Monthly Review: Top Crime and Thriller Books

Bella Mackie, author of How to Kill Your Family, returns with another intriguingly titled murder tale, What a Way to Go (The Borough Press). The story kicks off at the 60th birthday bash of the extraordinarily wealthy Anthony Wistern: “Fragrant wife, tick. Gaggle of photogenic children, French chateau, Cotswold manor, a plethora of mistresses and a penchant for cutting moral corners, tick, tick, tick.” Misfortune soon befalls Anthony, as he’s found impaled on a huge metal spike in his lake. The police and a local true-crime aficionado dive into the investigation, with all eyes on his four greedy children and wife, Olivia.

Mackie crafts a magnificently despicable ensemble—everyone except the endearing TikTok sleuth is terrible in an entertaining way. Olivia stands out in particular: “I’ve never been one to obsess over my children like other women – your offspring don’t constitute a personality after all,” she notes. And: “Last night, when I saw her eccentric drop-waisted tartan dress, I’d wondered how it was possible we had maintained our decades-long friendship.”

We’re also treated to Anthony’s perspective: after his death, he’s shocked to find himself in a processing center with a cheap lino floor, guided by a woman named Susan who informs him he must discover how he died (he’s forgotten) before moving on. A dark, humorous tale of a deeply dysfunctional family.

Laura Sims’s gripping How Can I Help You (Verve Books) kicks off with an epigraph from Clarice Lispector: “Who has not asked himself at some time or other: am I a monster or is this what it means to be a person?” We meet Margo, who isn’t really named Margo, as she secures a job at a library. “Can’t catch me,” she mentally taunts the world, as she adopts a new identity after leaving behind her past as a murderous nurse. Tranquil library life seems perfect until failed novelist Patricia joins as a reference librarian, and Margo senses Patricia’s unwelcome scrutiny—especially after an elderly patron (whom Margo keeps calling “patients”) dies in the restrooms. Will Patricia uncover Margo’s dark secrets?

As Patricia’s curiosity grows, Margo’s composed facade begins to crumble, leading to increasingly erratic behavior. “After my restless night, I notice things I shouldn’t, like the pulse in one woman’s neck as I scan her books.” The story is unsettling, engrossing, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Nilesha Chauvet’s debut, The Revenge of Rita Marsh (Faber), introduces us to a vigilante named Rita. By day, she works in a care home; by night, she poses as young girls online to bait men. “I’ll hunt them down, one by one. I’ll make sure they’re off our roads for good. I know who they are, I know where they live. But they will never really know me.” However, when a sting operation goes wrong, leading to a man’s death, Rita begins to question her mission—until an old school friend’s distressing tale pulls her back in.

Annie is cursed by “the murmurs” – voices that bring her visions of imminent deaths.

Chauvet skillfully examines how thin the veneer of civilized behavior is and how easily it can be stripped away. She delves into the murky areas between right and wrong. As Rita reflects: “It was simply a result of a line crossed. But that line, as I know now, is as thin as a spider’s web, though it gives the impression that it is unbreakable.” More from Rita would be eagerly anticipated.

As autumn descends in Scotland, Michael J Malone brings us eerie thrills with a supernatural twist in The Torments (Orenda Books), the second installment in his Annie Jackson series. Cursed by “the murmurs”—voices that predict impending deaths—Annie hides in a secluded cottage by a loch, seeking respite from the clamour. Yet, peace eludes her as the locals grow hostile, especially after she fails to forewarn a young man about his looming fate. “She could have saved him. She could have spoken up. Shame washed over her, then set and solidified over her skin, muscle and bone until she was nothing but an unmoving length of granite.”

When her adoptive mother seeks help to find her missing nephew Damien, Annie reluctantly decides to assist. Joined by her brother, Lewis, she delves into a dark world brimming with black magic and murder. A spine-tingling story centered on the terrifying legend of the baobhan sith.

Source: The Observer, Verve Books, Faber, Orenda Books