Playing in the Dark

Jeffrey Canton is Programming Co-ordinator at the Toronto Public
Library.

Thompson’s latest novel, Playing in the Dark, plunges the reader into
the midst of a story on the verge of exploding.

Stringy, a petty criminal and ex-con, fumbles a bank robbery. He’s a
loser but he’s in love . . . with Sharon, a bank teller. The robbery
is the only way Stringy can think of to express his love for Sharon, to
stop her leaving Fredericton, New Brunswick (where most of the novel
takes place). Sharon, however, trapped by her job, her mother, and her
past, is quite willing to sacrifice Stringy for the freedom that a new
life in Toronto holds.

Stringy and Sharon are inextricably caught up in a web of desperation
and passion. They relentlessly, and violently, stalk one another through
the pages of this striking exploration of the human heart’s dark side.

Playing in the Dark is a taut psychological novel that dramatically
interweaves the voices of Stringy and Sharon and the stories behind
them. In almost cinematic fashion, their individual narratives fade in
and out as Thompson guides us to the very centre of their passion.
Thompson dextrously balances and controls the plot’s tightrope
intricacies. His evocative prose mirrors the narrative tension and,
skillfully handled, creates the novel’s distinctive voice.

Playing in the Dark is fiction that oozes its way under your skin—an
innovative and technically dazzling novel you won’t easily forget.