Review by Booklist Review
Neville leaves behind Northern Ireland (The House of Ashes, 2021) to explore the American Southwest with a riveting road trip into horror fiction. The story follows the paths of two tortured souls, a single mom and an FBI cybercrime specialist. Rebecca Carter and her daughter, Moonflower, have been on the road for 15 years, and she constantly scans the news to see if someone may have reported seeing them. Special Agent Marc Donner has been obsessively tracking a serial killer for two years, and when the body of a registered sex offender is discovered outside of Golden, Colorado, he flies in from DC to investigate. When he learns a woman driving a van was seen near the body's location, Donner believes he may finally be close to resolving the case and confronting the killer. Interspersed throughout the narrative are pieces of evidence, including newspaper articles and official interview transcripts. The most telling are letters from Rebecca addressed to Moonflower, starting from when she was pregnant and following through the years up to the present day. More than just motherly devotion is involved. The straightforward writing style enhances both the suspense and the depth of character development. Horror fans will be entranced.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Neville (The House of Ashes) gives the serial killer thriller a novel spin in this riveting splice of crime and weird fiction. FBI agent Marc Donner is a cybercrime specialist skilled at drawing out pedophiles and groomers by posing as vulnerable young people on social media. When some of his predator quarry turn up murdered with their throats slashed and their spinal cords severed, Marc speculates it's the work of a serial killer--and he's right. In a parallel story line, Rebecca Carter and her 12-year-old daughter employ the same sorts of online trickery to lure their victims as they cut a bloody swath from Wisconsin to Arizona. After tantalizing the reader with the prospect that the mother-daughter duo are female Dexters, Neville torques his tale fully into uncanny territory with a spectacular confrontation between Donner and the pair that propels his plot into the realm of the supernatural. The chapters toggle between Marc's and Rebecca's perspectives, sustaining breathless suspense as the story builds to its wild and cinematic finale. This is a satisfying exercise in high-voltage horror. (Aug.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Rebecca and her daughter, Moonflower, are on the run when they crash into a snowbank. They refuse help from a man in a truck, as they are hiding a grim secret. Special Agent Marc Donner has for two years been tracking a serial killer who drains victims of their blood, and he has no hopes of catching the murderer soon--until, after a small misstep, he's hot on the trail of Rebecca and Moonflower. What he discovers will imperil the life that Rebecca has so carefully built to protect her daughter. Neville (Collusion) combines crime fiction and horror in his newest novel, a tender yet terrifying tale of a mother trying her best to protect her daughter. Elisabeth Rodgers and Michael Braun narrate Rebecca, Moonflower, and Marc in this fast-paced, thrilling tale, as Rebecca strives to protect her only child, whom she came so close to losing, and Marc plays a game of cat and mouse to try and catch a terrifying killer. Their narration is full of love, hope, and desperation, while also tense and action-packed. VERDICT A terrifying yet tender tale about the lengths to which one will go to protect those they love.--Elyssa Everling
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
