Vacuum in the Dark

Mona is a young woman with some mental health issues. Last seen in Beagin's debut novel, Pretend I'm Dead, she's still cleaning houses in Taos for a living after her junkie boyfriend, Mr. Disgusting, has died of an overdose. As she scrubs and vacuums, Mona listens to the voice (in her head) of NPR's Terry Gross, who is like a wise imaginary best friend to her. (Speaking of gross, those who are easily grossed out might want to skim over the first chapter, titled "Poop.") Meanwhile, Mona is soon involved with another bad-news guy she calls Dark, the husband of one of her clients, a blind woman. While on a trip home to Los Angeles, Mona bonds with an upstairs neighbor during a minor earthquake, and her life takes another turn. Though the self-destructive Mona may eventually get her act together, the madcap comic bits here float over the surface of the novel's murky depths, where lurks the usual story of deeply dysfunctional families, abuse, and the resulting trauma.