A private eye conquers societal expectations using resolve and ingenuity in this involving, moving mystery.
This thriller tells a tale of perseverance thanks to its besieged protagonist.
Daniel Melton's life has been going well. The second-generation police officer, whose father was killed on the job, has risen to the rank of detective while relatively young. He’s secretly living with fellow cop Mandy Arnold. The only downside is that Daniel’s fellow detective is cocky Tommy Rosetti, a childhood friend: “While they were buddies, there was also a high degree of competitiveness.” Middleton, a deteriorating Indiana industrial city, has been plagued by arsons and thefts lately. The arson investigations are given to Rosetti, the black sheep of a firefighting family. Daniel plugs away on the home robberies, eventually catching the drug-addicted thief Skunk and turning him into his informant. But Daniel’s life changes after a late-night call from Skunk. The detective gets shot after returning to an arson site and ends up paralyzed below the waist. Urged on by former girlfriend and emergency medical technician Michelle Morgan, Daniel rehabs hard but remains in a wheelchair. His efforts to get reinstated as a detective fail. So Daniel becomes a private investigator, mainly working on his own shooting because of the lack of progress by the police. His efforts to discover those behind the arsons around Middleton lead to an explosive conclusion. Hubbartt has created a vivid, flawed protagonist in Daniel. Sure, he’s a dedicated officer who wants nothing more than to return to duty to protect the citizens of Middleton. He adapts well to his new situation, using the internet rather than shoe leather to gather information. But he’s also hellbent on proving that he’s a better sleuth in a wheelchair than the police detectives making no headway on his case. Michelle has her own reasons for reconnecting with Daniel, as becomes apparent as the engrossing novel progresses. Since the complex story is told from Daniel’s perspective, the narrative seems a little draggy, as his efforts sometimes lead to dead ends. In addition, for all his investigations, he has trouble connecting the dots. Still, with persistence and willpower, Daniel proves his mettle by overcoming obstacles placed in his way in this stirring tale.
A private eye conquers societal expectations using resolve and ingenuity in this involving, moving mystery.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2022
ISBN: 9798352191026
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Lapena’s talents shine in this irresistible novel about revenge, betrayal, and secrets.
So many suspects, so little evidence in Lapena’s latest tale of domestic suspense.
Busy mom Bryden Frost doesn’t see it coming after a morning fender bender involving a Tesla and its charming owner, Derek Gardner, sets her on a collision course with fate. Or does it? Just as in her other fast-moving, women-centric novels, including her breakout The Couple Next Door (2016), Lapena’s female protagonists appear to be living normal lives that some people might even envy—at least at first. When Bryden’s husband, Sam, returns home from work in Albany, New York, to find her missing but her purse and phone still in their apartment, a police investigation ensues. Did Bryden run away? Was she kidnapped? Or could she still be somewhere in the building? Sam is the prime suspect until police Det. Jayne Salter and her team hear from a source that Bryden was having an affair with Derek, something he denies. As Lapena builds her twisty plot, we soon see that these two men aren’t the only people who could be responsible for Bryden’s disappearance. Her sister, Lizzie, who has always been jealous of Bryden, has an addiction she’s hiding from the police, and Bryden’s best friend, Paige, carries a damaging secret as well. And what about the neighbor who was recently accused but not charged with kidnapping and raping a woman? Lapena excavates everyone’s secrets, exposing what’s really going on in the lives of Bryden’s family and friends. None of it is pretty. Lapena’s timely tale mixes the formidable dangers involved with online true-crime addiction with classic police work in a story that will make you wonder what secrets your family and friends are hiding and who, if anyone, you really know or can trust.
Lapena’s talents shine in this irresistible novel about revenge, betrayal, and secrets.Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780593832448
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
Dark and unsettling, this novel’s end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.
Ten years after her teenage daughter went missing, a mother begins a new relationship only to discover she can't truly move on until she answers lingering questions about the past.
Laurel Mack’s life stopped in many ways the day her 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, left the house to study at the library and never returned. She drifted away from her other two children, Hanna and Jake, and eventually she and her husband, Paul, divorced. Ten years later, Ellie’s remains and her backpack are found, though the police are unable to determine the reasons for her disappearance and death. After Ellie’s funeral, Laurel begins a relationship with Floyd, a man she meets in a cafe. She's disarmed by Floyd’s charm, but when she meets his young daughter, Poppy, Laurel is startled by her resemblance to Ellie. As the novel progresses, Laurel becomes increasingly determined to learn what happened to Ellie, especially after discovering an odd connection between Poppy’s mother and her daughter even as her relationship with Floyd is becoming more serious. Jewell’s (I Found You, 2017, etc.) latest thriller moves at a brisk pace even as she plays with narrative structure: The book is split into three sections, including a first one which alternates chapters between the time of Ellie’s disappearance and the present and a second section that begins as Laurel and Floyd meet. Both of these sections primarily focus on Laurel. In the third section, Jewell alternates narrators and moments in time: The narrator switches to alternating first-person points of view (told by Poppy’s mother and Floyd) interspersed with third-person narration of Ellie’s experiences and Laurel’s discoveries in the present. All of these devices serve to build palpable tension, but the structure also contributes to how deeply disturbing the story becomes. At times, the characters and the emotional core of the events are almost obscured by such quick maneuvering through the weighty plot.
Dark and unsettling, this novel’s end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.Pub Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-5464-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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