Review by Booklist Review
Stone, a YA author with a background in teen mentoring, pens her first adult thriller, set in the titular Boom Town, a strip club in Atlanta that caters to a predominantly Black clientele. Lyriq, a former dancer-turned-manager, hires an inexperienced young woman who uncannily resembles Lyriq's former partner, who went missing a couple of years before. When the new hire also vanishes, Lyriq suspects that the arrival of a charismatic and wealthy white patron is somehow connected to both women's disappearances. Through alternating perspectives and timelines, piecemeal clues, and misdirection, Stone exploits the limitations of each narrator's knowledge, biases, and assumptions to prolong tension and craft suspense. Boom Town grittily depicts the adult entertainment world without prejudice toward its workers, portraying these women as strong female protagonists. Readers will expect the sexually explicit scenes, and some may need to acclimate to the vernacular and vocational jargon. Stone's extreme departure from her typical fare will serve to introduce the author to an entirely new, more mature audience. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Readers familiar with Stone's award-winning YA books will be excited to see her enter the adult sphere with this gritty thriller.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
YA bestseller Stone (Chaos Theory) makes an auspicious adult debut with this steamy, serpentine noir centered on Boom Town, Atlanta's hottest Black strip club. Dance manager Lyriq still hasn't gotten over the disappearance two years earlier of her lover and dance partner, Lucky. Then Charm, a 19-year-old stripper with an uncanny resemblance to Lucky, vanishes after catching the eye of white club regular Thomas Jefferson McIntyre. When Dejuan, whose mother was renting Charm a room, suggests that he might go to the police, Lyriq steps in to keep the cops away from the club, and swiftly discovers she's put herself in a world of danger. Stone convincingly conjures Boom Town's glitzy-gritty grind, and shows the wide range of women whose circumstances have made the pole seem their best and only option, from trafficking survivor Lyriq to the sharp-witted Lucky, who calculates that her education degree from Emory would get her a job paying only half as much as her dancing. Stone crafts a propulsive plot, though the book's hopscotching timelines get a touch too convoluted and a few of the climactic reveals strain credibility. Still, this is an arresting page-turner. Agent: Mollie Glick, CAA. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Bestselling YA author Stone makes her audacious entrance into adult fiction with this novel. Boom Town is a hot dance club in Atlanta, where the city's influencers and insiders go to be entertained by elite dancers and popping music. When a new Boom Town dancer named Damaris (alias "Charm") vanishes, her coworker Lyriq sets out to uncover what happened. The search leads Lyriq deep into a tangle of secrets, betrayals, and power plays that reach beyond the dance floor and involve not only Charm but also Lyriq's former dance partner and ex-girlfriend Lucky. Told in alternating points of view and timelines, the novel unravels the dark forces at play beneath the glittering surface of Atlanta nightlife, confronting issues of gender and power. Stone deftly explores what happens when entrenched systems--embodied by the "old South" white elite--clash with the fierce independence and resilience of the women they seek to control. VERDICT Stone is a powerhouse in YA fiction, and her transition to adult suspense is seamless. Perfect for audiences familiar with Stone's YA work.--Beth Brentlinger
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two dancers go missing from Atlanta's premier Black strip club two years apart. When exotic dancers Lyriq and Lucky strutted on stage, Boom Town would be hopping. The two women not only danced, they also drew record requests for private sessions. And in secret, they were madly in love. But that was before--before Micah "Lyriq" Johanssen noticed the lump in her breast and pushed her lover away, and before Felice "Lucky" Carothers disappeared. When a young woman named Damaris Wilburn walks into the club almost two years later looking for a job--the club now managed by Micah, who's had a mastectomy and can't yet afford reconstructive surgery--her resemblance to Felice is so pronounced that Micah is overcome. But when the new dancer stops showing up for her shifts, Micah begins to look into what truly happened to Felice. A business card kept by both women suggests that there could be a link: Thomas J McIntyre. The novel unfolds in chapters shared mostly between Felice in the past and Micah in the present, and slowly, we learn about their secrets and regrets, their pride and shame. We learn how and where they feel empowered in their bodies and their jobs, and we learn the things that men do that make them feel cheap or worthless or in danger. Most of all, this novel celebrates Black women, women who lift each other up, who acknowledge beauty, strength, and sexiness, who become family in all the ways they show up for one another. From a doctor who helps both Micah and Felice to the community of Boom Town dancers, the women in this novel run the world. Already known for her YA fiction, in her adult debut Stone explores the ways systemic power is destructive, but love, especially between women, empowers and saves. A captivating blend of lyrical writing and incisive social commentary. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
