The Night Is Filled With Wonder

New York, 1924. At one time, Clara Plum was the toast of the tabloids. Her wanton behavior was the subject of headlines. But one tragedy after another has sent her reeling, hiding away from society to look for solace in books, drink, and easy pleasures. When her lover is found dead in an alley, Clara is forced to leave the safety of her hiding place to figure out who's behind it. Among those trying to help her are a former German spy, a beautiful aging mistress, and her brother's wartime companion, whose body is scared with permanent reminders of what happened to him there. What starts out as a lark and a quest for adventure in the city's dock yards, speakeasies, opium dens, and grand palaces on Fifth Avenue, quickly turns deadly. The Night Is Filled with Wonder is about how our fate is made up of small moments and how those small moments have lingering effects that stay with us whether we want them to or not.

Kristel Gibson received a BA from The Evergreen State College in Washington and a MA from the University of Wyoming. Born in Butte, Montana, she moved all over the American West. She now lives in Seattle with her husband. The Night Is Filled with Wonder is her first novel.