Jacqueline Faber’s debut novel is a dark academic thriller perfect for readers who enjoyed Joanne Harris’s St Oswald trilogy or Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House and Hellbent. The story centres around the disappearance of a college student at an unnamed university in America’s South, and the unexpected involvement of a philosophy professor grappling with his personal and professional failures.
Neil Weber is a man adrift. His divorce from Phaedra, a colleague, has left him emotionally paralysed and his previously illustrious academic career will be in the gutter if he doesn’t produce a research paper soon. However, when a local student he barely knows disappears, Neil turns from an apathetic academic to a sleuth investigating a murder. Neil is no hero; he’s a flawed man trying to find redemption in someone else’s tragedy. With his background in ethics and being affected by a tragic drowning incident as a child, Lucia Vanotti’s disappearance resonates with Neil and fuels his obsession to save her.
Faber employs a dual perspective to tell her story. Neil’s amateur investigation and Lucia’s account of events 18 months earlier. Through both, Lucia is revealed as a young woman with a secret from her past and one in the present. The first is an incident involving a friend of her father who visited the family when Lucia was nine. It would seem that this shaped her personality and manifested in reckless behaviour in adulthood. She went looking for acceptance in all the wrong places and Naseem, her dutiful boyfriend, looked the other way when she regularly slipped back into his bed after her exploits. Her adventurous sexual nature might have put her in danger’s way.
As Neil gets to know Lucia through her friends, family and boyfriend, unexpected connections are revealed. The most startling of these is that Lucia was acquainted with Neil’s best friend and coworker, Jack Sheridan. She attended one of Jack’s philosophy seminars and both frequented Dionysus, a fetish club with a David Lynch vibe on the outskirts of town. Why would Jack hide his relationship with Lucia if he wasn’t complicit in her disappearance? Neil grows increasingly suspicious when he sees Jack arguing with Lucia’s friend, Michelle Alvarez. Michelle vanishes shortly after.
Detective Waters, a man who embodies a quiet and self-contained authority, does not appreciate Neil meddling in his case. He believes his interference is unproductive, disturbing the inquiry and frightening away prospective suspects and witnesses. Two women are missing and Neil’s inexplicable interest in the case turns him into the only suspect. Aside from interrogating Neil, the police make little progress in the inquiry.
Faber’s strength lies in her character development, revealing what drives their actions. Most of her characters are deeply flawed and vulnerable, having had traumatic childhood experiences or upbringings which moulded them into the broken people they have become. Despite their frailty, readers may find it difficult to empathise with Faber’s characters – perhaps with the exception of Neil. Phaedra, Jack, and Michelle come across as tough as nails, largely unlikable and emotionally distant. Phaedra leaves Neil because he lacks direction, and marries one of their colleagues, but keeps stringing Neil along. Jack is a stereotypical womaniser who doesn’t believe or support Neil in any way. Michelle introduces Lucia to someone at the fetish club but fails to recognise that her friend needs help.
While the mystery of Lucia’s disappearance serves as the central thread, the narrative sometimes struggles to maintain momentum due to extraneous threads, for example the addition of a character who behaves disturbingly towards women. The narrative could have benefited from a tighter focus and a more streamlined plot. Though it slows down the pace slightly, Faber’s philosophical background adds intellectual insights to the story.
The Department is a promising debut from Jacqueline Faber, showcasing her talent for crafting complex characters and exploring the darker psychology of human nature. It’s this exploration of the human psyche that elevates The Department beyond a simple missing-girl detective novel.
For another dark academia thriller try This is How We End Things by RJ Jacobs.
Oceanview
Print/Kindle/iBook
£16.95
CFL Rating: 4 Stars
