The gripping story of a shadowy killer, especially thrilling for sci-fi fans.
In Horton’s hard-hitting debut, a realistic thriller with sci-fi elements, vicious murders and a possible government coverup bring the FBI to sleepy Montana.
In the mountains near Kalispell, Mont., victim specialist Kyle Andrews, from Seattle, joins agent Lewis Edwards, also of the FBI, to investigate the brutal murders of three men. The victims were staying in a cabin near the Hungry Horse reservoir, owned by an older couple, Bill and Audrey Jones. Body parts were found, prompting the locals to wonder if it was someone or something that did the killing. Working with Sheriff Grayhawk and Tony Marasco of the Kalispell FBI, Kyle hopes to secure a promotion if all goes well. When Bill and Audrey Jones are also brutally murdered, their orphaned granddaughter, Carrie Daniels, visits Kalispell to say goodbye to her beloved grandparents; but her job as a reporter for the Denver Enquirer makes it hard for her not to investigate. Kyle is immediately struck by Carrie’s beauty and strength, especially considering all she’s been through—losing her parents and now her grandparents and dealing with her recent split from an abusive ex-boyfriend. Carrie and Kyle form a stronger bond when they find a mysterious connection between the murders and a government-linked company called GenTech. Nathan, a hit man hired by GenTech, is severing anything that links the company and the government to the cause of the Hungry Horse murders—Carrie and Kyle included. Horton expertly builds suspense around the murders, while the emotional conflict between Sheriff Grayhawk and his Native American grandmother highlights the question of whether the perpetrator might be supernatural. Fortunately, the lean writing isn’t bulky or overwrought, and the storylines convincingly intertwine in the well-established plot. The government link adds to the intrigue, and hints of the supernatural invigorate this thriller. Horton compellingly describes Sheriff Grayhawk’s unease as he approaches the shadows that lurk in the mountains: “In spite of the light of the moon, it was still impossible to see into the dark recesses of the forest, but that didn’t matter to George. He knew something was out there. He could sense it.”
The gripping story of a shadowy killer, especially thrilling for sci-fi fans.Pub Date: May 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1462007660
Page Count: 424
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Small-town claustrophobia and intimacies alike propel this twist-filled psychological thriller.
The loss of her police officer father and the discovery of an abandoned car in a local lake raise chilling questions regarding a young woman’s family history.
When Hazel Sharp returns to her hometown of Mirror Lake, North Carolina, for her father’s memorial, she and the other townspeople are confronted by a challenging double whammy: As they’re grieving the loss of beloved longtime police officer Detective Perry Holt, a disturbing sight appears in the lake, whose waterline is receding because of an ongoing drought—an old, unidentifiable car, which has likely been lurking there for years. Hazel temporarily leaves her Charlotte-based building-renovation business in the capable hands of her partners and reconnects with her brothers, Caden and Gage; her Uncle Roy; her old fling and neighbor, Nico; and her schoolfriend, Jamie, now a mother and married to Caden. Tiny, relentless suspicions rise to the metaphorical surface along with that waterlogged vehicle: There have been a slew of minor break-ins; two people go missing; and then, a second abandoned car is discovered. The novel digs deeper into Hazel’s family history—her father was a widow when he married Hazel’s mother, who later left the family, absconding with money and jewels—and Miranda, a consummate professional when it comes to exposing the small community tensions that naturally arise when people live in close proximity for generations, exposes revelation after twisty revelation: “Everything mattered disproportionately in a small town. Your success, but also your failure. Everyone knows might as well have been our town motto.”
Small-town claustrophobia and intimacies alike propel this twist-filled psychological thriller.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781668010440
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Marysue Rucci Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dark and unsettling, this novel’s end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.
Ten years after her teenage daughter went missing, a mother begins a new relationship only to discover she can't truly move on until she answers lingering questions about the past.
Laurel Mack’s life stopped in many ways the day her 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, left the house to study at the library and never returned. She drifted away from her other two children, Hanna and Jake, and eventually she and her husband, Paul, divorced. Ten years later, Ellie’s remains and her backpack are found, though the police are unable to determine the reasons for her disappearance and death. After Ellie’s funeral, Laurel begins a relationship with Floyd, a man she meets in a cafe. She's disarmed by Floyd’s charm, but when she meets his young daughter, Poppy, Laurel is startled by her resemblance to Ellie. As the novel progresses, Laurel becomes increasingly determined to learn what happened to Ellie, especially after discovering an odd connection between Poppy’s mother and her daughter even as her relationship with Floyd is becoming more serious. Jewell’s (I Found You, 2017, etc.) latest thriller moves at a brisk pace even as she plays with narrative structure: The book is split into three sections, including a first one which alternates chapters between the time of Ellie’s disappearance and the present and a second section that begins as Laurel and Floyd meet. Both of these sections primarily focus on Laurel. In the third section, Jewell alternates narrators and moments in time: The narrator switches to alternating first-person points of view (told by Poppy’s mother and Floyd) interspersed with third-person narration of Ellie’s experiences and Laurel’s discoveries in the present. All of these devices serve to build palpable tension, but the structure also contributes to how deeply disturbing the story becomes. At times, the characters and the emotional core of the events are almost obscured by such quick maneuvering through the weighty plot.
Dark and unsettling, this novel’s end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.Pub Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-5464-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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