say the two have chemistry would be an understatement. The script is very physical, and Malcolm is a merciless taskmaster willing to go to ridiculous lengths to squeeze the best from his actors, including inviting Kira's horrid, simpering ex-boyfriend to rehearsal as a tactic to stoke her rage. Meanwhile, the self-contained Joanna stews in a brew of jealousy and wasted opportunity, doing all the grunt work for the company while the odious Malcolm stirs the pot and beds his co-stars. All this tension would drive anyone crazy, but for these two women, it's bound to get messy. Fargo's propulsive writing style and Joanna's and Kira's dueling narratives drive the increasingly frenzied chain of events that play out in the lives of two very different women who find themselves at an inevitable breaking point. While certainly effective, the finale isn't shocking, especially after getting an eyeful of two otherwise intelligent women seething under the toxic spell of such an insufferable man. This caustic passion play may not knock your socks off, but Fargo is an author to watch.

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May 1, 2019
Temper is a twisted tale of what happens when violence, ambition, and the taste for blood take center stage. Kira is a young actress who has caught the eye of notorious bad-boy theater director Malcolm Mercer, landing her first starring role in his latest production. Malcolm's business partner, Joanna, has suffered for years from his capricious sexual pursuits and selfish refusal to allow anyone else the chance to shine. Joanna, threatened by Malcolm's new interest in Kira, begins to look for ways to undermine both of them in pursuit of her own chance at the spotlight. As the story ominously intensifies towards the play's opening night, Malcolm's behavior generates animosity and passion from Kira and Joanna, and it's clear their stories are quickly spinning out of control. Temper alternates narrators between Kira and Johanna and builds a sense of danger and suspense that will keep readers guessing, literally until the last page. Fargo's first novel features complicated female characters and will be well received by fans of Gillian Flynn and Tana French.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)