Flashout: A Novel

by Alexis Soloski

A thrill-seeking young woman joins a radical theater troupe in this taut, suspenseful novel of art, seduction, and the deadly limits of liberation.

New York, 1972. A cloistered college student slips out of the dorms to attend a performance by a legendary experimental performance troupe. Within months, she has left campus life behind and joined the company, infatuated by its charismatic leader and his promises of absolute freedom.

California, 1997. A theater teacher at an exclusive private school receives an unsettling letter. With her job at risk and her past clawing at her carefully constructed present, what will she do to protect the life she has made?

Riveting and atmospheric, Flashout is a coruscating coming-of-age story and an immersive thriller exploring the enchantments and perils of art.

Genres: Dark Academia, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Historical, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

Audible Audio

First published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published August 5, 2025.

3.5 stars

In 1972 Alice Haze (nee Allison) sneaks out of her dorm in her strict, all girls college campus to see a play in New York City. She doesn’t know it is created and performed by a legendary experimental theatre troupe, Theatre Negative. She is hooked and begins leaving school to attend open rehearsals, which gets her in major trouble. Soon she has left everything she knows to become a part of their art.

In 1996, Ali is teaching theatre in a private school in Los Angeles when she believes someone from the group has found her. Who is it and what does she have to fear?

Really enjoyed this book. I liked that we are seeing the troupe after their heyday has past and I enjoyed the way the personalities are presented. Allison is an intriguing character and the entire scene was fascinating. Feel good about rounding to four stars.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s like if Charles Manson was obsessed with theater instead of music—and decided to direct something truly disturbing. I didn’t finish this author’s first novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this one, but I’m really glad I gave them another chance. This book completely pulled me in. It’s a twisted, original take on obsession, toxic masculinity, and the lengths people will go to preserve power and legacy. There’s this constant tension running underneath everything, like something terrible is always just about to happen. It also digs into the way the past can claw its way back into the present, no matter how much you try to bury it. Definitely worth the read if you’re into books that aren’t afraid to get a little messy and a lot dark.

[Dimitrije Vojnov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drugi roman Alexis Soloski FLASHOUT sam naravno čekao sa velikom pažnjom zbog njenog prvenca HERE IN THE DARK, međutim, kada sam počeo da ga čitam, naročito me je zainteresovao jer se ispostavilo da ima dodirnih tačaka sa jednom starom idejom koju sam imao za filmski scenario.

Priča je zapravo identična, u postavci ali ne i u onome što je žanrovski pristup. No, ako išta, FLASHOUT mi je ponudio jednu sliku superiorne izvedbe te priče koja me je zanimala.

FLASHOUT se dešava u dva vremena, i oba su epoha. Jedno vreme je 1997. dakle period pre tridesetak godina a drugo je 1972. i dešavanja četvrt veka ranije.

Glavna junakinja je profesorka srednje škole u Kaliforniji koja je u prošlosti bila deo kontroverzne, gotovo pa mensonovske eksperimentalne pozorišne grupe, bazirane na avangardnim pozorišnim trupama šezdesetih i sedamdesetih koje su inspirisane Grotowskim, egzotičnim etno teatrom i raznim drugim kulturalnim uticajima žarila i palila BITEFom, Avinjonom, raznim alternativnim scenama i kampusima širom sveta.

Međutim, nju na period u toj pozorišnoj trupi podseća mračna tajna i jeziva trauma koje okida i preispituje pojavljivanje misterioznog savremenika iz tog doba koji se poigrava njenom krivicom.

Roman je triler i logično je da veliku tenziju upravo generiše smenjivanjem i doziranjem dva vremenska toka. U tome pravi i jedan zanimljiv stilski zahvat. U prošlosti roman je pisan u prvom licu a onome što je "sadašnjost" ili tehnički, bliža epoha, jer roman je iz ove godine, sve je dato iz trećeg lica.

Time Alexis Soloski uspešno gradi jasan efekat disocijacije koji je zadesio glavnu junakinju posle traume iz 1972. godine.

Stil je precizan, pripovedanje je jasno, energično, visceralno, atmosferično, zbilja u najboljoj tradiciji kako onoga što znamo kao američku prozu, a naročito američki krimić.

Ponovo je Alexis Soloski na razmeđi mejnstrima i krimića, koliko god da preteže na ovu drugu stranu jer roman daje jasan žanrovski ugođaj. Međutim, on jeste i svojevrrsna skrivena istorija američkog avangardnog teatra iz perioda kontrakulturne borbe. Otud, mislim da će ovaj roman, za razliku od prvog, zbog jasnijeg žanrovskog rukopisa veoma lako mobilisati žanrovske puriste, ali će isto tako naći i prostor za crossover makar među onima koji znaju Alexis Soloski kao poznatu pozorišnu kritičarku i teoretičarku.

U romanu se nažalost nijednom ne pomene BITEF, ali sve ostalo je tu.

Alexis Soloski ponovo zalazi u sferu istinskog krimića, i opisuje transgresiju koja nije nemotivisana ali nije usiljena i nije uslovljena. Dakle, ona ipak ispituje spremnost ljudi da počine zločin kako bi umirili neke svoje želje, strasti, a ne samo iz teške egzistencijalne ugroženosti, i spremna da je protagonistkinji da takvo breme i da nas poveže na svakom nivou sa njom. U tom smislu, kako god da smeštamo ovaj roman na policama, zapravo ključna stvar je to da on zarobljava tu esenciju krimića kao romanu koji preispituje zločin kao takav i njegov uticaj na čoveka u najširem smislu.

Voleo bih da romani Alexis Soloski dobiju svoje izdanje kod nas, s tim što sam uveren da bi FLASHOUT zbog manje stilskih iskliznuća bio možda prava knjiga za upoznavanje.

[Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down. This book was weird, and I hated the main character so much, which I think as a whole makes a story less enjoyable.

There are a few things I liked about the book. I love cults. I love the psychology behind them, the weird things that go on, the outlandish belief and ideologies. It’s all always been super interesting to me, and I thought this book was intriguing. It was a fresh idea for a cult thriller.

It kept me engaged which I’ve had a hard time with lately, and I finished it quickly.

Something that bothered me about this book was it was very… provocative? Which normally doesn’t bother me but it was SO much of everyone sleeping with everyone and it being described every time. I don’t know, felt a little vulgar. I get it goes with the cult theme, but it was a lot and I didn’t love it. Normally I don’t really bat an eye to it, but it was such a copious amount, I was getting worried about STDs for the characters. Perhaps it was meant to feel that way but it didn’t sit well with me.

The ending was a bit lack-luster in the fact that it just ends, but what happens is inferred and I think it was totally the right move for the author to take it in order to give her character any sort of redeeming value.

I do think a lot of people will like this book, I didn’t dislike it and I’m not mad I read it. It’s fresh and engaging.

I already said this but want to kind of drive it home.. if provocatively explicit language bothers you, I’d skip out on this book.

I can see people who are more religious that enjoy thrillers really having a problem with this book. I’m no prude in the least and it even irked me a bit, so just be mindful of that going in.

[Alena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do know why I picked this book: coming of age, theatre troupe, cult leader. All of those are in my reading wheelhouse. I’m less sure why I stuck with it to the end: mystery that wasn’t all that mysterious, a very unlikeable protagonist, graphic sexual violence. I think there was just enough to keep me reading, but I would have a hard time recommending it.

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous and over the top, desperate to shock, shuffling between timelines (for the love of God... I keep giving them a chance and it all just ends up being two weak stories that won't stand on their own forced together). I was drawn in by the tease about a theatre troupe. But this was theatre like The Nightman Cometh was theatre.

[Caraline · Rating 3 out of 5]

full review: https://youtu.be/pfzNe069EJY?si=m2mA7...

thank you to macmillan audio for the audiobook ARC🖤

[Matt Chisling (MattyandtheBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

FLASHOUT is a gripping piece of suspense that digs into the hazy history of the experimental theatre troupes when one former member is tasked with revisiting that dark time in her life.

New York Times theatre critic Alexis Soloski continues to hit her stride with her second novel, another novel about the theatre world that drips with dread as it propels along. In Flashout, we meet Alice, a theater professor working to her last end in a flailing theatre program at the dawn of the internet. As Alice logs into her first email inbox ever, she discovers a photograph, one that pulls her right back to the early seventies, when she was a college student falling in love with experimental theatre--and one particular troupe that brought her under their wing. Alice wants nothing more than to leave her past behind: After all, there are romantic partners she wants to forget, people in jail because of her actions, and a body that's missing that might be the reason why someone has found her again...

I had mixed feelings on Soloski's debut, HERE IN THE DARK, but I am a big fan of her sophomore effort, one that hides more on the page not just in the plot, but in the selective narrative structure and the dual timeline. Alice is a true naughty narrator, a young woman on the precipice of her whole life who discovers her creative passion and raison d'etre while in the hands of folks who yield that passion for their personal, manipulative benefit. As an arts lover, it was great to also dig into a version of the art form that I was unfamiliar with, a moment in theatre-making where art, love, lust, and power blended together to create unforgettable work (and, in this case, work with dire consequences). Come for the rich story of a theatre troupe realizing its downfall, and stay for a great work that doesn't rely on an insane twist or a missing murderer to create a book that is still deeply uneasy.

[Lilibet Bombshell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flashout is an extremely immersive and potently atmospheric suspense thriller set in dual historical timelines (from present day), starring the same character in different POVs: Allison tells her story that starts in 1972 New York in first-person POV and author Andrea Soloski tells Allison’s 1997 Southern California story in third-person POV. As of 2025, that puts the events of this book happening over 50 years ago. New York was a very different place then, and Soloski does a very good job of letting us see The City That Never Sleeps through the eyes of a naive-but-traumatized 19-year-old young Catholic woman on her own for the first time at an all-girls college. It’s dark, dangerous, seedy, and it’s everything a girl who longs to stand on her own and get away from everything expected of her could want.

So much of this book’s suspense and titillation is about the lengths people will go to in the name of art. They will cajole, coerce, become complacent when horrible things are happening around them, become complicit if it gets them what they want/need/desire, and act criminal if that’s what’s needed to get the job done. Is it only men? It’s mostly men–I won’t lie about that–but in the 1970s it’s also women assuring you everyone does it, everything will be okay, that he’s a good guy, that no one will tell, to please be cool about this, to do them this one favor, to just relax, to take this drink or this pill and just close your eyes…

When do you own up to your mistakes, your crimes, your lies, and take responsibility for what you’ve done? When does the treasure become trash? 4⭐️



Thanks to Flatiron Books for providing me with an early physical copy of this title to review. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Coming of Age/Cult Fiction/Historical Fiction/LGBTQ Fiction/Lit Fic/Suspense Thriller/Women’s Fiction

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

[Giselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flashout, an intriguing story about Allison's crashout.

[Adam Behlman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed her first book a bit more but I could feel my daughter's theater dreams again pulsating through her characters, especially Rosa. I enjoyed the first/third person narrative in the different time sequences.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was def entertaining and kept my attention but the prose felt really vulgar and not believable. The protagonist is so unlikable and it’s obvious that she acts the way she does bc of her tragic backstory, but that backstory is left mostly undiscussed. I also never understood why the ‘70s storyline was in first person and the ‘90s storyline was in third person

[Jamie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, although it took me a hot minute to get into it. It has a slow build in my opinion, but it picks up midway through. The ending is unexpected but abrupt, which was disappointing. I fell in love with the characters and the whole vibe of the theater troupe though! As f***** up as they were!

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harrowing. Hard to read. Theater or cult? A brutal story of coming of age, total destruction, devastation, and coming to terms. Some ghosts you can't outrun. I read the ARC.

[Helen Wu ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ideal for readers who:
• Appreciate psychological depth over plot speed
• Are intrigued by cult stories, experimental art, and moral ambiguity
• Don’t need to “like” a character to be fascinated by them
• Enjoy books that leave a lingering discomfort or invite critical thinking

For me personally, I thought I could handle one more cult story—but I don’t think so anymore. I also realized I prefer fast-paced narratives over slow-burn storytelling.

That said, I thought the narrator, Mia Barron, did a fantastic job. For a while, I truly felt like I was listening to an autobiography.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Alexis Soloski's first novel, but this one was a miss. It was too weird and unevenly passed. The novel follows Allison (Alice), who becomes involved in a bizarre theater cult. The action alternates between 1972 with a first person POV and 1997 with a third-person POV, as someone from Allison's theater culty past comes back to haunt her. Soloski employs this dual timeline ostensibly to build suspense, but not all that much happens, and I thought Allison was unbearable and unlikeable as protagonist.

Also, ultimately this was more about cults than theater. I was in it for the theater aspect, and I instead read a lot of weird culty stuff. I recommend Soloski's first novel Here In The Dark instead!

[Kristin Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was leaning toward 3⭐️ but that ending…. What the what? I feel like I blinked and missed something. This was a sad and honestly gross story of this girls life in the 70’s. It duals her adult life in the 90’s when someone emails her a blast from the past. She views it as possibly a blackmail or ‘I got you now’ type thing and it is not. The book on the whole was fine. But that ending sucked. Just very abrupt and quite lame.

[BAM who is Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flashout is a rich, layered story with tense atmosphere and beautifully realized characters. The dual timeline structure worked brilliantly — I loved watching present-day “Alice” try to unravel who was contacting her about her past, while the flashbacks to the wild theater group of the 70s were vivid and intense. The storytelling felt tightly wound, immersive, and totally compelling.

I didn’t really see the theater group as a “cult” (as advertised in the blurbs) so much as a product of the free-loving, boundary-pushing 70s — but either way, it was totally messed up and fascinating to read about.

But the ending…ugh, I hated it. I don’t even know what kind of resolution I wanted, but not this one. After everything Alice revealed through her internal monologue and all she endured, the choice she makes at the end felt like a betrayal of the character the book had so carefully built. It just wasn’t believable to me, and it soured an otherwise almost perfect novel.

[Margo Littell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1972, when Allison first encounters the avant garde theater troupe Theater Negative in New York City, she’s a fresh-faced college student desperate for adventure and authentic experiences. The show she attends is unlike anything she’s ever seen, and her life changes after that evening. Even her name changes, as the leader of the group, Peter, mishears her name as “Alice.” Alice becomes embroiled with the group, living collectively and cleaving her fate to Peter’s. That fate is manipulative, difficult, and often violent, but Alice lives for the rush of performing, the glow of Peter’s ardor, and, eventually, the attention of Rosa, a volatile new group member who sets Alice’s world spinning. No one will escape these years unscathed.

In 1997, a much older Allison is a school teacher facing the unthinkable: someone from the past has found her, and initiated contact. Allison prefers to keep her past sealed tightly shut--the nightmare of the group’s dissolution; her betrayal and escape. But just as the stage on those long-ago shows with Theater Negative ended with a bright glare of light, a “flashout,” instead of fading to black, the past demands visibility. Allison finds that telling her story is the only path to closure. Dark, claustrophobic, and startlingly clear in its depiction of youthful yearning and euphoria, Flashout is an exceptional fall read.

***Review originally written for the City Book Review. I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.***

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexis Solsoki's thriller "Flashout" is about artifice: the acting on stage and the acting that happens in real life, and the risks that can arise from either.

Artifice is central to our protagonist Allison Morales's life. In the part of the book chronicled in 1972, she is a college student enthralled by an experimental theater group. In the part chronicled in 1997, she is a drama teacher. At both times, she is an admitted liar: "I had been a liar, always, and onstage lies were beautiful, necessary. They told a kind of truth." (Her mother also describes her as a liar, but without indicating beauty or necessity to the lies.)

We follow Theater Negative through its international tours, interpersonal drama, financial troubles, and avant-garde staging of fairy tales, and then the late 90s staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream and messy personal life of Ali Morales (an affair at work, a fraught relationship with her sick mother whom she financially supports, and more).

These two story lines merge because our 1997 protagonist starts getting anonymous, vaguely threatening notes from someone who knew her back in 1972 and who claims to know that she hasn't been fully honest with her role in the disintegration of Theater Negative. There's a sense of illegal or at least immoral actions, but we don't know what she's so afraid of or what she did until the end of the book and the two trajectories move forward to revealing it.

[Kelcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish to thank Macmillan Audio and the author for selecting me as one of the winners for this novel in one of their StoryGraph giveaways. I most likely wouldn't have ben introduced to this novel otherwise, so I appreciate the opportunity!

New York, 1972 and California, 1997. Two different decades and yet both shared by a theater loving girl named Allison... or Alice, to some.

Allison finds herself seduced by the charismatic leader of the experimental theater troupe, Theater Negative, and can't help but sneak off at night to partake in their nightly adventures. The dean at her college, however, isn't too keen to this and dismisses her from her program entirely. Ashamed to return home, mainly due to knowing how her parents would react, she decides to join Theater Negative and thus seals her fate forever.

Not all decisions are created equal. Allison learns this as she navigates life as a young 19 year old with the theater troupe within and beyond New York. The story's dual timelines show you how past decisions may impact your future; some ways good and others haunting. Alexis does a fabulous job at portraying a fascinating story filled with dark secrets and atmospheric allure that keeps you both guessing and wanting more.

[Barbieprivilege · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually skip dual timeline books, very very few authors do them well. Most use it as a crutch to cover up poor writing and the inability to craft a good story, which is what I feel happened here.

I couldn't really connect with any of the characters, despite having been lured and groomed myself by older men when I was the protagonist's age. No one is likable, which is fine, but there was nothing else to draw one in to the story. Most characterizations fell flat or out of sync with earlier descriptions. The roommate, the antagonist who comes back, none of this felt real or natural, there was just a real lack of verisimilitude throughout, which is so strange because again, I've experienced similar situations. It just felt strange and not well done. Also, I was surprised to learn the author is Jewish because there was a bit near the beginning about a Jewish girl in the story that just fell utterly flat for me and just...not realistic at all, even for very secular Jewry.

I wanted it to be better. I started reading as soon as I got my advance copy, I was really excited to dig into it. But it was overall just flat and disappointing.

[Yari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flashout by Alexis Soloski (book cover is in image) in the format of a dual timeline, tells the story of how Allison Haze left school to join a travelling performance group, seeking freedom. 24 years later, after receiving a mysterious communication, the reader is taken on a journey through her past to determine who reached out her. This book explores themes of seduction, grooming, and cultlike behavior and Allison's escape from it all.

While I thought this was a great story, the narration by Mia Barron was ok. Unfortunately, I only got access to the audiobook and was not able to read the ARC, but I believe this would have been a much better read than listen.

Thank you, @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: Aug 05 2025

#MacmillanAudio
#Flashout
#AlexisSoloski
#MiaBarron
#WomensFiction
#YarisBookNook
#NegGalley

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing about this book is that the secret is a secret for too long, and it throws off the pacing. In some ways, the unknown draws you to keep reading, but at some point, it gets frustrating and then you realize there isn’t very much book left to reveal and resolve. Which is how you end up with an abrupt revelation and a sloppy resolution and questions about why so much space is given to what they ate instead of what was happening.

There’s something interesting, dark and compelling here, but it’s somewhat obscured for 90% of the book. The way the author is confronted with her past is so speedy and unexplored that I felt a bit cheated at the end. Clearly the past timeline hugely impacted the present timeline but by the time you find out the why, you’re rolling through the last
20 pages.

Interesting, atmospheric and frankly chilling, but also oddly muted from being able to connect as a reader.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Alexis Soloski's last book and was really excited to listen to an early copy of this one. I really enjoy her writing -- she is so descriptive and I can vividly imagine all her scenes and settings.

I really liked the way this story unravels -- it moves through multiple time periods and we get to see Alice at various points in her life. It is unsetting as we find out what happened in the past, and how it relates to what Alice is experiencing in the present.

I especially enjoyed all the descriptions of the performance pieces and the dynamics between the group.

I thought the audio narrator was excellent - I am picky about my narrators and I would definitely listen to more by her.

I'm excited to read what Alexis Soloski writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

[lori pennington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Mia Barron does a great job narrating this story.

In NYC in the 70's, a sheltered college student falls under the spell of a charismatic director of a performance theatre company and the promise of freedom. Fast forward 20 years and Allison is now a theater director of a private school when her past comes calling and she must take extreme measures to prevent her life from blowing up.

I love the dual timelines in this story and the cultish Charles Manson-esque themes. But, unfortunately, that's about it. This one was in a word - weird. None of the characters are likable, which is ok, but I honestly could not find anything to draw me into the story. The pacing was too slow and the characters were flat. Not a great read for me and one I struggled to finish.

[Nicole Duron · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this dual timeline story, we meet Allison Haze. In the 1972 timeline, Allison is boxed in and wants a bit more from life when she decides to go to see a theatre performance. She becomes hooked. Flashforward to 1996, she is now a theatre teacher and is contacted by someone from the past. It sets her out on a journey to determine who it is before they destroy everything she has worked for.

This book is perfect for those who like a cult-like undertone with very Charles Manson vibes. If you don't mind a slower build up, you will enjoying the back and forth story telling. The pacing was a bit slow, and at some points, fragmented. But for some, that might add to the overall experience and atmosphere in reading a book like this.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Ann Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was OK as far as it goes. It goes back and forth in time between the months a young woman spends in an experimental theater group (read; cult) and her adult life as a theater teacher. The general idea seems to be that the time in the theater group was so raw and exciting and terrible and great etc that nothing that comes after can match up to it. Oh, and there's a murder or two in this Manson-style theater group. I had a hard time relating to the narrator, perhaps just because I don't feel any attraction to fringe stuff like experimental theater groups/cults. The style was flat and bland, which is keeping with the noir subject matter. But that doesn't make it any less boring to read. I remember this book getting a good review and once I started it, it was short enough that it didn't seem worth not finishing it. But it really didn't do a whole lot for me.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I hated to put down.

A book set during two alternating times - Told in the first person, during the 70s, Alice drops out of college in New York to join an experimental theatre group full of sex (some of it coerced), alcohol and drugs. Early on, we know that something really terrible happened, a story that is revealed in bits and pieces. The other chapters are told in the third person, Ali is a high school teacher with a very constrained life unable to move beyond what happened when the troupe disbanded.

The plot was so cleverly constructed. There are just enough hints about the ultimate event to keep the reader guessing and the mystery of who is contacting Ali from the troupe (through the new magic of electronic communication) ties the two halves together nicely.