This image released by Random House Children's Books shows the cover of the book, "Darkly," by Marisha Pessl. On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Delacorte Press announced that Pessl's "Darkly" will be published on Nov. 12. (Random House Children's Books via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) – Marisha Pessl’s first adult novel in more than a decade is a psychological thriller with the kinds of intricate clues and connections she has been known for since her acclaimed debut, “Special Topics in Calamity Physics.”
On Wednesday, Delacorte Press announced that Pessl’s “Darkly” will be published on Nov. 12. The story is centered around a mysterious game designer, Louisiana Veda, and the terrifying creations that gave her foundation special appeal to young people. The foundation is offering an internship with the tagline: “What would you kill for?”
“‘Darkly’ was inspired by rainy boardgame nights and the old-fashioned, windswept mystery novels of my childhood,” Pessl said in a statement. “My wish is that readers are drawn into Louisiana Veda’s lost gaming world and try to discern, along with the characters, where the woman ended, the myth began, and the overgrown garden in-between.”
Pessl was in her late 20s when “Special Topics in Calamity Physics,” for which she received a reported six-figure advance, was published in 2006. One of the most talked about debuts of its time, “Special Topics” was a bestseller that won the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. She has since written the thriller “Night Film,” released in 2013, and the young adult novel “Neverworld Wake.”
