An often thrilling whodunit that’s aided by fine characterization.
In Sabarwal’s novel, a letter threatens to reveal long-buried secrets, 14 years after a young woman in a small Pacific Northwest town died tragically.
“Why Maya Had to Die,” reads the envelope that 36-year-old Munna Dhingra finds outside her office door at a university in Shogie, Washington, in 1952. Maya, Munna’s former childhood friend, drowned more than a decade ago. The death and ensuing investigation rocked the small town of Shogie, Washington, back then, but it was determined to have been accidental. So why, then, does the letter state “She didn’t kill herself. She couldn’t have”—and why was it sent to Munna in the first place? Not trusting the police that apparently bungled the original investigation, Munna works with acclaimed psychoanalyst Karenina to investigate the mystery. As it happens, Munna knows more than she’s letting on—and, seemingly, so do others in Shogie, where everyone seems to know everyone’s business. Munna must separate gossip from fact to find out what really happened to Maya: “Ask yourself—who was angry with her?” reads the letter at the heart of the mystery. “Ask or soon death will come again.” As Munna digs further, she starts to realize that Maya’s heart may have led her into terrible trouble. Sabarwal’s novel is a gripping, atmospheric murder mystery that features elements that effectively call to mind such small-town whodunit TV series as Twin Peaks and the cozier Midsomer Murders. Munna is a smart, relatable protagonist who’s easy to root for, and Sabarwal offers a sharp portrait of growing up as an Indian American woman of color in a predominantly white small town. The secondary characters are fully developed and believable, as well, and it all adds up to a clever and suspenseful page-turner.
An often thrilling whodunit that’s aided by fine characterization.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9798992617818
Page Count: 340
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A rather flat entry in a generally excellent series.
The 25th novel featuring Silva’s legendary protagonist.
During his intersecting careers as art restorer and Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon has tangled with Russian gangsters and al-Qaida terrorists. He has become well-acquainted with operatives in multiple security agencies and befriended a paid assassin. He has busted art thieves and created passable forgeries by Renaissance masters and abstract Modernists. This latest installment centers around his relationship with the pope and a newly discovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci that has gone missing from the Vatican. Silva’s novels tend to fall into two categories: books that reflect the politics of the day and books that don’t. His latest is one of the latter, which could be a treat for readers looking for escape, but it falls flat for a variety of reasons. Luxury has always been part of Gabriel Allon’s universe. It used to be an aspect of tradecraft, though. Allon would be wearing a very expensive suit and driving a very expensive car because he was posing as a client at a Swiss bank. Here, his wife is hosting a catered lunch for 150 of their daughter’s classmates in their apartment overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice. What once felt like a scintillating peek into the world of the obscenely wealthy now just feels…kind of obscene. Similarly, Allon goes chasing after a missing painting as a civilian—he retired from Mossad in Portrait of an Unknown Woman (2022)—the same way another man his age might buy a speedboat or get hair plugs. As the story progresses, the stakes are raised, but it’s hard to forget that Allon is now a middle-aged man pursuing a dangerous hobby, rather than a spymaster leading his intrepid team to prevent a disaster that will disrupt the global order.
A rather flat entry in a generally excellent series.Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9780063384217
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.
Two killers are on the loose. Can they be stopped?
In this ambitious mystery, the prolific and popular King tells the story of a serial murderer who pledges, in a note to Buckeye City police, to kill “13 innocents and 1 guilty,” in order, we eventually learn, to avenge the death of a man who was framed and convicted for possession of child pornography and then killed in prison. At the same time, the author weaves in the efforts of another would-be murderer, a member of a violently abortion-opposing church who has been stalking a popular feminist author and women’s rights activist on a publicity tour. To tell these twin tales of murders done and intended, King summons some familiar characters, including private investigator Holly Gibney, whom readers may recall from previous novels. Gibney is enlisted to help Buckeye City police detective Izzy Jaynes try to identify and stop the serial killer, who has been murdering random unlucky citizens with chilling efficiency. She’s also been hired as a bodyguard for author and activist Kate McKay and her young assistant. The author succeeds in grabbing the reader’s interest and holding it throughout this page-turning tale of terror, which reads like a big-screen thriller. The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King’s choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic. King shines brightest when he gets to the heart of our darkest fears and desires, but here the dangers seem a bit cerebral. In his warning letter to the police, the serial killer wonders if his cryptic rationale to murder will make sense to others, concluding, “It does to me, and that is enough.” Is it enough? In another writer’s work, it might not be, but in King’s skilled hands, it probably is.
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781668089330
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 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.
