BLACKOUT

Strait-laced forty-something Franco picked the wrong night to get freaky. A hook-up with a hot guy and hard drugs on his Manhattan rooftop leaves him dazed. And—if memory serves him—the sole witness to a murder across the street. 

Except the cops can’t find a crime scene or a body, and Franco’s perforated recollections and conflicting statements leave the detectives unimpressed. When the mutilated body of a philanthropic millionaire is discovered days later, Franco is not only shocked to learn he knew the victim, but with Franco’s fingerprints all over the crime scene, he quickly graduates from unreliable witness to prime suspect. And the random trick who could alibi him has vanished into the anonymity of the Internet.

Unsettled, and confronted with forty-year-old memories, when Franco’s father was murdered in front of him during Manhattan’s infamous blackout, things get worse when a shocking revelation finally unmasks the man who pulled the trigger that night, and paints Franco as the perfect suspect.

. . .

“New York’s crime world and gay scene converge in this compulsively plotted mystery, where long-held secrets refuse to stay buried. Carocari delivers a strong debut that’s equal parts thrilling and heart-felt.” 

~ Edwin Hill, author of Watch Her

“In a stunning debut from Marco Carocari, dark secrets from the past envelope Franco DiMaso after witnessing a murder. He goes from unreliable witness to prime suspect and nothing is as it seems. A gripping, well-plotted, page turning read.” 

~ James L’Etoile, author of At What Cost, Bury the Past, and Black Label

“Blackout is Rear Window meets the dating app. Marco Carocari’s impressive debut gives readers an unrelenting thriller, with twists and turns you won’t see. A fearless and unflinching portrait of corruption, past and present, and a poignant journey of a son trying to understand the father he never knew. Turn on the lights and read Blackout into the night.” 

~ Gabriel Valjan, Agatha and Anthony-nominated author of The Naming Game