A fast-paced thriller with superb new and returning characters.
An investigative reporter and a forensic pathologist work together in this 1960s-set thriller.
A torso washes ashore on a California beach. Medical examiner Sara Poole connects this homicide with another recent murder. The victims, both male, died during sex and are covered in bites (evoking the title). Just weeks ago, Sara investigated a string of murders in Arizona, where she met reporter Deanne Mulhenney. The women, whose friendship might morph into romance, reunite to track the killer. The murders continue, and the clues get stranger. Sara believes the bites are human but the teeth aren’t real (dentures, perhaps). Meanwhile, a shocking headlining story—Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination—sidetracks Deanne, although she helps Sara as much as she can. The narrative gives readers an early introduction to Alena, who’s committing the murders while working for a crime family that may turn on her, worried that she’s “freelancing.” Regardless, Alena targets Deanne and Sara once Deanne’s articles link the killer’s various homicides. Zell’s energetic sequel to True Creature (2019) bounces among perspectives. Zell ably develops the heroes’ delightfully complicated relationship; there’s definitely love but not necessarily commitment. Alena, however, is this book’s most indelible character. A WWII experiment has twisted her family lineage, and she struggles with a condition that makes her both sympathetic and terrifying. She’s even involved in a too-brief subplot—dissension among the villains—that could fill a novel on its own. Alena’s murders are, of course, violent and, unsurprisingly, sometimes graphic. Her very presence generates suspense, particularly in the final act, when it’s clear she’s after Sara and/or Deanne.
A fast-paced thriller with superb new and returning characters.Pub Date: March 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-9847468-9-7
Page Count: 205
Publisher: Tales From Zell, Inc.
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PROFILES
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Another entertaining Aussie cozy for readers of Liane Moriarty—and fans of tough old ladies everywhere.
When her tabloid past comes back to haunt her, an 81-year-old Australian woman gets by with a little help from her friends.
When the neighbor child asks to interview her for a school project, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick’s first line of defense is to shift little Persephone’s focus to another “old person” in their suburban Melbourne neighborhood, 93-year-old Ishaan Patel. Too late, says Persephone, he’s dead. This surprising information turns out to be true, as when she goes to check, Elsie finds the man sprawled lifeless on his kitchen floor. Her discovery of the body proves to be the first domino in a cascade of unwanted events, as her long-buried identity as Mad Mabel, the youngest convicted killer in Australian history, comes to light and creates a tidal wave of suspicion and media attention. Hepworth’s latest cozy domestic thriller uses the device of a YouTube documentary team determined to get Elsie/Mabel’s side of the story on the record for the first time, presented here in chapters alternating between Now and Then. In the present, cantankerous, sharp-tongued loner Elsie goes from having just one friend, the loyal Daphne Barton, to a web of close connections, including even a previously reviled dog she reluctantly inherits from the late Ishaan. In the past, a landslide of dead bodies and cruel twists of fate emerges to both justify and challenge the Mad Mabel moniker. If some aspects of the premise feel overfamiliar (cranky oldster’s frozen heart thawed by charming child), other elements are less well worn—a lovely pair of lesbians named Cess and Ness in the Then thread, for example. Those quirky suburban Australian neighborhoods just keep popping out the predators, bullies, shocking family secrets, and darkly charming surprises.
Another entertaining Aussie cozy for readers of Liane Moriarty—and fans of tough old ladies everywhere.Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9781250284549
Page Count: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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