NIGHT FOR DAY

Two Americans working in London are unexpectedly caught up in a war between immortal gods.

Camille Buhay started dating Ward Dunbar when they were in college in Chicago. Though they were opposites, they were deliriously happy with each other—until they weren’t. Dissatisfied with what she took to be Ward’s entitlement and privilege, Camille moved to Manhattan. A short time later, Ward headed to Los Angeles. But distance didn’t heal their emotional wounds. When they both end up heading to London, where they’re interviewing for similar jobs selling art and antiques, neither knows the other is there until Camille notices a post on Ward’s Instagram and impulsively reaches out to him. Meanwhile, on a separate plane of existence, a massive war between immortal gods—the Eastern Faction and the Western Faction—has been raging. Now the gods have decided to pit Camille and Ward against one another, forcing them to participate in a game before choosing a side; if both choose the same side, that faction will be declared the winner. Ward and Camille find themselves trapped in the buildings where their new jobs have taken them: it turns out that the final battle is a cosmic escape room. When pragmatic, sensible Camille had interviewed for her well-paid night-shift position at an antiques shop, she negotiated for an apartment and grocery service, an agreement the gods decided to honor, making her ongoing imprisonment surprisingly comfortable. Ward hadn’t thought of asking for such things, so he finds himself stuck with nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat, and nowhere to wash—thus totally reliant on favors from the gods for everything, including all efforts to communicate with Camille. This carefully plotted story, dense with clues that Camille and Ward work to solve, is sure to appeal to puzzle masters.

A clever novel that is part fantasy, part escape room strategy and trickery, and part romance.