Mystery readers are in good hands with this well-crafted, character-driven crime novel.
The killer is watching as a vacationing detective decides to investigate an old, unsolved murder in Ceron’s thriller.
When NYPD detective Miles Jordan rents a cabin in the Catskills, his winter vacation plans include “pancakes, beer, and cross-country skiing,” not a homicide cold case. His arrival in a small mountain town, however, coincides with the 25th anniversary of the unsolved murder of Jesse Anne Kelly, a state trooper’s wife. At the request of the victim’s sister—and against the wishes of the victim’s husband, now the town’s police chief—Miles is reluctantly drawn into the case and the lives of those most affected. Miles isn’t the stereotypical supercop: He’s smart and good looking, but at age 38 he’s packing extra pounds, recovering from recent knee surgery, five years out from a mild heart attack, and driven by fierce empathy for victims of violent crime. (The fact that Miles is Black isn’t an issue in his interactions, although the 1950s vibe of a diner he visits does invite his reflection that he wouldn’t have been welcome to eat there during that era.) As tensions mount and the case builds to its deadly conclusion, the author offers up potential suspects with enough misdirection to keep readers second-guessing. Is the police chief’s refusal of Miles’ help due to grief, guilt, or both? How angry was Jesse’s former work colleague, fired from his job for sexual harassment? Then there’s the gifted artist, whose self-destructive descent into alcoholism began shortly after Jesse’s death. Realistic dialogue and clear, descriptive prose propel the narrative; in a derelict shack, broken drywall exposes “pink insulation like guts in an open wound.” The ever-present winter weather reflects the mood and setting, the frigid bleakness (“The icy wind carried the fragrance of cedar and howled like a pack of wolves”) lending poignant significance to the book’s title. This is the third novel in Ceron’s Miles Jordan Mystery Thriller series, following Death of the Saltwater Blonde (2022) and Death in the City of Bridges (2022).
Mystery readers are in good hands with this well-crafted, character-driven crime novel.Pub Date: March 30, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Gold Coast Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.
Three siblings on very different paths learn that their family home may be haunted by secrets.
Eldest daughter Beth is alone with her fading mother as she takes her final breath and says something about Beth’s long-departed brother and sister, who may not have disappeared forever. Beth is still reeling from the loss of her mother when her estranged siblings show up. Michael, the youngest, hasn’t been home since their father’s disappearance seven years ago. In the meantime, he’s outgrown his siblings, trading his share of the family troubles for a high-paying job in San Jose. Nicole, the middle child, has been overpowered by addiction and prioritized tuning out reality over any sense of responsibility, much to Beth’s disgust. Though their mother’s death marks an ending for the family, it’s also a beginning, as the three siblings realize when they find a disturbing videotape among their parents’ belongings. The video, from 1999, sheds suspicion on their father’s disappearance, linking it to a long-unsolved neighborhood mystery. Was it just a series of unfortunate circumstances that broke the family apart, or does something more sinister underlie the sadness they’ve all found in life? In chapters that rotate among the family’s first-person narratives, the siblings take turns digging up stories and secrets in their search for solace.
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798212182843
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Roberts revisits a favorite theme: The power of community can defeat a great evil.
After escaping from a serial killer, a woman tries to reclaim her life.
After a childhood as an Army brat, Morgan Albright is determined to put down roots. She bought a small house in the perfect neighborhood outside of Baltimore, living with a friend and working two jobs to make ends meet. Morgan’s life is happy and fulfilling, and she is making progress on her financial and career goals. Her perfect world is shattered when someone breaks into her home and murders her roommate. At first, the police assume it was a random act of violence, but after discovering the killer stole Morgan’s identity and her entire savings, they realize the crime fits the profile of a serial killer named Gavin Rozwell. The police inform Morgan that her roommate was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time; she was the real intended target. Morgan’s grief, coupled with the financial devastation from the identity theft, leaves her no choice but to return home to Vermont to live with her mother and grandmother. Morgan reconnects with her family and rebuilds her life, including landing the perfect job and falling in love. The police and FBI pursue Gavin, who continues to stalk and kill women, each time leaving a reminder at the crime scene that shows he’s fixated on Morgan as the one who got away. Roberts shows Gavin’s slow descent into obsession and madness as the inverse of Morgan’s healing journey back to herself and her community. The novel highlights Morgan’s preparations for the inevitable final countdown with Gavin, but the lack of immediacy and urgency of the threat makes for a subdued, restrained thriller.
Roberts revisits a favorite theme: The power of community can defeat a great evil.Pub Date: May 23, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284112
Page Count: 448
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
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