A promising debut packed with malevolent neighbors, juicy scandals, and cozy friendships.
In Verheyden’s thriller, when a free-spirited woman settles in a small Canadian town, horrifying secrets soon emerge.
On the outside, Pleasant Hill in Summerfield looks picture-perfect—but behind the charming veneer lurks a nightmare. Under the oppressive scrutiny of Holly and Homer Kent, the despicable founders of the local homeowner’s association (HOA), the residents of Pleasant Hill are anxious and suspicious. And that’s just how the Kents like it: For 30 years, the Kents have enforced the meticulous upkeep of lawns and houses and rigid rules about pets, noise, decorations, and vehicles. Their tactics of intimidation—including spying, inspections, and fines—usually keep the residents in check. But when Clementine Harrison, a 52-year-old photographer recovering from a breakup with her girlfriend, moves to town with her dog, George, and converted bus “Matilda,” the Kents may have finally met their match. The gregarious Clementine quickly finds her tribe, including no-nonsense senior Marjorie Burns and Valerie Park, who is relentlessly hounded by the HOA over her rewilded yard and whose late husband (who was of Korean descent) was the target of the Kents’ racism. Together, they vow to take down the Kents and unearth shocking truths. While the author introduces a huge cast to follow, the characters are well-crafted and sharply distinguished by their unique struggles. Though the plot relies on a few improbable coincidences, and the over-emphasized “you’ve got this” attitude among the women grows tiresome, Verheyden showcases her talent as a storyteller by skillfully dropping in clues that keep readers guessing, with prose that is punchy and sometimes darkly humorous. (“Didn’t they see that all of them would benefit if they’d just go along with what she wanted?” Holly thinks. “Why would anyone settle for staying ordinary if they could become extraordinary?”) Lighter moments are sharply contrasted with a compelling critique of power dynamics and timely explorations of addiction, sexual assault, and prejudice, resulting in a tale that oscillates between uplifting and sobering.
A promising debut packed with malevolent neighbors, juicy scandals, and cozy friendships.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9798325751066
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Soapy, suspenseful fun.
A remembered horror plunges a pregnant woman into a waking nightmare.
Tegan Werner, 23, barely recalls her one-night stand with married real estate developer Simon Lamar; she only learns Simon’s name after seeing him on the local news five months later. Simon wants nothing to do with the resulting child Tegan now carries and tells his lawyer to negotiate a nondisclosure agreement. A destitute Tegan is all too happy to trade her silence for cash—until a whiff of Simon’s cologne triggers a memory of him drugging and raping her. Distraught and eight months pregnant, Tegan flees her Lewiston, Maine, apartment and drives north in a blizzard, intending to seek comfort and counsel from her older brother, Dennis; instead, she gets lost and crashes, badly injuring her ankle. Tegan is terrified when hulking stranger Hank Thompson stops and extricates her from the wreck, and becomes even more so when he takes her to his cabin rather than the hospital, citing hazardous road conditions. Her anxiety eases somewhat upon meeting Hank’s wife, Polly—a former nurse who settles Tegan in a basement hospital room originally built for Polly’s now-deceased mother. Polly vows to call 911 as soon as the phones and power return, but when that doesn’t happen, Tegan becomes convinced that Hank is forcing Polly to hold her prisoner. Tegan doesn’t know the half of it. McFadden unspools her twisty tale via a first-person-present narration that alternates between Tegan and Polly, grounding character while elevating tension. Coincidence and frustratingly foolish assumptions fuel the plot, but readers able to suspend disbelief are in for a wild ride. A purposefully ambiguous, forward-flashing prologue hints at future homicide, establishing stakes from the jump.
Soapy, suspenseful fun.Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781464227325
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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