A dark, suspenseful legal tale with a remarkable coda.
In McKee’s debut thriller, an Atlanta lawyer sets about clearing his name after he becomes a murder suspect.
After successfully defending a patent case for the Milano Corporation, Paul McDaniel is ready for a weekend at the beach. But his victory quickly sours when Paul suspects that Anthony Milano used the case as a way to get his hands on brother Placido’s stocks in the family business after the two inherited a controlling share of it. Despite news that Placido has been missing since the trial ended, his daughter, Melissa Milano, tells Paul that her father is hiding, as he’s convinced Anthony is trying to kill him. Paul agrees to help Melissa—whom he dated in the past—track down Placido. But a coverup is already underway, and Paul is soon a suspect in not one but three homicides. He goes on the run but grows determined to prove his innocence. At the same time, he learns that Anthony is holding Melissa captive to draw out Placido. Fortunately, Paul has a few allies, from recently befriended, retired Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Bill Grey to Placido’s artificial intelligence “assistant,” Ariel. As they concoct a plan to rescue Melissa, Paul struggles to avoid authorities so he’ll have time to vindicate himself. McKee’s novel is grim throughout. Paul, for example, distrusts even some of the people he works with and has a strained relationship with his mother, a homeless alcoholic who sees him only when she wants money. As for Ariel, she’s a savvy AI—she can access ATMs—but her “moral limitations” make Paul understandably wary. Although numerous characters die, McKee avoids excessive depictions of violence. Instead, he showcases notable scenes of suspense, as when a group sneaks onto an island to find Melissa and when a police officer stops Paul, who’s on the lam and carrying someone else’s ID. The ending takes a bit of a turn, though it’s not wholly unexpected and is certainly memorable.
A dark, suspenseful legal tale with a remarkable coda.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Southern Fried Karma, LLC
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Smart, edgy, and entertaining as heck.
Against her better judgment, Lucy Chase returns to her hometown of Plumpton, Texas, for her grandmother’s birthday, knowing full well that almost everyone in town still believes she murdered her best friend five years ago, when they were in their early 20s.
Coincidentally—or is it?—Ben Owens, a true-crime podcaster, is also in town, interviewing Lucy’s family and former friends about the murder of Savannah Harper, “just the sweetest girl you ever met,” who died from several violent blows to the head. Lucy was found hours later covered in blood, with no memory of what happened. She was—and is—a woman with secrets, which has not endeared her to the people of Plumpton; their narrative is that she was always violent, secretive, difficult. But Ben wants to tell Lucy’s story; attractive and relentless, he uncovers new evidence and coaxes new interviews, and people slowly begin to question whether Lucy is truly guilty. Lucy, meanwhile, lets down her guard, and as she and Ben draw closer together, she has to finally face the truth of her past and unmask the murderer of her complicated, gorgeous, protective friend. Most of the novel is told from Lucy’s point of view, which allows for a natural unspooling of the layers of her life and her story. She’s strong, she’s prickly, and we gradually begin to understand just how wronged she has been. The story is a striking commentary on the insular and harmful nature of small-town prejudice and how women who don’t fit a certain mold are often considered outliers, if not straight-up villains. Tintera is smart to capitalize on how the true-crime podcast boom informs and infuses the current fictional thriller scene; she’s also effective at writing action that transcends the podcast structure.
Smart, edgy, and entertaining as heck.Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781250880314
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
The story is sadly familiar, the treatment claustrophobically intense.
Twenty years after Chloe Davis’ father was convicted of killing half a dozen young women, someone seems to be celebrating the anniversary by extending the list.
No one in little Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, was left untouched by Richard Davis’ confession, least of all his family members. His wife, Mona, tried to kill herself and has been incapacitated ever since. His son, Cooper, became so suspicious that even now it’s hard for him to accept pharmaceutical salesman Daniel Briggs, whose sister, Sophie, also vanished 20 years ago, as Chloe’s fiance. And Chloe’s own nightmares, which lead her to rebuff New York Times reporter Aaron Jansen, who wants to interview her for an anniversary story, are redoubled when her newest psychiatric patient, Lacey Deckler, follows the path of high school student Aubrey Gravino by disappearing and then turning up dead. The good news is that Dick Davis, whom Chloe has had no contact with ever since he was imprisoned after his confession, obviously didn’t commit these new crimes. The bad news is that someone else did, someone who knows a great deal about the earlier cases, someone who could be very close to Chloe indeed. First-timer Willingham laces her first-person narrative with a stifling sense of victimhood that extends even to the survivors and a series of climactic revelations, at least some of which are guaranteed to surprise the most hard-bitten readers.
The story is sadly familiar, the treatment claustrophobically intense.Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-2508-0382-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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