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ISLAND OF DEAD GODS

Multilayered characters headline this gripping and profound whodunit.

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In this thriller, a German woman reunites with her American ex on Ibiza, where the two investigate mysteries surrounding their loved ones.

Philine “Phil” Mann’s financial trouble leads to a heartbreaking choice. She must sell her beloved Ibiza home and property, which her aunt left her. But once she arrives on the Spanish island, she faces a series of alarming events, including the disappearance of her friend Dorothea Bartholdy, who had been staying at Phil’s house, and an unexplained fire at the dwelling. Just as surprising, her former lover Adam Ryan flies in from Dallas. He’s there for older sister Amanda’s funeral, though he immediately suspects her cyanide-poisoning suicide was actually a murder. He and Phil had an ugly split years ago—a heated argument ended with a drunk Adam striking her. Still, as their respective probes into Doro and Amanda intersect, the two begin working together. It seems as if everyone involved with these women have ties to either a local feminist group or an unsavory, scandal-ridden male organization. Questions give rise to more questions, as Phil and Adam inch dangerously close to the island’s sinister side. German-born Mahlow’s first English-language novel delivers copious plot turns. Although readers will predict some, others are genuine shocks, giving this continually deepening mystery—soon entailing multiple murders—an unrelenting edginess. The story’s two apparently opposing groups stir up serious gender issues, such as equality and male violence against women. While characters do (or have done) horrible things, the author deftly portrays a cast of flawed individuals rather than outright villains. That said, the final act is exceptionally dark, and the resolution will likely disturb readers as much as it satisfies their curiosity. Still, Mahlow’s writing paints beautiful scenery, regardless of what’s unfolding, from Phil’s run-down but cozy home to the island’s “stunning landscape” of orange groves, pine woods, and a donkey cart that slows traffic.

Multilayered characters headline this gripping and profound whodunit.

Pub Date: July 20, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-63752-867-9

Page Count: 414

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2021

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THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE

A weird, wild ride.

Celebrity scandal and a haunted lake drive the narrative in this bestselling author’s latest serving of subtly ironic suspense.

Sager’s debut, Final Girls (2017), was fun and beautifully crafted. His most recent novels—Home Before Dark (2020) and Survive the Night (2021) —have been fun and a bit rickety. His new novel fits that mold. Narrator Casey Fletcher grew up watching her mother dazzle audiences, and then she became an actor herself. While she never achieves the “America’s sweetheart” status her mother enjoyed, Casey makes a career out of bit parts in movies and on TV and meatier parts onstage. Then the death of her husband sends her into an alcoholic spiral that ends with her getting fired from a Broadway play. When paparazzi document her substance abuse, her mother exiles her to the family retreat in Vermont. Casey has a dry, droll perspective that persists until circumstances overwhelm her, and if you’re getting a Carrie Fisher vibe from Casey Fletcher, that is almost certainly not an accident. Once in Vermont, she passes the time drinking bourbon and watching the former supermodel and the tech mogul who live across the lake through a pair of binoculars. Casey befriends Katherine Royce after rescuing her when she almost drowns and soon concludes that all is not well in Katherine and Tom’s marriage. Then Katherine disappears….It would be unfair to say too much about what happens next, but creepy coincidences start piling up, and eventually, Casey has to face the possibility that maybe some of the eerie legends about Lake Greene might have some truth to them. Sager certainly delivers a lot of twists, and he ventures into what is, for him, new territory. Are there some things that don’t quite add up at the end? Maybe, but asking that question does nothing but spoil a highly entertaining read.

A weird, wild ride.

Pub Date: June 21, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-18319-9

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022

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THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS

As an adjunct member says, “You’re not a family, you’re a force.” Exactly, though not in the way you’d expect.

The ne’er-do-well son of a successful Irish American family gets dragged into criminal complications that suggest the rest of the Devlins aren’t exactly the upstanding citizens they appear.

The first 35 years in the life of Thomas “TJ” Devlin have been one disappointment after another to his parents, lawyers who founded a prosperous insurance and reinsurance firm, and his more successful siblings, John and Gabby. A longtime alcoholic who’s been unemployable ever since he did time for an incident involving his ex-girlfriend Carrie’s then 2-year-old daughter, TJ is nominally an investigator for Devlin & Devlin, but everyone knows the post is a sinecure. Things change dramatically when golden-boy John tells TJ that he just killed Neil Lemaire, an accountant for D&D client Runstan Electronics. Their speedy return to the murder scene reveals no corpse, so the brothers breathe easier—until Lemaire turns up shot to death in his car. John’s way of avoiding anything that might jeopardize his status as heir apparent to D&D is to throw TJ under the bus, blaming him for everything John himself has done and adding that you can’t trust anything his brother has said since he’s fallen off the wagon. TJ, who’s maintained his sobriety a day at a time for nearly two years, feels outraged, but neither the police investigating the murder nor his nearest and dearest care about his feelings. Forget the forgettable mystery, whose solution will leave you shrugging instead of gasping, and focus on the circular firing squad of the Devlins, and you’ll have a much better time than TJ.

As an adjunct member says, “You’re not a family, you’re a force.” Exactly, though not in the way you’d expect.

Pub Date: March 26, 2024

ISBN: 9780525539704

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024

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