An impressive debut with well-rounded characters and imaginative plot weavings that will keep readers guessing to the end.
A retired Army colonel turns suburban sleuth in Pyle’s debut murder mystery.
In an upscale Denver suburb, Sophie Delgado’s twisted body is found propped against the stop sign at the end of Warriors Way, just down the road from the home of Colonel James Brookside and his wife, Marilyn. The Delgados, Ricky and Sophie, have always been a bit of a mystery in the neighborhood, keeping mostly to themselves. Suspects abound, chief among them the womanizer Ricky, who seems unaffected by his wife’s death. Also acting suspiciously are neighbors Todd and Julia Krantz, who happen to be good friends with the Brooksides; then throw in quirky widower Kenny Jacobs, who happened to be out walking his dog on the night in question. James’ friend Jason Carson is on the case with his crack team of deputies in the Spirit County Sheriff’s Department. James leans on old friend and retired cop Jake Reston to turn over rocks and call in favors. Readers learn, for example, that Sophie caused the traffic-related death of Julia Krantz’s younger sister in Texas some 20 years before, and Sophie and Julia by chance wound up neighbors in Deer Park Ridge. And what’s with the ominous big black SUV that keeps stalking Ricky and Kenny? Readers won’t be surprised that the witness protection program eventually figures into the story. Pyle’s debut novel has more kinks than an arthritic rattlesnake, and, for the most part, they’re credible plot twists. Ricky Delgado—an alias, readers learn—is well drawn as a character with a shadowy past, and the amateur detective work of James and Jake in uncovering that past is impressive, a boon for these retirees. Also credible is the picture of the lives of these upper-middle-class folk, with their skiing, bicycling, and James’ vintage Corvette. It’s a good life and well worth the trouble to keep evil at bay and the snake out of paradise. But an epilogue teases readers that the snake will be back—in Pyle’s next novel.
An impressive debut with well-rounded characters and imaginative plot weavings that will keep readers guessing to the end.Pub Date: March 16, 2026
ISBN: 9798995008309
Page Count: 310
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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