A sly, unconventional household enlivens this edgy, delightful romp.
A teenage assassin-in-training stumbles on dark family secrets and confronts an unforeseen menace in Van Sickle’s novel.
Hedy Hinterschott keeps a relatively low profile at the University of San Francisco High School. Eschewing parties and personal relationships isn’t her choice; it’s done for her family’s preservation—the Hinterschott ancestry includes generations of assassins going back half a millennium. Hedy’s parents have been coaching her and her half-witted twin brother, Gary, in talents befitting assassins. Hedy meets Dave Corso, a fellow USF student who intrigues her like no other. Then she learns that her uniqueness—she’s the only Hinterschott female to be born in 500 years—comes from a horrific practice of her unusual family. As if this weren’t enough for a 17-year-old prospective assassin to handle, Hedy is abducted, though the motive isn’t immediately apparent. Are the kidnappers targeting a certain person she’s close to? Or is there another secret her parents haven’t gotten around to telling her? The story, aside from snippets of violence, is lighthearted. Much of it centers on the Hinterschott household, animated by the twins’ sibling banter and their grandmother’s German lilt. Hedy, who narrates, isn’t an instantly likable hero; she berates nearly everyone, from a teacher to Gary’s affectionate dog, with her brother taking the brunt of her incessant jibes (“You are too dumb to breathe”). However, she’s never outright cruel, and she proves bright and capable in all sorts of ways; the ever-vigilant Hedy “reads” strangers, assesses their threat level, and responds to them accordingly (“He’s a short man who approaches us with assertiveness. ‘You can’t loiter here!’ Little big-man syndrome. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. Verdict: all talk, no action”). The final act amps up suspense when a villain steps into the spotlight. This narrative could easily serve as the first installment of a series that readers would surely welcome.
A sly, unconventional household enlivens this edgy, delightful romp.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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