The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel. That should have given me some idea of what to expect, but still, after reading the first few pages, I was blown away by Rader-Day’s dark humor and vivid description. The book follows Amelia Emmet as she returns to teaching at the prestigious Rothbert University after being shot by a student she didn’t know. She’s struggling through her first day back to work when she meets her new graduate assistant, Nathaniel (later dubbed “Nate”), a young man whose help she can use, but who seems almost a little too interested in her. Before long, Amelia and Nate, both researchers in the sociology of violence, begin working together to learn more about the student who shot her and why he targeted her of all people.

Beyond succeeding as an engrossing mystery, The Black Hour delves into the shifting identities of its central characters–Amelia as she adjusts to her new reality of chronic pain and disability and Nate as he leaves his blue-collar small town for grad school at an elite Chicago university. The characters take turns narrating and we learn that both have struggled with depression and finding a sense of belonging among their privileged peers after growing up poor in the rural Midwest. Rader-Day also vividly depicts the pain that is part of Amelia’s existence now and how the cane that she uses to slowly make her way around campus impacts her sense of self. While she had been a rising star in the department before the shooting, now she sees herself as a different person, disfigured and washed-up. As someone who had my life upended by a chronic illness, this crisis of confidence resonated with me. This book captures how a physical ailment not only affects the little choices most people take for granted (like what chair to sit in or where to park), but also their sense of who they are and their confidence in their altered capabilities. As Amelia puts it on page one: “This is how it would be. Every task more difficult than before. Every step a public performance.” 

Takeaway as a reader: So, yeah, if I haven’t made it clear already, I recommend this book–particularly for readers who are looking for a mystery where the characters are even more compelling than the crime. 

Takeaway as a writer: Lori Rader-Day knows when and how to start a book. To begin with, the main character, Amelia, arrives on page one having already been shot a year ago for reasons unknown–and that’s not even the focus. What draws us in is how simultaneously fierce and vulnerable as hell she is as she painfully and self-consciously makes her return to work, all the while mouthing off to the photographer who’s trying to capture the big moment for the student paper. By the bottom of page two, we know enough about Amelia and her situation–as well as Rader-Day’s voice as a writer–that there’s no way we’re putting this book down.