A memorable cast of mortals and ghosts complements this spooky thriller.
This fourth installment of Walters’ fantasy series pits a Des Moines detective and his spectral partner against a diabolical, supernaturally powerful woman.
Detective Brett O’Shea’s impressive track record includes taking down serial killers and monsters. But he can’t accept all the credit; he gets a lot of help from his late great-grandfather Michael—a natty, fedora-sporting ghost. When Chief Terry Anders sends him to check on a noise complaint, Brett tells local fortuneteller Simone Moreau to tone down her late-night drum music. Simone, who claims to be a descendant of famed Louisiana Voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau, becomes obsessed with the detective. She believes that Brett, like her, possesses magic, as she senses the invisible partner who often accompanies him. She vows to uncover his secrets and get him into her bed—whether he’s willing or not. Meanwhile, Brett believes that Shawn Carter, the new chief of detectives, has it out for him. Carter seemingly takes his aggression out on him, demoting him to patrol duty. This makes it all the more taxing for Brett to look into the inexplicable things happening in the city, especially the strange phenomenon of people (including Anders) wandering around as if lost. Simone is powerful enough to threaten Brett’s fellow cops as well as his girlfriend, Lisa Winslow, without being anywhere near them. But her magic could destroy all of Des Moines, and if Brett can’t stop her, he, his loved ones, and thousands of others will be in serious trouble.
There’s no investigation or murder mystery in Walters’ fourth outing with Brett O’Shea. It’s a supernatural thriller featuring villains who don’t bother hiding themselves. Carter makes his animosity for Brett obvious, and Simone blatantly tells him she’s coming for him. It certainly makes for a tense narrative—there’s perpetual menace ready to strike Brett, Lisa, Anders, and even Michael. They face evil that they can’t always see (such as a mysterious illness) as well as more tangible threats: Hordes of zombies rear their ugly heads, roaming the city, swarming buildings, and banging on doors. One mystery does unfold—the nature of Brett’s own supernatural ability, which may help in fighting Simone. The novel’s easygoing tone incorporates an understated religious theme, with Michael casually addressing God almost as if the two regularly converse: “You're the Big Guy, after all. You can do anything. Right?” This Judeo-Christian thread somewhat demonizes Voodooism, as Simone, an apparent priestess, is the antagonistic, evil “she-witch” who wields the dark arts. However, Walters smartly shrouds Simone and most of what she does in ambiguity without specifying the source of her malevolence. Overall, it’s a grim story occasionally alleviated by likable characters and humor. Brett and Lisa make an endearingly devoted couple, but the highlight is Brett’s relationship with his phantom relative. Michael tends to make his presence known without warning, suddenly speaking into Brett’s ear to ensure his great-grandson jumps in shock. Despite a solid resolution to this tale, the ending more than hints that another sequel will follow.
A memorable cast of mortals and ghosts complements this spooky thriller.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 260
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A feisty storm of Greek tragedy headlined by three very modern women.
On the isle of Capri, Helen Lingate seeks revenge on the people responsible for her mother’s death 30 years earlier—her own family.
When Sarah Lingate fell to her death on Capri in 1992, she left behind a 3-year-old daughter, Helen, and a legacy as a gifted playwright; her favorite necklace of golden snakes was lost to the sea. Thirty years later, Helen, chafing at the restrictions she’s grown up under as a member of the old-money Lingate family, hatches a plan with her uncle Marcus’ assistant, Lorna Moreno, to blackmail her uncle and her father with that same necklace, which mysteriously entered her possession a few months before. The novel begins on Capri just after Lorna disappears, and then traces her steps from 36 hours earlier. Interweaving chapters from the points of view of Helen, Lorna, and Sarah—as well as, later, a few others—we learn how Sarah gradually became stifled by the constant pressure of keeping up appearances until she became inspired to write a play, Saltwater, that was a not-so-thinly veiled tell-all revealing dark Lingate family secrets. It was shortly after this that she fell to her death. The loss of her mother has come to define Helen’s life, and if she can use the necklace as leverage to escape her family, and maybe learn the truth along the way, she’ll take the risk. Lorna’s motives are both murkier and more straightforward—she’s never had money, and she’s got a chip on her shoulder about it, so splitting 10 million euros with Helen sounds like a way to discard her past and start fresh. These strong, conniving women drive the drama and the narrative, and they are captivating enough that as twist after twist begins to unfurl, the novel still feels character-driven. The end—well, the end shocks. And it’s well earned. By the time the sun sets on the gorgeous excess and rugged coast of Capri, lives will have been destroyed.
A feisty storm of Greek tragedy headlined by three very modern women.Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780593875551
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
An addictive psychological thriller.
When a mysterious novel appears on her bedside table, a successful documentary filmmaker finds herself face to face with a secret that threatens to unravel life as she knows it.
Catherine Ravenscroft has built a dream life, or close to it: the devoted husband, the house in London, the award-winning career as a documentary filmmaker. And though she’s never quite bonded with her 25-year-old son the way she’d hoped, he’s doing fine—there are worse things than being an electronics salesman. But when she stumbles across a sinister novel called The Perfect Stranger—no one’s quite sure how it came into the house—Catherine sees herself in its pages, living out scenes from her past she’d hoped to forget. It’s a threat—but from whom? And why now, 20 years after the fact? Meanwhile, Stephen Brigstocke, a retired teacher, widowed and in pain, is desperate to exact revenge on Catherine and make her pay for what happened all those years ago. The story is told in alternating chapters, Catherine's in the third-person and Stephen's in the first, as the two orbit each other, predator and prey, and the novel moves between the past and the present to paint a portrait of two troubled families with trauma bubbling under the surface. As their lives become increasingly entangled, Stephen’s obsession grows, Catherine’s world crumbles, and it becomes clear that—in true thriller form—everything may not be as it seems. But how much destruction must be wrought before the truth comes out? And when it does, will there be anything left to salvage? While the long buildup to the big reveal begins to drag, Knight’s elegant plot and compelling (if not unexpected) characters keep the heart of the novel beating even when the pacing falters. Atmospheric and twisting and ripe for TV adaptation, this debut novel never strays far from convention, but that doesn’t make it any less of a page-turner.
An addictive psychological thriller.Pub Date: May 19, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236225-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
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.
