Author of "The Missing Hours" speaks with The Poisoned Pen

The author of “The Missing Hours” wants readers to question their biases about women, men and survivors of sexual assault.

“What I wanted to say about alcohol and sexuality and college is in the book,” said Julia Dahl, who also teaches at New York University.

“The Missing Hours” centers around Claudia Castro, a wealthy NYU student, who is sexually assaulted one evening and wakes up confused with no recollection of the night. A video of the assault is released shortly after and Castro goes missing. The novel follows the journey of Castro and the whole city as they try to uncover what happened.

“I hope that readers question themselves and their biases about women who are survivors of sexual assault, and who is a good victim and who is a bad victim,” Dahl said. “Who deserves it and doesn’t deserve it? Who deserves justice? I think everyone does.”

College women ages 18-24 are three times more likely to be sexually assaulted than the average woman, with only 20% reporting the assault to law enforcement, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

Dahl discussed her new book with Barbara Peters of The Poisoned Pen and award-winning author Julia Spencer-Fleming on Sept. 14. The hour-long discussion over Facebook live covered details of “The Missing Hours,” her fourth novel, as well as what she hopes readers gain from it.

Dahl, an author and journalist, reported for places such as the New York Post and the Business Insider.

Spencer-Fleming began the discussion with her thoughts on “The Missing Hours,” saying she loved it, but it was hard to read due to certain themes.

“Young men at college-age are allowed to be carefree, but for young women, it’s being careless,” she said of sexual assault.

Dahl said she wanted the book to be a “short, punch-you-in-the-face, brutal book.”

She wanted to look into what trauma does to a person and the people surrounding them. Her work as a journalist, and, in particular, her story about a high school girl in Ohio that was sexually assaulted, influenced her book, Dahl said.

This novel differs from Dahl’s other work. Spencer-Fleming pointed out how it not only takes place outside of Dahl’s previous novels’ world, but the character does not reflect her life.

Dahl’s previous three novels were a series about Rebekah Roberts, a New York City reporter who covers religious murders, according to Dahl’s website.

In a Goodreads review, Ceecee said everything in this book “felt real, like you could see this happening in real life. It doesn’t go in the way of some suspenseful books where you have to suspend disbelief. It takes a hard look at privilege and power and how far they can stretch.”

The Poisoned Pen, the host of the event, is an indie bookstore based in the metro Phoenix area. Barbara Peters founded the bookstore in 1989. It specializes in fiction and is known for the author and literary events it holds multiple times a week, usually through Facebook live, according to The Poisoned Pen website.

“The Missing Hours” is available in stores and online today.