A smoothly written but underdramatized novel about a toxic relationship between housemates in Southern California.
Chicago writer and teacher Macon Fleischer debuts with a suspense novel about a woman whose life turns creepy after a con artist responds to her Craigslist ad for a roommate.
Twenty-five-year-old Donna is lucky enough to inherit a bungalow in sunny Southern California from her grandmother, a welcome change from dreary Chicago, shortly before Donald Trump becomes president. But right off the bat, things are odd. There are no personal effects of grandma Rudy, strange noises emanate from the attic, and in the spirit of countless psychological thrillers, Donna feels she’s being watched. She’s determined to begin a new life, but her job as a receptionist at a beauty salon pays little, and the town of Topanga is a bit pricey. Forced to find a roommate, she ignores huge red flags when her Craigslist ad brings a response from the older, gay Joshua Flowers, who had “something mysterious” about him, “a calming quiet that left room for a lot of questions.” When Donna finds that the stink in his room comes from dead mice he feeds an enormous python he’s hidden in his closet, she barely protests, although it’s clear that her new roommate is bad news, especially after he balks at paying rent. Macon Fleischer is a smooth writer who keeps the nasty details about Joshua unfolding at a steady clip and effectively conveys the setting. Early on, Donna finds 20 feet of shed snakeskin near her door: “Topanga was known as ‘the Snake Pit,’ but for the rattlesnakes and seedy residents from the seventies—not twenty-foot-long pythons.” But it’s hard to care about a character who, throughout the book, acts so carelessly and for reasons too often explained, not dramatized. And Joshua is the snake hiding in the flowers, aiming to steal her house and perhaps harm her. As Donna rationalizes his actions, her plight fails to inspire the keen sympathy it should, given that from the start her predicaments have been of her own making.
A smoothly written but underdramatized novel about a toxic relationship between housemates in Southern California.Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-80405-435-2
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Joffe Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.
A woman fears she made a fatal mistake by taking in a blood-soaked tween during a storm.
High winds and torrential rain are forecast for “The Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire,” making Casey question the structural integrity of her ramshackle rental cabin. Still, she’s loath to seek shelter with her lecherous landlord or her paternalistic neighbor, so instead she just crosses her fingers, gathers some candles, and hopes for the best. Casey is cooking dinner when she notices a light in her shed. She grabs her gun and investigates, only to find a rail-thin girl hiding in the corner under a blanket. She’s clutching a knife with “Eleanor” written on the handle in black marker, and though her clothes are bloody, she appears uninjured. The weather is rapidly worsening, so before she can second-guess herself, former Boston-area teacher Casey invites the girl—whom she judges to be 12 or 13—inside to eat and get warm. A wary but starving Eleanor accepts in exchange for Casey promising not to call the police—a deal Casey comes to regret after the phones go down, the power goes out, and her hostile, sullen guest drops something that’s a big surprise. Meanwhile, in interspersed chapters labeled “Before,” middle-schooler Ella befriends fellow outcast Anton, who helps her endure life in Medford, Massachusetts, with her abusive, neglectful hoarder of a mother. As per her usual, McFadden lulls readers using a seemingly straightforward thriller setup before launching headlong into a series of progressively seismic (and increasingly bonkers) plot twists. The visceral first-person, present-tense narrative alternates perspectives, fostering tension and immediacy while establishing character and engendering empathy. Ella and Anton’s relationship particularly shines, its heartrending authenticity counterbalancing some of the story’s soapier turns.
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781464260919
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Come for the forensics, stay for the nonhumans.
A Christmas bout between Kay Scarpetta and the Phantom Slasher.
But first, Scarpetta, Virginia’s chief medical examiner, has to figure out how software designer Rowdy O’Leary died. Fished from the Potomac River on Christmas Eve six years after a hit-and-run driver left him permanently disabled and a week after he plunked down the cash for a pricey emerald ring, he fell off his fishing perch and drowned—or did he? Scarpetta’s examination of his body is cut short by two disturbing developments: the discovery of an unidentified woman’s remains buried on the grounds of Mercy Psychiatric Hospital, and celebrity TV reporter Dana Diletti’s report that the red-eyed ghost associated with the Slasher’s three murders has floated through the window of her home. She’s got video, too, and the apparition looks real and scary. The final blow to Scarpetta’s plans for a Christmas getaway with her husband, Secret Service forensic psychologist Benton Wesley, is an attack on an Alexandria home that kills Mercy psychiatrist Georgine Duvall, who used to treat Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy Farinelli, and nearly kills graduate student Zain Willard, White House intern and nephew of presidential candidate Sen. Calvin Willard. This time the Slasher’s ghost has been spotted on the scene by none other than Pete Marino, head of investigations for the medical examiner’s office and Scarpetta’s longtime sidekick. Cornwell’s use of Robbie, Zain’s robotic dog, and Janet, Lucy’s AI companion, integrates the futuristic elements she favors more successfully than in her recent outings. But the solutions to all these mysteries will leave fans of the venerable franchise pursing their lips rather than gasping in awe.
Come for the forensics, stay for the nonhumans.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781538773963
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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