Totally engrossing. Riveting, even. Wow - what an amazing book! It's the first I've read by this author, and apparently it's a departure from her usual paranormal fare. If that's true, I hope she strays again and again - this one is extraordinarily good. Not to compare the stories, but from start to finish the style reminded me of "Where the Crawdads Sing," the best-seller by Delia Owens that without question is one of the best books I've read in my rather lengthy lifetime.Aside from simply being an entertaining story, the character development is outstanding, as are the descriptions of the New Zealand surroundings that, before now, were totally unfamiliar to me (the author lives there, though, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at that). Then there's the suspense; even though it's told in something of a matter-of-fact manner, at the end of every single chapter I'd glance at the clock and ask myself, "Do I have time for just one more?" For the record, if there was the slightest hint of doubt, my answer always was yes.
As the story opens, Anahera Rawiri, a classical pianist, has come home to her native Golden Cove, New Zealand, after living in London with her husband, who unexpectedly died. As she begins to touch base with old friends, she meets the new and only police officer in town, Will Gallagher. He's good-looking, single, and - of course - manages to get on Ana's bad side. But the two form a truce of sorts after Miriama, the beautiful and talented girl with a bright future who works in Ana's friend Josie's tea shop, suddenly goes missing. The search to find her brings together the townspeople, who roam the sometimes dangerous seaside cliffs and forests. Then it's learned that her disappearance may be tied into similar cases of missing young women in years past. It also conjures up memories of the good and not-so-good times Ana spent here with her friends - one of whom just may be a serial killer.
As readers learn more about the complex characters, we follow along and make our own assessments as to who might be guilty. For sure I did - and boy, did I ever guess wrong. But wrong doesn't mean disappointed; in fact, not getting it right led me to even greater respect for the author's writing talents. In the end, I have no reservations whatsoever about deeming this one of the top three books I read in 2019. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.
A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh (Berkley, December 2019); 352 pp.
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