NAKED AND UNAFRAID: NIC STONE'S BOOM TOWN

Announcing Boom Town as Nic Stone's adult debut contains more than one meaning. After making a name for herself in the YA field, this is her first published novel out of the genre is a gritty thriller involving the women who work at the Atlanta gentlemen's club where the the title comes from. Instead of exploiting it for cheap thrills, she approaches the subject matter in a mature, unflinching manner.

The story moves back and forth between two timelines about two missing women. Connected to both of them is, Lyric, Boom Town's manager, a former dancer before a mastectomy, reeling two years after the disappearance of her lover and fellow dancer Lucky, When Charm, a young stripper who resembles Lucky doesn't show for work, Lyric sees more than coincidence. As we follow her search for the girl and answers , we also see the day of Lucy's disappearance. As the stories converge, they grow more dangerous for both women.

Stone captures the world of the strip club. We see the importance of the D.J. and how the songs he plays in the hip-hop community. She gets down to how everything there is all about money, not sex. All is transaction. The story shows the various ways how the women have made a handshake deal with The Devil. They know they are being exploited, but know they have some control over that exploitation as long as the need or want for more money doesn't get out of hand. Boon Town, both the club and book, become a microcosm for survival, particularly for black women.

Boom Town grabs you by is setting and set up and pulls you in with the vivid characters you end up caring for. These are fully formed women making the best and working through their damaged lives. I hope Nic Stone stays with the adults.