BOOK REVIEW: Temper by Layne Fargo @LayneFargo @gallerybooks #temper #laynefargo #bookreview

Tantalizing, twisted, and dark—Layne Fargon’s debut novel Temper is without a doubt one of my favorite reads on 2019, and it remains so on a reread a year later.

About the Book

After years of struggling in the Chicago theater scene, ambitious actress Kira Rascher finally lands the role of a lifetime. The catch? The mercurial Malcolm Mercer is the director and he’s known for pushing his performers past their limits—on stage and off.

Kira’s convinced she can handle Malcolm, but the theater’s cofounder, Joanna Cuyler, is another story. Joanna sees Kira as a threat—to her own thwarted artistic ambitions, her twisted relationship with Malcolm, and the shocking secret she’s keeping about the upcoming production. But as opening night draws near, Kira and Joanna both come to the realization that Malcolm’s dangerous extremes are nothing compared to what they’re capable of themselves.

Reflection

I remember the first time I read this, and as I was reading on a break at work on my favorite nook on the 67^th floor and I could see angry storm clouds brewing over Lake Michigan. There is something sexy and terrifying about a summer storm in Chicago—the steely gray lake, the furious black clouds, and the wind billowing through, inviting you to open your mouth for a moment and just inhale that intoxicating moment. It is truly the setting I envision now as I reflect on Temper. It is the perfect setting, one our leading male Malcolm would find poetic, perfect, and dangerous. Much like how I find this book!

Struggling actress Kira Rascher is looking for her break in the theater scene in Chicago. Her best friend (with benefits) and roommate Spence is a great support system and outlet for her, but she is struggling. When she lands a role starring opposite the enigmatic and dangerous Malcolm Mercer, she knows it is all coming together for her.

Malcolm has quite the reputation with his leading ladies, but he also has an irrefutable reputation for excellence in the Chicago theater scene, running a theater company and occasionally acting with his long-time partner and friend, Joanna Cuyler. Malcom goes to any lengths necessary to push his actors to their full potential. And an open subject like Kira is ready and willing to go to her darkest moments to pull out the performance of a lifetime.

But Joanna sees Kira as a threat. The deeper down the rabbit hole Kira goes, the more dangerous it becomes. And as opening night draws near, Kira is no longer sure if she is the star of the show or the star of the drama unfolding offstage.

Layne Fargo has a way of writing that is positively tantalizing. I found several times while reading that I forgot to breathe I was so invested in the story. This is a dark fantasy of a psychological thriller. It made me feel desperate and raw, and so invested. I couldn’t put this book down!

This is such a unique book, and as a Chicago gal myself I was so loving the setting and that Layne Fargo herself lives here and knows this city so well. There is a reason that Chicago is the inspiration for Gothic City… it is all things dark, beautiful, and mesmerizing. I felt often that the atmosphere of the city on a stormy day like the one I described seeped through Fargo into the pages of this book. I felt like I was living it myself while reading it. Perfection!

Thank you to Layne Fargo and Gallery Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.