A ruminative, involving, and somewhat flawed psychological thriller.
Secrets bind several generations of women in this psychological thriller with paranormal elements.
You could say the story begins in 1962 in Savannah with best friends Marge and Dotty and the dark secret they come to share when they exact revenge on a violent man. Or it starts years before that with Marge’s own mother and the difficult decision she makes. But it is decades in the future when the storylines truly coalesce, when troubled artist Kevan Copeland, who’s disturbed by memory loss and the recent death of her grandmother, crosses paths with Nathan Hill, a man who dotes on and works for his aging godmother. Kevan’s return to her grandmother’s birthplace is full of resentment and hatred; it dredges up memories of Kevan’s violent father who physically and emotionally abused her and their entire family. The only friends she could count on growing up were her beloved Gammie Frances and her best friend, Beth, who accompanies her on her return journey. Back from Gammie’s funeral, Kevan starts to uncover long-buried secrets involving an old, decrepit property left to her—a house she used to visit with her grandmother. Nathan’s story is also full of tragedy; his younger sister has been missing for decades. As Nathan’s and Kevan’s tales merge, memories resurface, visions of a young girl start to haunt Kevan, and Nathan’s godmother’s own secrets add to the drama. Wright’s rich psychological thriller dabbles in the supernatural and features multiple narrators and plotlines set in the past and the present. The author explores generational trauma and questions the nature of evil: Are people born evil and can they inherit their personalities from an abusive parent? It’s a harrowing woman-centric story, with horrific, graphic sexual and physical violence. And while the answer to the mystery at its core is unsurprising and reliant on trivial details, the book is less about solving a cold case and more about thoughtfully exploring the ramifications of that case on the lives of multiple characters.
A ruminative, involving, and somewhat flawed psychological thriller.Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2023
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 303
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.
Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them.
The current caseload for Stephanie and Lula—the ex-prostitute file clerk at her cousin Vincent Plum’s bail bonds company, who serves as her unflappable sidekick—begins with two “failures to appear.” Eugene Fleck is suspected of being Robin Hoodie, who robs from the rich and, yes, distributes the proceeds to the poor. Racketeer Bruno Jug, who’s missed his court date on charges of tax evasion, is also suspected of drugging and raping a 14-year-old. But neither of these fugitives can hold a candle to Zoran Djordjevic, aka Fang, a self-proclaimed vampire wanted in connection with the gruesome fate of his late wife and three other missing women. As usual, Stephanie’s personal life is just as helter-skelter as her professional life as a bounty hunter. She’s managed to get herself engaged both to Det. Joe Morelli, of the Trenton PD, and Ranger, a former Special Forces agent who runs a private security firm; she thinks she may be pregnant; and she’s willing to marry the father, whichever of her fiances that turns out to be. On top of it all, her nothingburger schoolmate Herbert Slovinski suddenly pops up at one of the funerals she ferries her Grandma Mazur to, hitting on her relentlessly and gilding his importunities by cleaning and painting her shabby apartment and laying new carpet. Luckily, Lula’s on hand to offer cupcakes that stave off the worst disasters, and whenever this hodgepodge threatens to slow down, another FTA appears, or fails to appear.
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781668003138
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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