An often thrilling novel that’s likely to satisfy mystery buffs.
In Casey’s novel, a police detective investigates a killing in a small town full of secrets.
The story follows the lives of several citizens of fictional Granville, Connecticut, and how they each intersect with the recent horrific murder of local Ann Wheeler. Bradley Davis is a library assistant and voyeur who watches his neighbors from afar between visits to his alcoholic, psychologically abusive mother. When he’s caught peeping by the police, Det. Gerard Mallory asks him if he’d ever spied on the murder victim, who was a regular at the library; Davis denies it. When the cop tells him he’s willing to ignore the arrest if he sees a local therapist, Dr. Caroline Singer, Davis agrees. The narrative also follows Russell Garner, who was only recently let out of jail after being identified as a victim of wrongful incarceration, and it offers engaging characterization: “Institutionalization had taken something from his spirit. He had not found immunity from loneliness. He could not imagine a favorite chair, fireside, or family life.” A subplot involving an illicit affair between real estate speculator John Addison and marathoner Maggie Hawkins, both of whom Davis also knows, leads to a dark place. All these characters’ lives tangle into a knot that Det. Mallory must untie. Casey also includes the point of view of Davis’ therapist, which serves as a useful narrative device, as it allows the reader further insight into the voyeur’s mind. As Dr. Singer’s sessions progress, new revelations come to light, and a twist at the book’s climax greatly impacts Det. Mallory’s investigation. Overall, the work is well structured, divided into four distinct parts that tell the story through a variety of third-person perspectives, including those of Mallory, Davis, and Garner. Good character development and fast pacing add to the book’s appeal, as do some moments of levity that effectively vary the tone. The book has some graphic scenes, which may make readers wish it had a content warning at the start. The conclusion, however, provides a good sense of closure.
An often thrilling novel that’s likely to satisfy mystery buffs.Pub Date: June 15, 2024
ISBN: 9798988717355
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Heresy Press
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.
Lt. Eve Dallas’ 63rd futuristic case is less a whodunit than a manhunt for an unusually sympathetic killer.
Thirteen years ago, way back in 2048, scientific genius Steve Redman—father of the Banner-Wyst corporation’s Rainmaker Project—narrowly escaped death in a gas explosion that killed his pregnant wife and infant son and 200 other residents of their New York City apartment building the night before he planned to report his suspicions about the company to the FBI. Now the bill is coming due for Banner-Wyst. The first death to be discovered is that of Lawrence Chu, Redman’s colleague and trusted friend, whose tenure as director of bioengineering science ends when he’s beaten to death. For quite a while, Dallas and her partner, Det. Delia Peabody, know less about this mystery than their readers do. But when Ezra Dent, a consultant to Banner-Wyst who worked with Redman and Chu back in the day, is murdered in exactly the same ferocious way, Dallas and Peabody, with help from Roarke, Dallas’ tech-billionaire husband, promptly put the pieces together and determine who they’re looking for. The search for Redman, who went AWOL from his hospital bed without a trace six years ago, has its own challenges. So does Dallas’ attempt to get cooperation from partners Calvin Banner and Jacob Wyst, who are clearly in the crosshairs of a killer who seems a lot less monstrous than they are. If the breaks in the case are suspiciously convenient in arriving, readers can pride themselves on taking sides against a mega-corporation whose self-avowed ecological saintliness is undermined by its leaders’ underhanded dealing.
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414564
Page Count: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
The delightful debut of a classic, prolific detective.
It takes a quirky sleuth to solve a baffling closed-door murder.
The author himself or, more accurately, some version of him, walks the reader through a “gruesome murder” that occurred in a rural farming village. At the center of the crime is the wealthy Ichiyanagi family, including the widow Itoko and her five children. The “heinous crime” occurs in the evening after the festive wedding of eldest son Kenzo to schoolteacher Katsuko. Yokomizo, part narrator and part raconteur, liberally shares digressions such as the fact that his favorite British author is A.A. Milne, who wrote The Red House Mystery as well as the books about Winnie-the-Pooh. Written in 1946 but set in 1937 before the devastation of World War II, this is the first novel featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, the legendary detective who appeared in more than 70 stories by Yokomizo. If Yokomizo is the Japanese Agatha Christie, Kindaichi may seem the Japanese Hercule Poirot—although actually, given his unkempt hair and apparently distracted manner, he’s more a cross between Poirot and Columbo. Shrewdly, his entrance is delayed until midway through the novel, after the police have stalled and both the family and the reader are anxious for a solution. The narrator’s garrulous charm, in a mystery long on logistics and forensic clues but short on detailed character portraits or extended interactions, is a key to the novel’s success, leavening the more intricate pieces of the puzzle. Armchair detectives will welcome the helpful character list that precedes the story.
The delightful debut of a classic, prolific detective.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781805336549
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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