January 17, 2022
British author Cowie’s provocative if flawed debut addresses the question: “Will men always be a threat?” Sixteen years into a near-future Britain in which all men are tagged, tracked, and restricted from leaving their homes between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., an unidentified woman is found murdered in a city park. Old-school policewoman Pamela wants to consider male suspects, but colleagues are afraid that showing a failure of curfew will cause societal chaos. Flash back four weeks, to Sarah Wallace, who works in the tagging office and has recently divorced her husband for breaking curfew. She is at odds with her daughter, Cass Johnson, a high school student. Cass doesn’t get along with teacher Helen Taylor, who’s trying to get a cohab certificate with her boyfriend. The worldbuilding falls flat in the context of the real-life Covid-19 pandemic—men can’t hold good jobs because they can’t leave home at night, but the equivalent of smartphones and ubiquitous high-speed internet both exist. Stereotypical characters, both male and female, engage in obvious conflicts, and any surprise about what happened evaporates the moment the victim’s identity is revealed. Hopefully, Cowie will do better next time. Agent: Allison Hellegers, Stimola Literary.