NILES — There’s murder and foul play afoot at Trumbull New Theatre with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight.”

Peter Colley’s script plays a little like “Gaslight” meets “Deathtrap,” and it’s difficult to talk about in great detail without venturing into spoiler territory.

The setting is a farmhouse that Greg Sanderson (Marc Bye) rents where he can continue his archaeological research and his wife Jan (Niki Baringer) can recover from a recent mental breakdown.

However, being in a remote farmhouse is the last place a woman who dreads being alone feels comfortable. And the only thing worse for Jan than being alone is finding out that Greg’s sister, Laura (Molly Cravalho), will be staying with them.

The tension between Jan and Laura is palpable, and the relationship between Greg and Laura falls somewhere between oddly codependent and creepy.

Before the first act is over, Jan is wondering whether she was discharged too soon from the mental institution or if someone is trying to convince her she’s relapsing. And let’s just say Colley subscribes to the same philosophy as Chekov when it comes to guns on play sets.

The first act in TNT’s production is carried largely by Dave Dougherty as George Willowby, the owner of the farmhouse rented by the Sandersons. He’s a man with a fondness for whisky and sharing the most gruesome details of what’s happened in the farmhouse and the surrounding countryside.

Dougherty makes George a charming rascal but also someone who is difficult to read.

Baringer seemed too restrained in portraying the fragility of Jan’s mental state. The first act might have been stronger if she had seemed closer to the precipice of crazy.

The second act in director Lisa Bennett’s staging works better as the play’s action ramps up and the twists unfold. Bennett uses sound and lighting to build suspense to guide the viewer’s attention to action on the periphery of stage.

Bye does triple duty as the show’s set and lighting designer as well as being one of the actors, and he and Bennett create some strong visual moments when the mostly dark stage is illuminated primarily by the flashlights characters are using. The contrast and shadows in these scenes create the chilling effect that is sometimes lacking elsewhere.

If you go …

WHAT: “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 23

WHERE: Trumbull New Theatre, 5883 Youngstown Warren Road, Niles

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $17 for adults and $15 for students and are available online at trumbullnewtheatre.tix.com and by calling the TNT box office at 330-652-1103.