THE DEBUTANTES

The case of a missing New Orleans girl reveals buried secrets.

April Whitman, Vivian Atkins, and Piper Johnson are debutantes in the annual Les Masques ball for high school girls. Chosen as Maids for senior Lily LeBlanc, who’s been crowned Queen, they’re considered to be Mardi Gras royalty. But following Lily’s grand entrance at Les Masques, the lights go out. Suddenly images of Margot Landry, the previous Queen, who was found dead from an overdose the day after last year’s ball, are projected in the ballroom—and, in a scene out of Carrie, one of the masked Jesters throws red paint over Lily before running off. Ominously, Lily never returns home. The Maids—Lily’s best friend, Vivian, her boyfriend’s twin sister, Piper, and her friend April (who also had ties to Margot)—receive texts from Lily asking them to meet her at the Deus Den, a warehouse where Mardi Gras floats are stored. After they arrive, Piper gets a cryptic email from Lily that leads them to find her signature diamond necklace, sparking a police investigation. The atmospheric, well-described New Orleans setting brings much-needed personality to the story, since the main characters are largely unremarkable. The flat characterization, coupled with an unsatisfying resolution, together make the journey feel unfulfilling. The debutante tradition’s racist, classist, and sexist origins are brought up but not fleshed out enough to make an impact. Main characters are cued white.

A promising setup let down by lackluster personalities and a disappointing plot.