Readers may guess the ending, but the sheriff’s diligent investigation is worthy of cheers.
In Mucci’s thriller, a sheriff in a Philadelphia suburb surmises that a string of missing people is actually the work of a serial killer.
Christian DeAngelo is the new sheriff in town, promoted from deputy after Sheriff Holbrook succumbed to a heart attack. During Holbrook’s legendary reign, the town of Macon didn’t have a single murder in over 20 years. But Macon’s had its share of mysterious disappearances: a local reporter points out to DeAngelo that Roger Sharpe is the 11th missing person in as many years. Evidence suggests, however, that someone killed Roger, and DeAngelo, noting that at least some of the vanished have committed infractions (like meth-dealing/-manufacturing Roger), believes the others are murder victims as well. DeAngelo, a notorious drunk, may have to step away from the barstool if he wants to stop a murderer. Author Mucci sets up a juicy murder mystery, opening with a coldblooded murder and an early indication of conspiracy, with DeAngelo uncovering someone’s sizable deposits (i.e., payoffs). The sheriff’s investigation largely comprises DeAngelo perusing the files of the 10 preceding cases, making headway only when more than one witness steps forward and there are additional murders, these with actual bodies and crime scenes. Readers will likely piece together all the information and name a killer well before DeAngelo does. But the novel’s latter half really ignites. DeAngelo starts to overcome the town’s uncertainty of its latest sheriff (even Holbrook’s widow and the mayor had described him as an inept boozer). When he decides not to drink, DeAngelo and the story focus on the nitty-gritty particulars of the missing person cases, which might lead to a serial killer. Deer-related metaphors abound since the alleged murders happen at the height of deer-hunting season and readers are privy to a murder that resembles a hunt. But Mucci ensures that most of these are subtle and often playful; an anxious man’s panting, for example, is equated to a struck deer “lying on the ground, waiting to die.”
Readers may guess the ending, but the sheriff’s diligent investigation is worthy of cheers.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2015
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Rook Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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