In The Vines: A Thriller by Shannon Kirk (Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Thomas & Mercer, Seattle, 2018

ISBN-13: 9781503901940 (hardcover)

ISBN-13: 9781503900752 (paperback)

Available: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle edition, compact disc, MP3 CD

In The Vines: A Thriller by Shannon Kirk is a murder mystery with a sprinkling of horror and gore. Fans of Edgar Allan Poe will recognize the technique of peeling away the layers of an onion, slowly revealing past sins, guilt, self-doubt and escalating violence. The main characters are Mary Olivia Pentecost, aka Mop, and Lynette Viola Vandonveer, aka Aunty Liv. They are descendants of Boston Brahmins, both with scions  who seem to have guilty secrets, as well as privilege and power. Their character traits and secrets lead to tragedy.

Mop is a recent college graduate searching for her own identity She is to marry her childhood sweetheart, a son of a nouveau-riche family with an adjoining estate in Rye, New Hampshire. Aunty Liv is an unmarried nurse having an illicit affair with a Boston surgeon, and is spying on her lover’s wife. The novel begins with Mop bleeding from a leg wound, dragging an unconscious, unnamed companion out of hiding during a nor’easter. An unidentified, shrouded figure wields an ax over them. Who are they? How did they come to this? What will be the story’s denouement?

The author uses the voices of Mop and Aunty Liv to narrate the story. The story jumps back and forth between scenes from the present, two years in the past and two weeks ago. Kirk’s technique is disconcerting, but it is important in slowly revealing the characters’ secrets and building a sense of frustration, anxiety and anticipation in readers. The main characters are well-drawn, and readers will understand why they make seemingly bad decisions that often lead to disaster.  The author describes the ocean, beach, rocks, cliffs, trees and brambles of New England’s coast beautifully. They become participants in the story. Highly recommended for adults.

Contains: Moderate gore, moderate violence, mild profanity

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee