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Book Review: Nightingale by Amy Lukavics

Nightingale by Amy Lukavics

Harlequin Teen, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1335012340

1951 isn’t the best time to be a teenage girl, especially one who doesn’t want to conform to society’s expectations. Talk about horror! Amy Lukavics, author of frightening and gruesome YA titles Daughters Unto Devils, The Women in the Walls, and The Ravenous, has another terrifying tale in Nightingale, which this reader feels is on par with Sarah Pinborough’s work, with a plot that twists and turns, constricting like a snake in the shadows.

It’s 1951, not the greatest time to be a teenage girl, especially one who doesn’t conform to society’s expectations of becoming another June Cleaver. Despite the same first name, though, June Hardie is an unconventional girl. She doesn’t fit in: in fact, even her family doesn’t seem to like her very much. The only time anyone pays attention to her is when stripping her of any self-confidence, or training her to fill a stereotypical role. Her happiness exists in the form of her science fiction stories, an escape that she prays will become a reality. One morning, her mother calls her “Nightingale” and suddenly displays a sweet side that doesn’t quite fit… and June snaps.

She wakes up at Burrow Place Asylum, a place that resembles a mix between the mental institution in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and the psychiatric institution in Shutter Island. The nurses and doctors shatter any remaining hold on reality June held onto, feeding her medication and eliciting visions that she knows can’t be real. Her fellow patients, or captives, warn her to keep a low profile and avoid severe “treatment” that has caused others to disappear. Her roommate, Eleanor, believes herself to be dead but might be the closest thing to a friend in the world.

What starts off as a teen book about a girl seeking to develop her unique identity morphs into a story for any age or gender as the plot drives the reader through unpredictable pathways. When the ride comes to a sudden end, “shocking” is an understatement as a descriptor.

This is definitely a breath of fresh air for YA thrillers. Lukavics knows how to snare readers, pin them down, and scare the living crap out of them– not a simple task these days. Adult readers, especially those who are fans of Sarah Pinborough, shouldn’t let the YA label stop them from picking up this outstanding novel. Highly recommended for mature teen readers ages 15+ and adults.

Contains: gore, violence, mature language.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Posted on September 10, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne

The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-0735213005

Available: Hardcover, paperback, audiobook, audio CD, Kindle edition

 

This breakout novel has been hailed by some critics as THE must-have thriller of 2017, as well as the year’s perfect “Daughter” book.

Karen Dionne, author of high concept science thrillers Freezing Point and Boiling Point, decided to change tracks in favor of something much more organic and disturbing in The Marsh King’s Daughter. The book succeeds on all levels because of what it sets out to do– simply tell a story without all the bells and whistles. Dionne’s writing has a songstress’ voice and rhythm, yet doesn’t overwhelm with the love of language. It embraces the feel of the setting and story, pulling the reader deep into the marsh’s realm, only relenting when the final page is turned.

The story is deceptively simple. Helena loves her easygoing life. Great husband, great kids, great job all without much stress or fuss. In the unique world of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, life is decidedly different. The land feels cut off from the country readers know as America, but also feels like home. Then she hears the news of an escaped prisoner, and realizes that the life she has built for herself and her family is about to shatter. The escapee is her father, a man she knows she must track and send back to prison, to have any chance to hold onto the life she knows.

Helena’s father  abducted her mother when she was a teenager. He raped her and kept her hostage in the marshes for many years. Until Helena was a teenager herself, she knew nothing of life outside of their cabin in the middle of the marsh. Her father taught her the ways of a hunter, tracker, and survivalist, and even though she escaped him years ago, she hasn’t forgotten them. Helena knows that the police will never find him– but she can, and will. She plans to find him before the life she has made is overtaken by her nightmare past.

The novel blazes past, as good thrillers do, but there is something special about The Marsh King’s Daughter: the story has a magic that must be experienced. Easily the hottest thriller of the year, this book is recommended for anyone who loves great storytelling and a voice that will suck them in. Fans of David Morrell’s early work, John Connelly, and Elizabeth Massie will want to be sure to check this out.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on January 7, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne

The Naturalist (The Naturalist Series Book One) by Andrew Mayne

Thomas & Mercer, Seattle, 2017

ISBN-13: 9781477824245

Available: Paperback/Kindle ebook

 

The Naturalist is a mystery and thriller about a serial killer.  But, is the killer an animal or a human?

 

Theo Cray, a professor of bioinformatics (biology and computer science) is in a remote town in Montana, when a young woman, a former student of his, is found mauled nearby.  Cray has an unusual approach to research.  He uses his knowledge of biology, skills in computer science and a unique imagination to look for unexpected patterns in nature, such as the behavior of frogs and large apex predators.

 

The local law authorities at first suspect that Cray is the killer, but soon decide that a rogue grizzly bear is responsible.  But Cray’s knowledge of bear behavior tells him that they are wrong, and that a human made the killing look like an animal attack.  What’s more, he finds a report of a young woman who was similarly mauled nearby 6 years ago.  He suspects that these are not the killer’s first murders.

 

Cray created an artificial intelligence computer program for his research.  It can analyze reams of seemingly unrelated data to reveal the probabilities that underlying patterns exist.  Cray enters data about missing persons and population.  He finds that Montana and Wyoming are among the states with the highest number of missing persons per capita.  He filters the data for young women and interstate highways.  The program identifies possible patterns around certain highways, not unlike the feeding circuits of great white sharks.

 

Using this information Cray investigates the cases of missing young women in the area.  When he finds evidence that some were not run-aways, but might have been murdered, the authorities come after Cray again.  For Cray, it’s now a race between avoiding the law and a finding serial killer, who has murdered over a hundred persons over two decades and is coming for him.

 

Mayne does a good job drawing in the reader as Cray systematically works through the many steps in identifying the killer.  The pace of the plot is steady and fast, and the characters are appropriately sympathetic or chilling. Highly recommended.

 

Contains: moderate gore.

Reviewed By Robert D. Yee

 

 

Posted on October 22, 2017 by , Reply
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