A high-concept mashup; series fans won’t be disappointed.
“Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery,” Jane Austen advised readers of Mansfield Park; in this third and final series entry, Price takes Austen at her word.
Fanny’s sense of duty and romantic hopes for Edmund (who is her cousin through marriage, not blood) have kept her at Mansfield Park, where she’s mistreated, serving as the family gofer to her bullying, selfish Bertram relatives. Painting is Fanny’s passion: She’s thrilled when Sir Thomas Bertram, her guardian, praises her work—then horrified when he tumbles down a staircase to his death shortly thereafter. Discovering evidence of a hidden tripwire that caused the fall, Fanny investigates, aided by a less-than-enthused Edmund, who is also a ward of the Bertrams. Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy provide sleuthing expertise as more shocks follow. Sir Thomas was being blackmailed, and his estate’s deeply indebted. Funds held in trust for Edmund and Fanny are also gone. When the Bertrams seek help restoring their fortunes by selling off their art, advised by their new acquaintance Henry Crawford, Fanny is as skeptical of his intentions as she’s overwhelmed by her feelings for his beautiful sister. Explaining complicated art-fraud conspiracies occupies too much narrative real estate. However, choosing a less-popular Austen novel frees Price to take narrative risks and detours that enliven the proceedings. Major characters are White.
A high-concept mashup; series fans won’t be disappointed. (author’s note) (Mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780062889867
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gripping portrait of fractured sisterhood, reverberating traumas, and the triumphs of omniscient ancestors.
A biracial high school student questions the truth surrounding her sister’s disappearance and unexplained return.
Sixteen-year-old Cassandra “Casey” Cureton despises her older sister, Sutton. The girls have a White mom and Black dad, and unlike her sister, Casey keeps her hair natural. She prefers the company of best friend Ruth, who is Black, and her online music fandom community. Dedicated cheer captain, flat-iron enthusiast, and rising senior Sutton is a mean girl with a convincingly sweet public persona. When Sutton goes missing on their last day of classes, their parents rally their affluent suburban Seattle-area community to band together and bring Sutton home. Weeks later, she is found physically unharmed but unable to remember anything. While her parents adjust to Sutton’s bittersweet homecoming, Casey realizes there’s something deeply unnerving about the sister who has returned—and it has nothing to do with her amnesia. As Casey races to unmask Sutton’s secrets, she discovers how her paternal family legacy protected Sutton, shedding new light on the powerful bonds of blood. Debut author Meade offers an intriguing, emotionally resonant novel wrapped in supernatural realism. Guided by layered themes of generational inheritance, Black identity, and the reclamation of history, the first-person narrative is told through Casey’s point of view with flashbacks from Sutton. Twists abound, but readers may crave a fuller ending than the action-packed but quick resolution.
A gripping portrait of fractured sisterhood, reverberating traumas, and the triumphs of omniscient ancestors. (author’s note) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781728264479
Page Count: 338
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
A propulsive, unpredictable, and troubling thriller.
In an insular Ohio town, a young woman struggles with family trauma and experiences hallucinations that she keeps secret.
Sixteen-year-old Neely, like her dad and older brother, Lance, who is now dead by suicide, can hear voices. Neely’s mother died in a car accident many years ago, and later her dad left, leaving Neely living with her touchingly supportive but somewhat repressed grandparents. A longtime fan of the large cave system that’s a tourist attraction in her town, Neely snags a job working there for the summer. Neely, who’s gay but not out to many people, quickly falls for beautiful, smart Mila, who runs tours of the caves. When a shockingly horrific death occurs in one of the caves after Neely tries weed for the first time at an employee after-party and experiences what seems like a psychotic break, she fears she may be responsible. This gritty and sometimes gruesome thriller thrums with gripping menace, especially as Neely’s brother’s only friend, Brian, alleges that Lance was sharing incel-like posts on an anonymous internet site. Neely’s frank, self-deprecating inner monologue is often bitingly funny, providing balance to the grim subject matter. Though they’re portrayed with nuance, Neely’s hallucinations sometimes seem to move with the plotting, which, given the unpredictable nature of serious mental illness, can make this element feel too convenient. All the main characters read as white.
A propulsive, unpredictable, and troubling thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9780063230415
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
