A dark, riveting mystery.
In Willson’s thriller, an Alaskan investigator dives into a case that’s as diabolical as it is perplexing.
Jake Ward’s pancreatic cancer has forced him to undergo a major operation and rounds of chemotherapy. Now that he’s finished with chemo, he’s ready to get back to his job as a technical crimes investigator in Palmer, Alaska. As he’s still physically weak, he doesn’t qualify to carry his service pistol and his captain keeps him on light duty, so it’s no surprise when Jake gets assigned to administer a polygraph test. He interrogates Belle Anderson, a woman who allegedly tried to break into a warehouse. Though her behavior at the time of her arrest led authorities to assume she’s an addict, she claims during questioning that she’d been held as a hostage. Before Jake can complete the test, an armed man helps Belle escape police custody, injuring an officer in the process. As Major Crimes hunts for the shooter, Jake looks into Belle, learning that, years ago, she had cancer, too. However, further digging into Belle’s past only yields pieces to a puzzle he can’t quite put together. Readers, meanwhile, are privy to Belle’s narrative perspective, which is even more cryptic with references to an ongoing “project” and to what she calls her “detachments.” What she’s apparently involved in may have something to do with murder victims that have been turning up, all with scars in the same place. To get answers, Jake makes a risky move that puts him in the midst of a nefarious plan, one that is more complex and bizarre than he ever could have imagined.
The hero of Willson’s story displays an appealing affability; a complete professional, Jake hardly complains about his light duty or the fact that his girlfriend practically abandoned him, and he even gives a rookie officer sound advice. The investigation is thoroughly convincing—Jake’s light duty status affords him time to look into the case as he meticulously examines clues and explores the personal connection of his and Belle’s medical histories. The mystery of Belle and the shooter effectively builds as the story pushes on. A few set pieces stand out, including the polygraph test, which Jake explains in great detail to Belle (and readers); a tense standoff with cops and a suspect; and a nerve-racking scuffle between two individuals armed with guns. Some of what’s happening is intentionally left ambiguous, though everything leads to a suspenseful final act that’s wholly gratifying. The supporting cast is relatively bland, as the novel focuses primarily on Jake, Belle, and a baddie or two; a notable exception is Bud Foley, a tenacious and dry-humored trooper who works closely with Jake. While the hero isn’t prone to one-liners, the third-person narrative dishes out a few choice bits: “It was a bad idea, but it was the best bad idea he had.”
Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798878425353
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
“Nasty little fellows…always get their comeuppance,” a movie character once said. Deeply satisfying.
Following the mysterious disappearance of his wife, a struggling London novelist journeys to a remote Scottish island to try to get his mojo back—but all, of course, is not what it seems.
Grady Green hits the pinnacle of his publishing career on the same night that his life goes off the rails—first his book lands on the New York Times bestseller list, and then his wife, Abby, goes missing on her way home. A year later, Grady is a mere shadow of his former self: out of money and out of ideas. So, when his agent, Abby’s godmother, suggests that he spend some time on the Isle of Amberly, in a log cabin left to her by one of her writers, it seems as good a plan as any. With free housing for himself and his dog and a beautiful, distraction-free environment, maybe he can finally complete the next novel. But from the very beginning, Grady’s experiences with Amberly seem weird, if not downright ominous: As a visitor, he’s not allowed to bring his car onto the island; the local businesses are only open for a few hours at a time; and there are no birds. At all. Not to mention the skeletal hand he finds buried under the floorboards of the cabin, the creepy harmonica music in the woods, and the occasional sighting of a woman in a red coat who’s a dead ringer for Abby. As Grady falls deeper and deeper into insomnia and alcoholism, he begins to realize his being on the island is no accident—and that should make him very afraid. Through occasional chapters from before Abby’s disappearance, told from her point of view, we learn that Grady is not necessarily a reliable narrator, and the book’s slow unfolding of dread, mystery, and then truth is both creative and well-paced. Every chapter heading is an oxymoron, like the title, reminding us of the contradictions at the heart of every story.
“Nasty little fellows…always get their comeuppance,” a movie character once said. Deeply satisfying.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781250337788
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
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