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THE EDIFICE

A regional suspense novel that intriguingly emphasizes characters and mood over disaster.

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In Daly’s work of speculative fiction set in the near future Pacific Northwest, a communelike settlement faces internal crises, intrigue, and danger brought by a charismatic and unscrupulous manager.

In the 2030s, following the dissolution of the United States, a combination of corporate irresponsibility, consumerism, fuel depletion, supply-chain shortages, pandemics, climate change, and economic recession has destroyed central-government infrastructure. The Seattle region must muddle through the ruinous aftermath of a devastating earthquake alone. Erin Rutherford, seemingly driven more by anomie than any altruistic sense of mission, has risen to lead Quartz Lodge, an intentional, self-sustaining community composed of people of many ages, backgrounds, and skills. In the nearby woods abides an abandoned U.S. military installation with advanced technology. Mark Lavant, Quartz Lodge’s handsome and charmingly manipulative new general manager, begins to cultivate a mysterious, cult-style allure among the residents; soon, younger people, and Erin herself, are enchanted by Mark and his self-help patter: “We are free to chart whatever course we want to take. We are free to become better than we were. We are free to choose the next step in our community’s evolution.” Those who are wary of Mark watch the Quartz Lodge food and fuel supplies gradually deplete—and soon, people start disappearing. Daly’s narrative effectively comes across as a sort of post-apocalyptic gothic novel with a slow-burn plotline, more centered on characterizations than future-dystopian thrills. For example, the mystery of the military compound isn’t much of a puzzler; oddly, a supporting character knew everything all along but apparently saw no reason to speak up. The narrative occasionally recaps itself, as well, for the benefit of new characters. However, the book does convey, with some persuasiveness, the characters’ mounting sense of dread and desperation as supplies run low and ordinary people realize that they must help one another to survive.

A regional suspense novel that intriguingly emphasizes characters and mood over disaster.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 280

Publisher: Manuscript

Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2022

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WE ARE ALL GUILTY HERE

Although it lacks the surgical precision of Slaughter’s very best nightmares, this one richly earns its title.

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More than a decade after a Georgia man is convicted of a monstrous double murder, an uncomfortably similar crime frees him and resets the search for the guilty party.

In Clifton County, home to the Rich Cliftons and the other Cliftons, the disappearance of teens Madison Dalrymple and Cheyenne Baker during the Halloween festivities hits everyone in North Falls hard. Working with her father, Sheriff Gerald Clifton, Deputy Emmy Lou Clifton hears the clock ticking down as she races frantically to get leads on the two friends, who’d been secretly plotting to take off for Atlanta after some undisclosed big score. As a longtime friend of Madison’s mother, Hannah, Emmy hopes against hope to find the missing teens before they’re both dead. By the time Emmy’s hopes are dashed, two unpleasantly likely suspects with strong attachments to underage sex partners have emerged, and one of them ends up in prison. In a bold move, Slaughter jumps over the next 12 years to the case of Paisley Walker, a 14-year-old whose disappearance catches the eye of retiring FBI criminal psychologist Jude Archer, who promptly crosses the country to come to Clifton County and take charge—um, that is, consult—on this heartrending new investigation. Emmy, suddenly and shockingly deprived of counsel from the parents who’ve supported her all her life, doesn’t get along any better with Jude than with the larger circle of Cliftons and the Clifton-Cliftons. But together they identify one new suspect, then another, before a shootout that arrives so early you just know there are still more surprises to come.

Although it lacks the surgical precision of Slaughter’s very best nightmares, this one richly earns its title.

Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025

ISBN: 9780063336773

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025

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THE SILENT PATIENT

Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.

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A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.

"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.

Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Celadon Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018

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