A clear-cut, concise thriller about an ordinary woman with a special gift.
An accountant with a paranormal intuitive ability is invited to join a research project at a mysterious company in Johnson’s debut novel.
Linda Russell, a middle-aged CPA, is living comfortably and dreaming of retiring to the Caribbean. There is something unique about her: Linda has the ability to sense whether another person is in trouble, and if so, she knows it before they do. (She once had an ambulance called for her boss moments before it became clear that it was necessary, saving his life.) Lately, she has been having chance encounters with a man named John Bates. At first, he was a stranger talking to her at the mall—then he appeared at her daughter’s card game. The meetings are too dubiously coincidental, so he comes clean. Bates works for Genesis, a think tank that is a part of a data collection corporation. He says they work on research projects, but Linda isn’t sure why Bates is so interested in her, a seemingly typical middle-aged Black female. Bates wants Linda to be a data analyst, revealing that he is aware of her intuition and that Genesis wants to study her. (They are also interested in her granddaughter, who has the same gift.) Linda agrees to join Genesis, though the transition is a bit rocky (“Whenever there is change, it seems chaos occurs all around you”). Another, racist organization is also aware of Linda’s unique talent, and only Genesis can keep her and her granddaughter safe. Johnson’s novel creates a sharply drawn portrait of a mild-mannered accountant who only wants a comfortable life and a happy family but is drawn into something extraordinary. The characters are easy to picture and relate to; something initially intriguingly mysterious about Genesis builds some tension. The novel is fairly short, and, as the title suggests, just scratches the surface of the narrative’s potential. Here’s hoping a sequel will expand the plot to fully develop the many good ideas introduced in this offering.
A clear-cut, concise thriller about an ordinary woman with a special gift.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9798876763600
Page Count: 143
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2024
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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