A delightfully dark historical cat-and-mouse game blending the psychic and psychological.
After a yearslong reprieve, the Axeman who haunts survivor Gianna’s nightmares stalks New Orleans’ Italian grocers again.
In this true-crime reimagining of the infamous Axeman of New Orleans with a supernatural spin, the hunter becomes hunted by one of his surviving victims. Seven years ago, Gianna and Enzo were brought together through shared trauma—both of their families survived brutal attacks by an ax-wielding intruder. After 17-year-old Gianna’s reoccurring nightmare of the attack changes in a threatening way, the Axeman strikes again. Believing her dreams are connected to the killer, Gianna and Enzo scour her nightmarish visions for clues, and the grisly crime scenes pile up. Aside from the Axeman’s terrorizing of New Orleans’s maligned Italian community, the city also simmers with the tension of the Great War abroad and the 1918 influenza pandemic; readers will feel déjà vu as they learn about the historical reception of face masks and lockdowns. The supernatural elements—Gianna and the Axeman’s connection, an Italian fortuneteller—offer eerie plot tendrils to follow (though some of these are dropped) and come into play in ways that heighten the dangers during big scenes. The graphic violence grounds the story and stakes. Gianna’s parents emigrated from Italy as young adults; Enzo is third-generation Italian American. Their romantic storyline is perfunctory but does not distract from the story’s tension.
A delightfully dark historical cat-and-mouse game blending the psychic and psychological. (author’s note) (Historical supernatural thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72822-914-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
Unlikely to gain the author any new readers but will appeal to her fans.
Marley, who’s on the cusp of graduating from high school, looks forward to going to college in California, but first, she must endure senior prank week.
What began as a harmless tradition to annoy the hapless school principal has evolved into a more serious series of pranks and dares orchestrated by the five Wilder brothers: Everett, Emmett, Rhett, Garrett, and Truett. Rhett, who’s Marley’s former friend, is leading this year’s pranks and imposing severe consequences on non-participants. When their dare results in tragedy for a group of friends—Marley, Luce, Jesse, and Atlas (Marley’s boyfriend)—they make a pact to keep what happened a secret. Marley continues to be wracked with self-reproach, however, and paranoia and guilt begin to tear the teens’ friendships apart. It’s crucial for readers to approach the book with suspension of disbelief, because the characters sometimes act without clear motivation and at other times seem to understand who’s responsible for events based on very flimsy evidence. The dialogue also becomes repetitive at points. While this may not be Preston’s strongest work, her dedicated followers will find in it the suspenseful approach they love. Luce is cued Latine; Atlas reads Black, and the rest of the characters present white.
Unlikely to gain the author any new readers but will appeal to her fans. (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593704066
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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