Deftly mines monstrous thrills.
In Lappi’s horror thriller, a former iron ore mine turned popular tourist attraction becomes the hunting ground for a deadly subterranean creature.
Descending deeply into a former mine is a popular tourist activity in Angora Township, Minnesota. About 60 years ago, something happened at Level 43, and explosives were used to seal the entrance to levels below 32, and the mine was closed down. After tour guide John Lukkinen notices a large crack in the stone wall on Level 32, likely the result of explosions set off at another nearby mine, it’s decided to finish the day’s tours and then close down for inspection. Unknown to Lukkinen, Minnesota senator Ronald Young had recently sent two teams down to investigate possible damage to Levels 33 through 43, and neither crew returned. The senator contacts the rescue group SafeWell to perform an investigatory mission to locate the teams. Former Navy SEAL Morgan Fischer leads the mission. When a power outage occurs, Lukkinen’s group of tourists and Fischer’s team [need to come up with a contingency plan, which is tremendously complicated by the appearance of Bauwen, a “bogey of unknown origin” with four legs and a long tail. Further complications include a second, worse monster—the Vorgroth—that attacks and eats people who enter its space. The story shares similarities with the Godzilla narrative (about a monstrous reptile awakened in the water off Japan after years by nuclear testing) and Jules Verne’s classic subterranean novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which underground travelers encounter prehistoric creatures and other dangers. An abundance of characters overcomplicates the early part of tale, but the population soon dwindles due to the monsters’ destruction and appetites. In this thrilling read, Lappi features strong female characters, a variety of ethnicities, and a wide range of ages, from an eager teenage tourist with two dads to a spry nonagenarian couple.
Deftly mines monstrous thrills.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780989172684
Page Count: 422
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 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
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
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