A richly drawn, multipronged mystery set during a winter week in Maine.
Selbo’s tenacious Portland detective untangles a knot of related mysteries in this crime novel, the fourth in a series.
Dee Rommel is Portland, Maine’s newest minted private investigator. The former police officer with a distinctive prosthetic just passed the license exam, making her an even more valuable member of the team at G&Z Investigations. And just in time: The mysteries are piling up both at work and at home. For one, her mother Gayle, a top administrator at a prestigious cancer research institute, is being cyberbullied by one of her subordinates, but for some reason, she refuses to make a report. Then there’s Billy Payer, a murderer who once kidnapped Dee and is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence. He wants to meet, claiming he might have some information about an outstanding case. On top of that, while breaking up a domestic dispute in a restaurant parking lot on the way back from Boston, Dee has her luggage stolen by a violent woman who may be off her meds. Dee manages to get the bag back a few days later—only to discover that the thief, Gilli Wanz, has been brutally murdered. It turns out the unstable Gilli is a member of a farming family with deep ties to the area—and the owner of a block of dilapidated rental units in the midst of rapidly gentrifying Portland. Finally, Dee’s boss, detective Gordy Greer, has asked her to look into the death of a friend of his: local environmental activist Frank Croake, whose demise was initially ruled a suicide, though Gordy suspects foul play. Is there a connection between Gilli’s death and Frank’s? Dee’s work on both cases will force her to collaborate with her ex-boyfriend, current Portland police detective Robbie Donato, stirring up unwanted feelings along the way. Dee will need to keep her wits if she wants to solve the cases without losing any more limbs—and all during her birthday week, no less!
Selbo’s muscular prose captures both the particularities of the setting—snowy farms, locals suspicious of outsiders, seafood platters covered in Captain Mowatt’s Canceaux Sauce—and the guarded personality of her narrator. “I toss these observations around in my mind too often,” Dee acknowledges after a litany of shower-time thoughts about the nature of humanity and detective work; “nearly always as conversations between me and me because they take place when I’m home and alone.” Even so, there are satisfying moments of connection, or near connection, thanks to the large cast of characters, most of whom come with established histories. The author manages to deploy three books’ worth of backstory in a way that deepens this novel and helps the reader understand the way Dee operates. There is a vulnerability to the investigator—seen both in her romantic life and in her quest for a suitable prosthetic with which to run the Boston Marathon—rarely encountered in detective novels. Fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy this volume, while new readers will be drawn in by the many intersecting plotlines and chilly, lived-in atmosphere.
A richly drawn, multipronged mystery set during a winter week in Maine.Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781950627769
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Pandamoon Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2025
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
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.
Lt. Eve Dallas’ 63rd futuristic case is less a whodunit than a manhunt for an unusually sympathetic killer.
Thirteen years ago, way back in 2048, scientific genius Steve Redman—father of the Banner-Wyst corporation’s Rainmaker Project—narrowly escaped death in a gas explosion that killed his pregnant wife and infant son and 200 other residents of their New York City apartment building the night before he planned to report his suspicions about the company to the FBI. Now the bill is coming due for Banner-Wyst. The first death to be discovered is that of Lawrence Chu, Redman’s colleague and trusted friend, whose tenure as director of bioengineering science ends when he’s beaten to death. For quite a while, Dallas and her partner, Det. Delia Peabody, know less about this mystery than their readers do. But when Ezra Dent, a consultant to Banner-Wyst who worked with Redman and Chu back in the day, is murdered in exactly the same ferocious way, Dallas and Peabody, with help from Roarke, Dallas’ tech-billionaire husband, promptly put the pieces together and determine who they’re looking for. The search for Redman, who went AWOL from his hospital bed without a trace six years ago, has its own challenges. So does Dallas’ attempt to get cooperation from partners Calvin Banner and Jacob Wyst, who are clearly in the crosshairs of a killer who seems a lot less monstrous than they are. If the breaks in the case are suspiciously convenient in arriving, readers can pride themselves on taking sides against a mega-corporation whose self-avowed ecological saintliness is undermined by its leaders’ underhanded dealing.
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414564
Page Count: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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