Unsettling and frightening: a worthwhile and fast read.
In Zinter’s contemporary fantasy novel, a woman must free herself from a powerful demon.
Doris Draker, an innocent woman, had a regular life working as a secretary when a demon possessed her. The demon made Doris kill nine people—she was finally caught standing in a pool of blood over her last victim. She is sentenced to the notorious Tokema State Hospital for life. While Tokema is a horrible institution in which patients are treated as less than human, Doris finds an oasis of peace and humanity in her sessions with her therapist, Dr. Vernirelli. Being locked up doesn’t keep the demon away (he taunts her throughout her stay), but what’s stranger is the visions she begins to have. She sees herself outside Tokema, but in the blink of an eye she’s back in her room, with her feet covered in dirt. Dr. Vernirelli tries various methods to learn the truth behind Doris’ crimes, attempting to come face to face with the demon himself. A different therapist—a very different one—who’s treating Doris at Tokema is Dr. Tracy, who’s not as comforting as Dr. Vernirelli and indeed seems intent on breaking Doris’ spirit. (“See, my job here is not like all the other psychologists,” Dr. Tracy cheerfully and chillingly confesses.) Doris will need to persevere through the cruel treatment, rely on Dr. Vernirelli’s support, and find the truth behind her demon to exorcise him and end her suffering. This story is both a thriller that builds suspense with surprising plot turns and a horror story that incorporates the supernatural. (The description of the demon swallowing Doris in order to possess her is a creative twist on a traditional horror element.) The worldbuilding of Tokema feels effectively disturbing while toeing the line between fantastic elements that enhance the story and unrealistic elements that detract from its believability; Dr. Tracy’s reconditioning room, in which a great amount of abuse befalls Doris, typifies the latter. The narrative is a roller-coaster ride of twists and shocking revelations that will please readers of both genres.
Unsettling and frightening: a worthwhile and fast read.Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781665755139
Page Count: 226
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.
Dead bodies turn up in the first sentence of the prologue in McFadden’s latest domestic thriller.
The mystery of who died is at the pulsating heart of this propulsive tale. As Chapter 1 begins, Naomi arrives home to find the locks changed on the front door of the gorgeous home she shares with her husband, Jeremy, and their 5-year-old son, Teddy. Jeremy steps out the front door and convinces Naomi to move out while he has their home renovated, a plan Naomi knows nothing about. It’s all a ruse, though, as the next day Jeremy tells her he wants a divorce. Naomi is shellshocked and soon discovers that Jeremy is having an affair with Veronica, a beautiful younger woman. What seems at first like a stereotypical story about a man who leaves his wife turns into something else when Naomi decides she’ll do anything to get Veronica away from Jeremy and Teddy, and Veronica decides to fight for what she thinks she deserves. Fans of stalker novels will cringe with delight as creepy things start to happen. Teddy’s stuffed elephant, a gift from Veronica, is found impaled on a kitchen knife; Naomi suspects Jeremy is gaslighting her and that Veronica tried to poison her. A weird confrontation among Jeremy, Veronica, and Naomi at Teddy’s birthday party, to which Naomi shows up uninvited, is priceless. There are three main characters, and any or all of them may be unreliable narrators. Packing the plot with dark, gasp-inducing twists, McFadden outdoes herself in a story about how highly emotional people engage in risky behavior to get what they want—but in this novel, for better or worse, not everyone will survive.
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249631
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK TO SCREEN
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
