TAKE ME APART

An ex-journalist falls into a churning vortex of dark secrets when she’s hired to archive a famous photographer’s personal effects.

In 2017, after a harrowing incident ruined 30-year-old Kate Aitken’s journalism career, she’s eager to leave New York for sunny California and the idyllic little hamlet of Callinas, where her sweet but nosy Aunt Louise and Uncle Frank will put her up while she archives the tangible remains of controversial photographer Miranda Brand’s life and work, a gig they hooked her up with. Miranda’s husband, Jake, a painter, has recently died, leaving their son, Theo, with a hoarder’s paradise of letters, documents, and possibly even a few of Miranda’s viscerally intimate photos, which would be worth a fortune. Kate's first meeting with the enigmatic Theo, who's recently been divorced, is tense, but Theo’s two small children, Jemima and Oscar, dull his sharp edges, and Kate soon becomes so immersed in her work that returning to Louise and Frank’s home every evening is akin to waking from a fever dream. And they're eager for details. Miranda’s death at 37 was ruled a suicide, but questions remain, and rumors, such as then 11-year-old Theo’s possible culpability, persist. Kate, bound by a nondisclosure agreement, must remain silent but wonders if Miranda might have actually been murdered. When Kate discovers Miranda’s diary, which often reads like dark poetry, she begins to feel an uneasy kinship with the artist, whose life was fractured by domestic violence, mental illness, and the inexorable demands of fame, motherhood, and the creative process. Kate’s obsessive inquiry into Miranda’s death and her growing attraction to Theo soon threaten to unravel the delicate threads of her new life and her increasingly precarious state of mind. Kate and Miranda are vividly rendered, and an entire novel could easily be crafted out of Miranda’s fascinating diary, letters, and other ephemera, snippets of which are sprinkled liberally throughout. Sligar delivers an intriguing mystery while tackling big themes, especially sexism and the societal restraints placed on women’s bodies and minds. The results are spellbinding.

A raw and sophisticated debut.