April Reads: Four mysteries
On the Savage Side, Rebecca Makkai's latest and more
I must admit that, while the bookworm inside me genuinely loves all genres, thrillers have a special place in my heart. When I find myself in a bit of a reading slump, there’s nothing like a captivating mystery to get me out. Today I’ve got four for your Spring reading (much more fun than Spring cleaning, I promise), two of which were written by established, standout authors Rebecca Makkai and William Landay.
On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel, first on the list, stands out from the rest, while Makkai’s latest and a new legal thriller from the author of Defending Jacob prove fun but not mind blowing.
These four books range from the devastating to the (slightly) absurd, but each are engaging enough to keep readers enthralled til the final reveal.
Happy reading!
On the Savage Side
by Tiffany McDaniel
Read it if you’re interested in: The Chillicothe Six, communities ravaged by addiction, female-centric fiction
Arcade and Daffodil are twins growing up in small town Ohio, in an area besieged by the twin crises of addiction and poverty. As the twins grow up, one by one, women begin to go missing, their bodies appearing days later floating in the Chillicothe River.
This haunting, devastating and disturbing book is one of the best I’ve read lately and is destined to stay with me for quite some time. Arc and Daffy are impeccably crafted twins with fire red hair, growing up with an aunt and mother undone by their own demons. They look to their grandmother, Mamaw Milkweed, for guidance. They age with tales of the river as a woman, encircling the souls of those who are delivered to her by violence. Mamaw Milkweed tells Arc and Daffy the stories of fierce mother earth to bolster them against a world in which no one they love has made it out intact. The twins’ lives grind slowly but inescapably toward tragedy, and readers are made to bear witness.
I Have Some Questions For You
by Rebecca Makkai
Read it if you’re interested in: Boarding school settings, podcasts and their creation, ‘90s murders
An established podcaster is invited back to her boarding school to teach a class, dredging up old memories of her roommate’s murder. All these years later she’s forced to ask: is the school athletic trainer who was convicted really guilty? Or did someone else kill that young girl?
I had extremely high hopes for Makkai’s latest after being blown away by The Great Believers, and while this fell short, it was still an enjoyable read. There is an intangible something that I enjoy about Makkai’s writing, but the characters here and even the plot itself were fairly unmemorable. Try it if you like mysteries imbued with a sense of the literary, but don’t expect a massive rousing of emotion.
All That Is Mine I Carry With Me
by William Landay
Read it if you’re interested in: Legal thrillers, family secrets, whodunnits
A husband is the main suspect in his wife’s mysterious disappearance, but without a body, there isn’t enough evidence to convict him. He is left to raise three children, some of whom believe he may have killed their mother. When her remains are found 20 years later, old reckonings must come to light.
From the author of Defending Jacob comes another interestingly written legal thriller that unfortunately, does not quite meet the threshold of his other work. Various different unique narrators and means of communicating make for a continuously engaging work (though changes in style and punctuation prove frustrating), but overwhelmingly this is a middle-of-the-road thriller. It’s a decent whodunnit, ultimately satisfying with a tidily wrapped conclusion for those interested in a quick and easy read.
Playing Nice
by JP Delaney
Read it if you’re interested in: Far-fetched but fun fiction, domestic suspense, suburban mischief
What would you do if you found out the child you had raised for the last two years was not really yours? Two couples who discover their babies were switched at birth need to decide how to proceed, but some of them have some skeletons in their closets.
This entertaining, anxiety inducing domestic thriller with a unique premise is easily consumed in a single sitting. Two couples—one working class and one uber-rich—have their babies swapped when both premies need to be taken to the NICU, but it isn’t until two years down the line that they discover the mistake. This unthinkable situation manages to worsen with every turned page, as the characters become more sinister and the circumstances more dire. Well drawn, flawed protagonists level this thriller up from the rest, as does the nuanced portrayal of motherhood.
I was speaking with a customer who donated Rebecca Makkai’s book, and she had comment’s similar to yours. I have it sitting on my bookshelf and have to decide whether to read it before or after I read THE GREAT BELIEVERS.