Review by Booklist Review
Raised in a cult run by the charismatic leader Émile, Frida and Gabriel became close and began to refer to themselves as brother and sister. After Émile rapes Frida, she and Gabriel flee--once they exact retribution on Émile. After a tough few years, they finally settle in New York City. Gabriel meets and marries Annie, who then disappears; her body is eventually found in a nearby river. Gabriel is the primary suspect, but without concrete evidence, the police have no case. Under a continuing cloud of suspicion, Gabriel flees to Seattle, leaving Frida behind. A request from documentary makers to tell the story of Émile and the cult finally brings Gabriel and Frida back together. After traveling to Utah to meet the filmmakers, they soon find themselves suspects in the brutal murder of the young wife of a much older media mogul. When the truth is eventually revealed, it's as shocking as it is tragic. Alternating between the present and the past, this story is full of dark twists, shocking surprises, and strong messages about love, lies, loyalty, trust, suspicion, control, and connection.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A pair of siblings see their vacation upended by a murder investigation in this solid nail-biter from Michallon (The Quiet Tenant). On her fourth night at Ara, an exclusive Utah resort, Frida Nilsen overhears a heated argument between tabloid owner William Brenner and his wife Sabrina. The next day, Sabrina is found dead with her skull split open. The tragedy brings up bad memories for Frida and her brother, Gabriel, who's staying with her at the Ara as part of a strained attempt to reconnect. Nine years earlier, Gabriel's wife, Annie, was killed after falling from a bridge in New Jersey. He was suspected of murdering her for a life insurance payout, though police never solved the case. Gabriel's entanglement in Annie's death leads the authorities to consider him a suspect in Sabrina's murder. Additional flashbacks flesh out Frida and Gabriel's childhoods in an Upstate New York cult and tease possible links to the contemporary crimes. Michallon nimbly balances pace, plot, and character, never skewing so literary that she alienates genre fans or so popcorn that the stakes feel flimsy. The result is a robust and memorable whodunit. Agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Gabriel and Frida survived growing up in a cult, managing to escape when they were 18. They consider themselves siblings, though they aren't certain of their parentage, and never talk about life under fanatical cult leader Émile's influence, nor about how they got out. Four years later, Gabriel's wife is found dead, and he is left shrouded in suspicion and becomes estranged from Frida. Now, Gabriel and Frida try to reconnect at a remote, luxurious resort in the Utah desert. Four days into their stay, the young wife of a tabloid publisher is found murdered on the grounds. Gabriel and Frida must work through their past traumas and the secrets they've kept from each other as the police investigation closes in. Michallon (The Quiet Tenant) deftly moves between three timelines to create a thriller centering on deeply flawed characters who had to learn quickly how to interact and live in the world and will do anything to keep each other safe. The investigative conclusion feels a little anticlimactic with its rushed wrap-up, but a fairly satisfying epilogue provides some closure for the main characters. VERDICT While not perfect, this page-turner is a satisfying poolside read.--Sarah Sullivan
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two old friends, relationship forged in fire and trauma, find themselves at the center of a murder mystery. Frida Nilsen and Gabriel Miller are staying at the Ara, a comfortable desert hotel in Escalante, Utah, trying to decide whether both of them are ready to participate in a documentary about some mysterious point in their shared past. Late at night, Frida is standing on their suite's private patio, smoking, when she overhears a fight between wealthy tabloid tycoon William Brenner and his young, glamorous wife, Sabrina. The next day, Sabrina's body is found, her head caved in. When Frida tells the cops about the couple's argument, William is arrested, but hours later, he returns to the Ara and seems to have both Frida and Gabriel in his sights. It turns out he recognizes Gabriel from a scandal 10 years prior, when his wife, Annie, went missing and was then discovered dead. Gabriel was never charged in her death, but papers like William's had a field day stalking him and posting articles and photos that suggested his guilt. But unbeknownst even to William Brenner, Frida and Gabriel share a bond that's deeper and darker than Annie's death. They were born into a cult run by a charismatic dirtbag named Émile. Though they aren't related by blood, this shared childhood and teenage trauma made them as close as siblings, and when they escaped, they had only each other. While Frida remains the narrator, chapters alternate back and forth between the present day and the past, offering a slow reveal from their childhood to their escape from the cult and the difficult years of adjusting to the real world. Michallon does incredible work building both characters and tension; Frida's self-awareness and vulnerability clash with her strength and even hardness, but that's what trauma has wrought. As Michallon poignantly writes, "This is who we are.…We start over together. Again. And again." The novel offers mystery aplenty, but at its core, there is a deep and compassionate humanity. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
