Brian Kenney

With a nod to Alfred Hitchcock’s twisted film Vertigo—and, like Vertigo, not employing any violence—this thriller really succeeds in ramping up the anxiety. Ghostwriter Maddy has taken on a new assignment: the memoir of internationally revered cosmetic surgeon Dr. Angela Reynolds. Maddy’s pretty excited; this is the first publication that will acknowledge her as coauthor. Angela ships Maddy off to Angela’s home in the Scottish Highlands, where the author can really hunker down on the memoir. Except it turns out that the book Maddy wants to write is far different from Angela’s vision, which cuts out anything from her past. Why is the doctor so paranoid? Meanwhile, Scott, Angela’s business partner—cute but super moody!—arrives at the house for no apparent purpose, although he and Maddy do ignite a passionate romance. As is often the case in U.K. mysteries, people can be sighted standing in the fog, staring into the house, which is actually broken into several times during Maddy’s stay. But as creepy as all this is, it’s in the months after Maddy returns to London that everything begins to unravel, identities fall apart, and the truth becomes more elusive than ever.

A richly drawn, deeply felt novel in which every one of its 544 pages is absolutely enthralling. It’s Alec Salter’s fiftieth birthday—just days before Christmas, 1990—and scores have come together to celebrate, dance, and drink the night away. All except for his wife Charlotte, who planned to attend, but never shows up. While Alec shrugs away her absence, anxiety takes hold of their four children, especially Etty, fifteen years old and the only girl. It’s largely Etty’s perspective we experience, as day follows desolate day and she searches the countryside for her mother. It just tears your heart apart. When, days later, the body of neighbor Duncan Ackerley is found floating in the river—he’s a good friend and possible lover of Charlotte—the police are quick to conclude that Duncan killed Charlotte and then himself. Jump ahead to 2022, when the two Ackerley sons are back home, busy making a podcast about the deaths, the Salters have returned to pack up the family home and put Dad in a nursing facility, and the police have reopened both of the cases. This second part of the novel is driven by Maud O’Connor, a brilliant, young detective inspector obsessed with finding the truth. It’s she who is able to put together the pieces and in turn, the characters as well. A powerful example of crime fiction at its best.