Blackout: A Thriller

Written by Erin Flanagan

Narrated by Vivienne Leheny

In this unforgettable psychological thriller, the dark is a terrifying mystery for a woman on the edge.

Seven hard-won months into her sobriety, sociology professor Maris Heilman has her first blackout. She chalks it up to exhaustion, though she fears that her husband and daughter will suspect she’s drinking again. Whatever their cause, the glitches start becoming more frequent. Sometimes minutes, sometimes longer, but always leaving Maris with the same disorienting question: Where have I been?

Then another blackout lands Maris in the ER, where she makes an alarming discovery. A network of women is battling the same inexplicable malady. Is it a bizarre coincidence or something more sinister? What do all the women have in common besides missing time? Or is it who they have in common?

In a desperate search for answers, Maris has no idea what’s coming next—just the escalating paranoia that her memories may be beyond her control, and that everything she knows could disappear in the blink of an eye.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781713663690

Erin Flanagan

Erin Flanagan is the Edgar Award–nominated author of Deer Season and two short story collections, The Usual Mistakes and It’s Not Going to Kill You and Other Stories. She’s held fellowships to Yaddo, MacDowell, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Ucross, and the Vermont Studio Center. An English professor at Wright State University, Erin lives in Dayton, Ohio, with her husband, daughter, two cats, two dogs, and her friendly, caustic thoughts. For more information, visit www.erinflanagan.net.

Reviews for Blackout

[ibkennedy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very nice read

[lavaturtle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such a compelling story, I raced through it in two days. The fantastical elements are fairly light for a while; it's mostly about sexism and academic politics and drinking and rape culture. That said, it does a great job weaving things together with a flawed-but-relatable protagonist and a great supporting cast of people with their own backstories and motivations who are forced to work together. And it had a good, satisfying ending.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maris is a flawed character which adds to the tension of the narrative - is she a reliable narrator? Her hard won sobriety is threatened by the disturbing random blackouts she is experiencing. Around the center of Maris are the themes of rape culture, female empowerment (or disenfranchisement), and family connections. And then there is the near sci-fi element. Well done.