Readers introduced to Nova's new hero (is he a hero?) will be eager for his return.
The first in a Tinseltown-noir series by a veteran novelist.
Nova plainly had some fun with this, and the reader likely will as well. This isn’t exactly a mystery, because it's apparent early on who the bad guy is. Terry Peregrine is a vacuous, pretty-boy actor with a taste for underage girls. The very first sentence finds protagonist Quinn Farrell sensing that “Terry was thinking about killing the girl from Alaska.” Is Farrell the good guy? (Is anyone?) He’s a fixer, someone who makes problems go away. He has a vending-machine company that helps him launder cash, and he often seems to have five grand on him to persuade those who present a problem to disappear. The girl from Alaska represents a problem for Terry, and she wants way more than five grand to disappear. Farrell works for the producer of the film that Terry is currently shooting, and that producer’s goals may or may not align with Terry’s. Much of what plot there is involves these elements—cash, disappearance, pedophilia, the possibility of murder. Farrell has a bit of a stutter, which embarrasses him, and a triggering impulse toward fury, which he does his best to keep under control. He is deeply intuitive, surprisingly philosophical and well-read, and a bit of a romantic. He falls for his neighbor who has just moved in, and her work with teenagers who have terminal cancer gives them both some perspective on life’s big issues. Interconnecting subplots feature a python, a potentially rabid raccoon, a pair of Russian bagman thugs, a detective who once arrested Farrell and now occasionally helps him, and more girls who become involved with Terry. The insidious glitter and evil of Los Angeles and the promises and betrayals of Hollywood inevitably loom large, and a dark, bittersweet humor marks the tone. None of the corpses comes as much of a surprise, and there isn’t much crime-solving involved, but lively writing and colorful characters keep the reader engaged.
Readers introduced to Nova's new hero (is he a hero?) will be eager for his return.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-950691-22-7
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Arcade
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Dark and unsettling, this novel’s end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.
Ten years after her teenage daughter went missing, a mother begins a new relationship only to discover she can't truly move on until she answers lingering questions about the past.
Laurel Mack’s life stopped in many ways the day her 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, left the house to study at the library and never returned. She drifted away from her other two children, Hanna and Jake, and eventually she and her husband, Paul, divorced. Ten years later, Ellie’s remains and her backpack are found, though the police are unable to determine the reasons for her disappearance and death. After Ellie’s funeral, Laurel begins a relationship with Floyd, a man she meets in a cafe. She's disarmed by Floyd’s charm, but when she meets his young daughter, Poppy, Laurel is startled by her resemblance to Ellie. As the novel progresses, Laurel becomes increasingly determined to learn what happened to Ellie, especially after discovering an odd connection between Poppy’s mother and her daughter even as her relationship with Floyd is becoming more serious. Jewell’s (I Found You, 2017, etc.) latest thriller moves at a brisk pace even as she plays with narrative structure: The book is split into three sections, including a first one which alternates chapters between the time of Ellie’s disappearance and the present and a second section that begins as Laurel and Floyd meet. Both of these sections primarily focus on Laurel. In the third section, Jewell alternates narrators and moments in time: The narrator switches to alternating first-person points of view (told by Poppy’s mother and Floyd) interspersed with third-person narration of Ellie’s experiences and Laurel’s discoveries in the present. All of these devices serve to build palpable tension, but the structure also contributes to how deeply disturbing the story becomes. At times, the characters and the emotional core of the events are almost obscured by such quick maneuvering through the weighty plot.
Dark and unsettling, this novel’s end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.Pub Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-5464-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
Lapena’s talents shine in this irresistible novel about revenge, betrayal, and secrets.
So many suspects, so little evidence in Lapena’s latest tale of domestic suspense.
Busy mom Bryden Frost doesn’t see it coming after a morning fender bender involving a Tesla and its charming owner, Derek Gardner, sets her on a collision course with fate. Or does it? Just as in her other fast-moving, women-centric novels, including her breakout The Couple Next Door (2016), Lapena’s female protagonists appear to be living normal lives that some people might even envy—at least at first. When Bryden’s husband, Sam, returns home from work in Albany, New York, to find her missing but her purse and phone still in their apartment, a police investigation ensues. Did Bryden run away? Was she kidnapped? Or could she still be somewhere in the building? Sam is the prime suspect until police Det. Jayne Salter and her team hear from a source that Bryden was having an affair with Derek, something he denies. As Lapena builds her twisty plot, we soon see that these two men aren’t the only people who could be responsible for Bryden’s disappearance. Her sister, Lizzie, who has always been jealous of Bryden, has an addiction she’s hiding from the police, and Bryden’s best friend, Paige, carries a damaging secret as well. And what about the neighbor who was recently accused but not charged with kidnapping and raping a woman? Lapena excavates everyone’s secrets, exposing what’s really going on in the lives of Bryden’s family and friends. None of it is pretty. Lapena’s timely tale mixes the formidable dangers involved with online true-crime addiction with classic police work in a story that will make you wonder what secrets your family and friends are hiding and who, if anyone, you really know or can trust.
Lapena’s talents shine in this irresistible novel about revenge, betrayal, and secrets.Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780593832448
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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