Sometimes the sexiest and most romantic people are nuts. Jordan, a struggling New York City saxophone player, meets blues singer Summer Vale and imagines that he’s found his heart’s desire: a hot lover and brilliant vocalist. But Summer is volatile, given to kleptomania, and susceptible to conspiracy theories. Former boyfriends haunt her, including the one whose five-year-old son she and Jordan start raising together. But when her antics become more sinister than quirky, and the innocent get hurt, Jordan must wonder whether “half crazy” is workable for him—and whether he really is her “better half.”

Dara Lebrun is also the author of The Bunny Hop and Sub Rosa.