The Vacancy in Room 10

The Sycamores, the brilliant setting for this tale of two young women, is a run-down motel, converted into apartments, on the edge of Santa Fe. The residents—whose lives spill out throughout the building, from the balconies to the pool—are a fascinating lot who love nothing more than getting into one another’s business. Broke and thrown out of her ritzy home by her partner, who technically owned everything, Cass ends up the Sycamores’ handyperson, unclogging toilets in exchange for rent. Throw in a side gig slipping married men roofies, photographing them near naked, then threatening blackmail, and Cass has just enough money to get by. Until she accidentally murders very much the wrong guy. Alicia’s route to the Sycamores is more convoluted. Her painter/husband rented one of the units as his studio, but one day—with no real warning—he calls her up, confesses to a murder, then shoots himself. Alicia moves into her husband’s studio to cozy up to the other residents and try to discover the truth behind her husband’s death. This thumbnail sketch only hints at the depth and complexity of this thriller, in which both women take enormous risks, with help from the neighbors, to learn the truth about the lives they’ve lost. Recommended for readers who like a strong, sophisticated thriller with a dynamic plot and unforgettable characters.