MAYHEM

It’s 1987, and everybody in the fictional coastal town of Santa Maria, California, knows the dangerous Brayburn women.

When Mayhem Brayburn was 3, she and her mother, Roxy, left Santa Maria trying to escape the burden that generations of Brayburn women have carried. Thirteen years later, May and Roxy flee May’s abusive stepfather, returning to the family home to stay with Roxy’s twin sister, Elle, and her foster kids: Neve and siblings Jason and Kidd. Now May engages for the first time with all the secrets Roxy kept all these years and the truth behind the Brayburn women’s burden—and self-appointed mission—just as a serial kidnapper is on the loose on the beaches of Santa Maria. Paying open homage to the ’80s movie The Lost Boys, the novel addresses issues such as domestic abuse, suicide, sexual assault, and addiction, interweaving them with magic, deadly violence, and vigilante justice. May’s move from innocence to being an eager vigilante who feels empowered by killing as well as her sudden romance with Jason feel too hurried, but the story’s focus on May and Roxy’s relationship, its interrogation of revenge, as well as the exploration of destiny versus agency are ultimately rewarding. Journals and letters from Brayburn women through the years add to the story. May’s mother is white and her father was Brazilian; Jason and Kidd are biracial (black/white), Neve is white, and Elle is lesbian.

An uneven but worthwhile read.