THE PERFECT HOSTS

4 stars out of 5

What a mash-up of nasty characters – all of them, including even the “hero” - have some kind of agenda that’s not totally revealed till the end. And speaking of the ending, we’re left with a bit of a cliffhanger – making me think there’ll be another installment (at least) to come. If that includes the aforementioned hero, a guy I really, really liked, I’m ready and waiting.

That hero is Jamie Saldano, an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). He’s been called to the scene of a death by explosion at the home of wealthy and pregnant Madeline Drake and her husband Wes, where a gender-reveal party was taking place. The “reveal” was to be made by an explosion triggered by a rifle shot to a staged container that would release the properly colored smoke. That happened as planned, but the shot was followed by another explosion that destroyed a nearby building – killing Madeline’s midwife and good friend Johanna. The question Jamie must answer is whether it was an accident or intentional. If it’s the latter, of course, it likely means someone at the party is a murderer.

But who might that be? And for that matter, was Johanna the actual target, or did she just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? As the investigation progresses, evidence points in more than one direction – from guests to the people who threw the party. Also not to be discounted are Wes’s older brother Dix and a party server named Millie, who narrowly escaped the burning barn with her life, and Madeline’s estranged sister, Lucy, who suddenly appears out of nowhere.

For his part, Jamie is haunted by his past years here – highlighted by the fact that Wes Drake once saved his life back when he was a teenager and his sister disappeared, never to be found again. But his ongoing quest to find out what really happened to her is overshadowed by doing the job he came here to do, so for the most part his memories get put on the back burner.

Of course, the rest of the book focuses on the investigation, muddled in large part because everyone – including Jamie – has some kind of an axe to grind. Except for Jamie, most of the characters to me weren’t very likable, but that simply made me more curious as to which one would end up being the worst of the lot. Overall, it’s a thoroughly engaging adventure (with a bit of a surprise ending), and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Perfect Hosts by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row, November 2025); 320 pp.