Darkly by Marisha Pessl
Published by Delacorte Press on November 26, 2024
ISBN: 0593706552
Pages: 399
Genres: Mystery, Suspense
Format: Fiction
Goodreads

Dia Gannon is an outsider at school, thanks to her love of vintage fashion and her general distrust of anyone under 75. While she tolerates working at her mother’s antique store with her elderly coworkers, she finds herself dreaming of more and can’t believe it when she is chosen from thousands of international entries as one of seven participants in an internship for Darkly, an immensely popular gaming empire surrounded by rumor and mystique. The internship, which takes place on an island, is deceptive and confusing from the get-go, and Dia and her fellow interns must play an unreleased game while they try to understand what they’re all doing there.

Darkly is a masterclass in world-building and the chapters in which the interns play Valkyrie, the previously unknown game, are breathtakingly cinematic. Otherwise, the book is just a little slow, and would have benefitted from fleshing out the other interns. Mystery fans will still love it, especially all the twists and the lore surrounding the woman at the center of it all, game designer Louisiana Veda, arguably the most well-rounded character, though we never actually meet her. Recommend to fans of mysteries, board games, or try it with Squid Game watchers, although Darkly is nowhere near as bleak.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath