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THE WIFE BEFORE

A thriller with a familiar foundation but some contemporary spice.

A second wife is drawn into the tragedy that killed the first—and must find out the truth before she’s next.

Needing to make some quick money, Samira accepts a waitressing job at a charity event where she has a meet-cute with famous golfer Roland Graham. Soon they are an item, and he’s wowing her with trips and gifts—and in the bedroom. Samira’s brother cautions her, though, to be careful; Roland’s first wife, Melanie, died under mysterious circumstances, and there’s a lot of speculation (on social media, anyway) that Roland was responsible. Samira’s doubts are soon put to rest by Roland’s reassurances, and they get married and move into Roland’s mansion in Colorado—the mansion where he used to live with Melanie. Though the setting lacks a true gothic flavor, there is a definite current of unease that affects Samira’s embracing of this luxurious lifestyle; she meets Roland’s handsome cousin, Dylan, and the housekeeper/chef, Yadira, and then she finds Melanie’s journals. Williams offers these journals in Melanie’s voice, so the reader slowly begins to learn more about Melanie’s life and marriage at the same time that Samira does: the distance that gradually grows between her and her handsome husband; her attraction to dashing Dylan; her complicated sister drama. Samira can’t confront her husband with these truths, but as she reads further and digs deeper into Melanie’s past, she understands that she must discover the truth behind her death—before it’s too late for Samira, too. Despite some comparisons to du Maurier’s Rebecca, the novel is much less atmospheric and nuanced than that classic. Williams does give both Melanie and Samira multiple dimensions; they're flawed but also strong and determined, and the twist at the end is a surprise.

A thriller with a familiar foundation but some contemporary spice.

Pub Date: June 28, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-4967-3111-1

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Dafina/Kensington

Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022

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THE WOMAN IN SUITE 11

An enjoyable visit with an old character, but not one of Ware’s strongest.

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Travel writer Lo Blacklock is back. Ten years after the events of The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016), she's attending the opening of a lavish Swiss hotel when, once again, a mystery intervenes.

A decade after she almost died on a luxury cruise and ended up exposing a murder plot, travel journalist Laura “Lo” Blacklock is trying to get back into the business post-Covid-19 and post–maternity leave. When she's invited to an exclusive hotel launch by the Leidmann Group on the shores of Switzerland’s gorgeous Lake Geneva, her supportive husband, Judah, insists that she should go, and her old boss, Rowan, says that if Lo can score an interview with the reclusive Marcus Leidmann, she’ll publish it in the Financial Times. Leaving Judah and the kids at home in New York, Lo is surprised by a last-minute upgrade to first class, which kicks off her trip in style. The hotel is appropriately awe-inspiring in both scenic location and effortless luxury, and Lo starts to put the memories of last trip’s trauma behind her, thinking that maybe she can just enjoy the experience this time. But then, at dinner, she's surprised to see at least three guests who were also on that original cruise, and when she finds a mysterious note in her room saying "Please come to suite 11 as soon as possible," she gets another shock. To quote William Faulkner, she realizes that “the past is never dead,” and soon Lo is careening across Europe on her way to England, only to find herself embroiled in another murder. The back half of the novel offers her the opportunity to continue her amateur sleuthing, and while she avoids much of the physical danger that plagued her on the cruise a decade ago, she is in very real legal trouble. This is the prolific Ware’s first sequel, and it's fun to spend time with Lo again, as she's both savvy and kindhearted. Unfortunately, the mystery is not as atmospheric and gripping as usual for Ware, though even a lesser Ruth Ware thriller is still worth reading.

An enjoyable visit with an old character, but not one of Ware’s strongest.

Pub Date: July 8, 2025

ISBN: 9781668025628

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Scout Press/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025

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NEVER FLINCH

Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.

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Two killers are on the loose. Can they be stopped?

In this ambitious mystery, the prolific and popular King tells the story of a serial murderer who pledges, in a note to Buckeye City police, to kill “13 innocents and 1 guilty,” in order, we eventually learn, to avenge the death of a man who was framed and convicted for possession of child pornography and then killed in prison. At the same time, the author weaves in the efforts of another would-be murderer, a member of a violently abortion-opposing church who has been stalking a popular feminist author and women’s rights activist on a publicity tour. To tell these twin tales of murders done and intended, King summons some familiar characters, including private investigator Holly Gibney, whom readers may recall from previous novels. Gibney is enlisted to help Buckeye City police detective Izzy Jaynes try to identify and stop the serial killer, who has been murdering random unlucky citizens with chilling efficiency. She’s also been hired as a bodyguard for author and activist Kate McKay and her young assistant. The author succeeds in grabbing the reader’s interest and holding it throughout this page-turning tale of terror, which reads like a big-screen thriller. The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King’s choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic. King shines brightest when he gets to the heart of our darkest fears and desires, but here the dangers seem a bit cerebral. In his warning letter to the police, the serial killer wonders if his cryptic rationale to murder will make sense to others, concluding, “It does to me, and that is enough.” Is it enough? In another writer’s work, it might not be, but in King’s skilled hands, it probably is.

Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.

Pub Date: May 27, 2025

ISBN: 9781668089330

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025

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