American Predator

American Predator by Maureen Callahan
Penguin Random House: 7/2/19
eBook review copy; 304 pages
ISBN-13: 9780525428640

American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan is the very highly recommended account of the serial killer Israel Keyes.

This is one truly frightening examination of a serial killer. "... Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history. The FBI considered his behavior unprecedented. Described by a prosecutor as "a force of pure evil," Keyes was a predator who struck all over the United States. He buried "kill kits" - cash, weapons, and body-disposal tools - in remote locations across the country. Over the course of fourteen years, Keyes would fly to a city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles in order to use his kits. He would break into a stranger's house, abduct his victims in broad daylight, and kill and dispose of them in mere hours. And then he would return home to Alaska, resuming life as a quiet, reliable construction worker devoted to his only daughter." That description alone should give everyone pause, but reading about what he did and what he is suspected of doing is even more frightening.

In 2012 eighteen-year-old Samantha Koenig was abducted from the Anchorage, Alaska, coffee kiosk where she worked. The multi-jurisdictional investigation resulted in Keyes being arrested in Texas. If he hadn't made a few mistakes, Keyes would still likely be randomly finding new victims today.  Journalist Maureen Callahan follows closely the investigation by law enforcement officials, and includes information from classified FBI files, the questioning of him, interviews with officials, his psychological profile, and research into Keyes' life. Although he never confessed to all his victims, he is believed to have killed at least eleven people. This is a scary but compelling comprehensive account of a modern day serial killer.
 
American Predator is a fascinating but horrific exploration of the life of a modern day serial killer which should be on the reading list of everyone who reads true crime books. 


Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.

The Gifted School

The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger
Penguin Random House: 7/2/19
eBook review copy; 464 pages
ISBN-13: 9780525534969

The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger is a highly recommended domestic drama about parental ambition for their children.

The prestigious community of Crystal, Colorado, is about to be one of the communities whose children will be able to attend the areas new magnet school for gifted children in grades six through 12. Of course admission hinges on receiving a high enough score on the IQ test, along with other requirements. The Gifted School follows a group of families where the four women, who have been friends for over a decade, are all about getting their precious gifted children into the school. The drama ensues as the meddling and competitiveness commences and friendships begin to fall apart.

This is a great choice for a summer read. It is full of gossipy scandal and parents behaving pretentiously and badly. The children aren't perfect either, just FYI. There is plenty of friction between parents/friends and the children themselves. The one huge thing The Gifted School has going for it is the timeliness of the plot with the whole college admissions scandal. The involvement of these parents in their children's lives, looking at their abilities as a reflection of their own prestige, is eye-opening and, in some ways, horrific. Being caught up believing that your child is the best and most gifted of all the gifted children in all the land is nothing new. We've had these parents among us for years. Holsinger captures that essence of bad parenting as it merges with privilege, questionable ethics, and the parent's own competitiveness.
  
The novel is well crafted and the plot moves along at a good pace, building up the tension and anticipation until the final climax, which is explosive. The narrative is told through several alternating points-of-view, so you can follow everyone's poor choices and become acquainted with all the characters, including the children. The different points-of-view result in the characters being all well-developed, and almost universally unlikable - with one lone, long-suffering exception. The biggest hurdle to overcome while reading The Gifted School is the occasional sheer repulsiveness of the parents, and their questionable ethics and choices.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.

The Disappeared

The Disappeared by Amy Lord
Unbound Publishing: 5/2/19
eBook review copy; 368 pages
ISBN-13: 9781789650273
 

The Disappeared by Amy Lord is a recommended dystopian novel set in a totalitarian state that controls books.

Clara saw her father when he disappeared. He was arrested based on the books he loved and taught about. Now Clara is a teacher in this changed Britain and she works as a literature professor.  She convinces her partner, Simon, a history professor, that they should teach a class about history and about  banned books. This happens. There are consequences. Arrests. There is an underground rebellion. By the way, Clara's mother married the Major who arrested her father, so a highly placed enforcer of the Authorization Bureau is her step-father.
 
If you enjoy reading dystopians, The Disappeared will fit the bill for one based on banned books. The point-of-views of Clara and the Major are shared in alternating narratives. That said, although this is written in the vein of Fahrenheit 451 or 1984, it is not even remotely as good as either novel. Go to the originals for that experience. None of the characters are especially well-developed. The dialogue is stilted. The rise and hold over the public of the actual regime is not well explained. Several events were mentioned, but nothing firmly established the background. Sorry, but Clara makes so many senseless mistakes and slips that it makes it difficult to sympathize with her. Why would she not expect to be watched considering who her stepfather is? Why take notes?
 
This is an okay dystopian that will serve to pass the time. It is not destined to be enshrined the halls of great fore-thinking literature. This is a good choice for an airplane book or vacation read. It'll pass the time but you won't cry if you lose it, misplace it, or never finish it.


Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Unbound Publishing.

Big Sky

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
Little Brown and Company: 6/25/19
eBook review copy; 400 pages
ISBN-13: 9780316523097
Jackson Brodie Series #5

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson is the very highly recommended fifth book in the Jackson Brodie series. It is good to see him back, working as a private investigator in a seaside village.

Coincidences are the key to a great return of Jackson Brodie. As with the last Brodie novel (Started Early, Took My Dog, 2011) there is a large cast of characters and a whole lot going on that has little to do with Brodie - until it does. Brodie is part time father to his son, Nathan, and caring for his aging lab while on a case documenting the actions of a cheating spouse when he gets tangled up in a cold case involving human trafficking and the sexual abuse of children that isn't so cold after all. DC Reggie Chase returns, working with DC Ronnie Dibicki

There are complete stories and background information involving all of the characters that eventually all intertwine into a complicated plot. There are some great characters here, some villains, but others that are simply unknowingly entangled in the mystery. Harry is a great character, and it will surprise you how much you will like Crystal. Atkinson slowly introduces her characters, develops them, and then allows them to interact and connects all the pieces of the mystery together.

This is an exceptional, well-written mystery with multiple storylines, complicated well-developed characters and an intricate plot. In some ways I think it is better to read Big Sky with little background information and just experience it for yourself. At first you may not know how all these random people and stories are all connected, but as more information is disclosed and characters begin to interact, it will begin to become more apparent and the action and pace of the novel will escalate. 

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Little Brown and Company.

The Not Good Enough Mother

The Not Good Enough Mother by Sharon Lamb
Beacon Press: 6/25/19
eBook review copy; 200 pages
ISBN-13: 9780807082461

The Not Good Enough Mother by Sharon Lamb is a personal, highly recommended account pf a psychologist who evaluates the fitness of parents.

Psychologist and expert witness Dr. Sharon Lamb observes children and evaluates parents after the children have been removed from their custody. She observes and takes notes, assessing the fitness of parents in order to determine what is in the best interest of the child. Her evaluations will either recommend that the child be returned to their parent or that parental rights should be terminated, opening the children up for adoption. It is a decision that is not always clear.

As many of these parents struggle with addiction, Dr. Lamb's own son struggles with an opioid addiction, which makes evaluating other parents even more challenging on a personal level. Since mother's are often the ones being evaluated to determine if they are "good enough mothers," Dr. Lamb turns the question on herself, is she a "good enough mother?" She knows the daily struggle of an addict to remain clean. She knows the relapses, the lies, and the statistics as she tries to remain compassionate to those she is evaluating, while at the same time keeping above all else the best interest of the child. And, as a mother, she knows that mothers always look for blame in themselves when their children make bad life choices.

Individual situations and cases are discussed with an informative eye for detail and information about what she looks for and observes during various home visits and meetings. The result is a narrative that is both informative and heart-breakingly personal. As a professional, she needs to have boundaries and keep a sense of detachment while she also has a plethora of first hand personal experience with an addict. In concise language and succinct case/visit summaries, she provides details and information in a controlled, neutral manner, keeping her emotions in check, while informing readers what she does and of what she takes note. Her professional neutrality is almost at odds with her personal experiences, providing the reader with the sense of a dichotomy she experiences between her professional life and personal experiences. 

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House

The Last House Guest

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
Simon & Schuster: 6/18/19
eBook review copy; 352 pages
ISBN-13: 9781501165375


The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda is a very highly recommended mystery set along the coast in Maine.

Littleport, Maine is a summer playground for the wealthy and a simple harbor community dependent on tourism for the year-round residents. One surname that stands above all the others is Loman. The Loman's not only own a remarkable mansion on the shore, they also own a large number of rental properties currently managed by Avery Greer. Avery is a local, but she is best friends with Sadie Loman for almost a decade and has been welcomed into the Loman fold. They have stepped in to help after her parents and grandmother died and Avery had no one.

At the end of the summer in 2017 the young twenty-something adults are throwing their traditional last party of the year. Avery is setting it up at one of the Loman rentals while Sadie plans to meet her there later. Avery texts Sadie, but never gets an answer. The party gets underway and while Avery is keeping an eye open for Sadie, she never shows. When the police come to talk to Sadie's older brother, Parker, Avery learns that Sadie was found dead. It was ruled a suicide but now, as the anniversary of her death approaches in 2018, Avery can't help but look into Sadie's death on her own - especially after her phone is found in a chest of blankets in the cottage where the party was.

The narrative alternates between events in 2017 and 2018. Avery is a wonderful character, well developed and complex. She has a past, but has overcome much to get where she is now. And she's smart. She knows there is something going on, that someone is lying because Sadie wouldn't kill herself, but there are several suspects and chief among them is Avery, so she has to covertly begin to investigate what happened and piece clues together on her own if she wants answers.

This is an excellent mystery - and the key to my enjoyment is viewing The Last House Guest as a mystery rather than a thriller. With the flood of thrillers on the market, it is refreshing to read a mystery. A murder has happened under suspicious circumstances and we have out intrepid heroine trying to piece together clues in order to figure out what really happened. Avery is clever and it was enjoyable to follow her investigation as well as get her insights into all the people involved. This is a wonderful choice for summer reading. The pacing is great as the narrative alternates between what happened in 2017 and Avery's clandestine investigation in 2018. I especially enjoyed the conclusion of the novel. It was a well-played climax and a fitting ending.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

The Cutting Room

The Cutting Room by Ashley Dyer
HarperCollins Publishers: 6/18/19
eBook review copy; 448 pages
ISBN-13: 9780062797704

The Cutting Room by Ashley Dyer is a very highly recommended police procedural/thriller with Detectives Lake and Carver on the search for a serial killer.

Detectives Ruth Lake and Greg Carver are searching for a serial killer in Liverpool, England, where men are disappearing. When they arrived at the first crime scene, they are shocked to see sections of human brains encased in plexiglass and set up as an art installation on display for everyone to see. The gruesome crime scene becomes even more surreal when a crowd of people show up at the scene, to see, photograph, and film the "art" and the investigators. The serial killer is dubbed the Ferryman and is gaining a wide following across social media. The brain sections belonged to three of the missing men. It becomes clear that the Ferryman is a narcissistic exhibitionist psychopath who craves an audience and accolades for his ghastly exhibitions. He alerts both the detectives and his groupies via social media whenever he sets up a new installation.

Both Ruth and Carver are still recovering from their last run-in with a killer, but focus on finding this latest fiend. Ruth never forgets a face and she closely examines photos of all the people who show up at the crime scenes. After his head injury, Carver sees auras and experiences synesthesia which allows him to read people's emotions. The two work to overcome or hide any personal issues while searching for the killer, and this looks like it might be too personal to Ruth.

Chapters follow the point-of-view of Ruth and Carver, with brief passages from the killer presented between. Both Ruth and Carver are interesting, complicated, intelligent, well-developed characters. Following their investigation and the actions of the killer is absorbing and engaging. The tension is palatable as the duo work together looking for the killer, while still keeping some personal information to themselves.

This is an excellent police procedural/ thriller that is completely engrossing. The quality of the writing is outstanding. Dyer (a pen name of former CWA chair Margaret Murphy and forensic expert Helen Pepper writing together) creates a complex plot, an intricate investigation, and well developed characters. There are twists and false leads. The forensics details are fascinating. The killer's focus on social media followers is a timely, subtle social commentary. This is the second book in the Carver and Lake series; the first is Splinter in the Blood.
 

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.