A dazzling blend of murder, magic, and noir…
A young magician’s search for answers draws her into Atlantic City’s haunted past in Setton’s deeply atmospheric mystery. When magician Lucy Moon discovers her best friend murdered inside a notorious sawing box on opening night, she is plunged into a mystery that stretches from Atlantic City’s haunted theaters to its darkest secrets. As the crime becomes entangled with an unsolved wartime murder, buried family secrets, and a world built on illusion, Lucy must uncover the truth before a killer makes her the next victim.
What follows is both a murder mystery and a portrait of a city built on illusion. Setton’s Atlantic City is far removed from tourist brochures. Boardwalk bars, historic theatres, casino back corridors, forgotten neighborhoods, and local legends combine to create a setting that feels alive, eccentric, and deeply haunted by its own history. Like the magicians who populate the novel, the city thrives on spectacle while concealing darker truths beneath the surface.
Lucy is an engaging guide through this world. Funny, vulnerable, and stubbornly determined, she carries the emotional weight of the story without ever becoming overwhelmed by it. Her friendships, particularly with the irrepressible Stormie and the absent-but-ever-present Van, give the novel a warmth that offsets its darker elements. The depiction of female friendship is one of the book’s greatest strengths, grounding the mystery in genuine affection and loss rather than treating murder as a mere puzzle.
Setton also makes excellent use of the culture of stage magic. Tricks, misdirection, hidden compartments, and carefully crafted personas become more than colorful background details; they shape the novel’s central concerns about memory, identity, and the stories people tell about themselves. The mystery itself unfolds with satisfying complexity, while touches of gothic atmosphere and the possibility of the supernatural add an extra layer of intrigue. Throughout, the novel explores how women shape their own stories in a world that often seeks to define them. Themes of friendship, resilience, and self-determination emerge naturally through the narrative, giving the story emotional depth alongside its suspense.
A richly atmospheric thriller that combines noir, ghost story, and murder mystery into a distinctive tale of friendship, deception, and self-discovery. Perfect for readers of Megan Abbott, Tana French, and fans of mysteries where the setting is as captivating as the crime.
***
Pub date March 3, 2026
Black Spring Crime
ISBN 978-1917788038
Print length 300 pages
Price Price $17.66 (USD) Paperback, $5.49 Kindle edition