The night shift

Burian (Daughters of the Wild, 2020) explores the gritty underground of New York City in this ambitious novel. It's 2004, and Jean Smith has recently quit her job working for therapist Myra Goldstein. She manages to put together a bartender gig and a bakery position, working overnight. Jean has always had difficulty making friends, but in both new jobs, she becomes close to fellow employees and customers. When Jean realizes she's having trouble getting to the bakery on time, her friend Iggy shows her a shortcut across the city: a mysterious portal that allows travelers to jump through space and time. Meanwhile, Dr. Goldstein's grown son is blocking Jean's access to her former boss. One day, Iggy disappears into a shortcut. As Jean searches for him, she's caught up in a national conspiracy dating back to the mid-twentieth century. Jean's richly detailed coming-of-age story is intertwined with the mystery of how these wormholes came to be and how Dr. Goldstein is involved. This novel is a departure from Burian's previous book and may not attract the same readers, but fans of classic alternate-history novels like Blake Crouch's Dark Matter (2016) and Stephen King's 11/22/63 (2011) will devour this one.

Burian (Daughters of the Wild) sets this captivating, detail-rich speculative novel in early 2000s New York City, where heroine Jean operates on a simple principle: when someone gets too close, run. And run she does when her psychotherapist boss asks one too many questions about her history, leaving behind a job she loves to sling beers at the Red and Gold bar. Desperate to escape her past, she's uncomfortable discussing her parents' deaths and the accident that stripped her of her passion for running, and she does all she can to avoid seeming like friend material. Still, she's quickly charmed by her musician coworker, Iggy, who introduces Jean to "shortcuts," mysterious fixed doorways through time and space--and shortly thereafter, he disappears. Despite her determination not to get involved, Jean's drawn into Iggy's disappearance and its link to the impossible shortcuts--and through investigating, she's forced to face what she fears most. Blending women's and speculative fiction, Burian draws readers along on Jean's emotional path toward self-discovery and deeper understanding of the world around her. The vivid descriptions of New York bring the city to life, creating a character just as palpable as the others. Readers will be hooked. Agent: Kate Johnson, Wolf Literary. (July)