The search for a kidnapped singer in Prohibition-era New York leads an intrepid reporter from Harlem speakeasies to the dazzling world of the theater, all while grappling with her warring passions.

Ambitious advice columnist Ginny Dugan knows she’s capable of more than solving other people’s beauty problems, but her boss at Photoplay magazine thinks she's only fit for fluff pieces. When she witnesses the kidnapping of a famous singer at Harlem’s hottest speakeasy, nobody takes her seriously, but Ginny knows what she saw—and what she saw haunts her.

Guilt-ridden over her failure to stop the kidnappers and hard-pressed for cash to finally move out of her uptight showgirl sister’s apartment, Ginny resolves to chase down the truth that will clear her conscience and maybe win her a promotion in the process. When private detective Jack Crawford starts interfering with her case, Ginny ropes him into a reluctant partnership but soon finds herself drawn to the kind heart she glimpses beneath his brooding exterior. Equally as alluring is Gloria Gardner, the star dancer of the Ziegfeld Follies who treats life like one unending party. Yet as Ginny delves deeper into the criminal underworld, the sinister plot she uncovers seems to lead right back to the theater.

Then a brutal murder strikes someone close to her, and Ginny realizes the stakes are higher than she ever imagined. This glamorous world has a deadly edge, and Ginny must shatter her every illusion to catch the shadowy killer before they strike again.

Olesya Lyuzna's profile page

Olesya Lyuzna is a historical fiction writer with a passion for queer noir. Her debut novel Glitter in the Dark was selected for a 2020 Pitch Wars mentorship by Layne Fargo and Halley Sutton. She lives in Toronto and spends her free time hosting murder mystery parties and scouring the archives for unsolved crimes.

An utterly alluring dance through Jazz Age New York City, Olesya Lyuzna’s Glitter in the Dark seduces you from the minute you meet its heroine, Ginny Dugan, the kind of intrepid, even reckless girl reporter that Barbara Stanwyck might have played. As we follow Ginny through nightclubs and alleys, rooftops and powder rooms, Lyuzna weaves a gold-threaded tale of glamour and danger. A striking debut. —Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Beware the Woman

A sparkling debut, more fun and sexy than a bathtub full of gin.—Lev AC Rosen, author of the Evander Mills mysteries

Glitter in the Dark is an incredible debut novel. Lyuzna's meticulous affection for the Prohibition is clear in every word. Wrapped beneath the sparkly cover is a compelling mystery with an intriguing cast of characters, and Ginny Dugan is the heart of it. Ginny is a total spitfire: a true, complex lead. Lyuzna will leave you gasping with her twists. Glitter in the Dark is not to be missed. —Nekesa Afia, author of the Harlem Renaissance Mystery series

What Taylor Jenkins Reid did for Old Hollywood with her indomitable Evelyn Hugo, Olesya Lyuzna does for the irrepressible Ginny Dugan in Glitter in the Dark. Ginny is my favorite kind of heroine—a smart woman with a good heart who makes plenty of bad decisions—and I hope she's back for 20 more books! Lyuzna's prose is razor-sharp, and she immerses the reader in Roaring ’20s New York, full of hot jazz, Ziegfeld stunners, and murder most foul. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a debut! —Halley Sutton, USA Today bestselling author of The Hurricane Blonde

Sisterhood and a string of suspicious disappearances take center stage in Olesya Lyuzna’s magnetic historical mystery debut. Magazine writer Ginny Dugan believes she’s mastered the art of living dangerously in smoky, champagne-soaked Prohibition-era New York, but a brush with the criminal underworld and a partnership with a secretive private eye will put her grit, wits, and moral code to the test. Glitter in the Dark is first-rate noir fiction that shimmers brighter than the sequins on a chorus girl’s costume, and its mystery will leave you breathless. —Tessa Wegert, author of The Coldest Case

Lyuzna lays on the period detail and springs surprises just where you don’t expect them. A colorful period debut that’s clearly laying the groundwork for a series.—Kirkus

This debut turns back the clock with authentic detail and sharply drawn characters and a strong sense of violence and lawlessness.—FirstCLUE