Well paced and creepy—especially if you’re alone in the house while you read.
A TikTok trend threatens a family’s sense of safety—and may be connected to a previous crime.
Most people are probably familiar with this urban legend: a babysitter receives creepy, threatening phone calls and later finds out they’re coming from inside the house. Mara offers a more complex, grown-up version of that legend here, updated to include TikTok and hidden cameras, but the sense of dread is similar: What would you do if someone seemed to be filming themselves inside your house? Julia has recently relocated with her family from California to Ireland to return to her roots and escape an unsavory incident involving her teenage daughter, Isla. She and her ex-husband, Gabe, are divorced but share custody and living space with the two kids in a luxurious gated community; when an anonymous user starts posting videos on TikTok that seem to show the inside of their house, Julia is spooked but figures it’s probably a really good fake. She’s got a lot on her mind, from Gabe’s secretive behavior to Isla’s teenage drama to the memories raised by her return. She and her three best friends grew up in this town, and it’s also where one of them, Donna, died tragically nearly 20 years ago. When another friend dies of what seems to be an accidental drowning just after Julia’s arrival in Ireland, Julia and her one remaining friend, Eleanor, are forced to confront the pain of the past as they look for clues to who is posting the increasingly alarming videos. Are the neighbors who they say they are? What happened to Donna’s socially awkward brother? Is Julia’s son telling the truth when he says there’s a man watching him at night? Mara skillfully layers red herrings and discoveries at a satisfying pace, sprinkled with a few flashbacks that lend even more insight into Julia as a tough and resilient character. The ending rushes a bit, offering a few too many neat bows to tie up all the threads, but it’s a minor complaint.
Well paced and creepy—especially if you’re alone in the house while you read.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780593831434
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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
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