The Death of Us

August 28, 2023
A car accident revives a dormant small-town mystery in this unsteady thriller from Rader-Day (Death at Greenway). High school guidance counselor Liss Kehoe has centered her life on Callan, the boy she’s raised for 15 years, ever since his birth mother (and Liss’s former classmate) Ashley Hay brought him to Liss’s doorstep as an infant. After leaving Callan with Liss, Ashley disappeared, and Liss constantly worries she might one day return out of the blue. One afternoon, Callan and his friends crash their car into a water-filled quarry abutting Liss’s home, and as they extricate themselves from the wreckage, they spot another vehicle submerged in the water. When the authorities arrive, Ashley’s bludgeoned remains are retrieved from the second automobile. Evidence of murder casts suspicion on people close to Liss, including her estranged husband Link, whose father, Key, was the town marshal when Ashley vanished. The investigation gets messy for Key’s successor, Mercer Alarie, who’s been romantically involved with Liss since her separation. Rader-Day maintains suspense by cycling through several characters’ perspectives, including that of Key, who has been afflicted with a neurological illness that constrains his ability to communicate with the outside world. Unfortunately, it all culminates in an unsatisfying climax, squandering the strong characterizations and intriguing plot. Rader-Day has done much better before. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Folio Literary Management.

September 1, 2023
Barely out of her teens, Liss leans into her dreams of a picture-perfect family, forgives her husband Link's cheating, and raises his son, Callan, as her own. Liss is the only mother Callan knows after his biological mother, Ashley, disappears, and she revels in motherhood and the privileges of her marriage to the all-powerful sheriff's golden child. Sixteen years later, the blinders are off: she and Link are separated, her bulletproof father-in-law has been invalided by strokes, and her promising romance with the new sheriff has fizzled. When Ashley's body is then found in the quarry on Liss' property, uninsulated Liss becomes the prime suspect. Liss refuses to let Callan believe that she killed his mother, so to clear her name she begins digging into the county's shrouded past, unearthing disturbing patterns of corruption, callous self-interest, and a killer hiding all too close to home. Another compelling thriller from Rader-Day, who skillfully hides a murderer behind relatable ambitions and jealousies.

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October 13, 2023

Rader-Day's (Death at Greenway) suspenseful family drama has good characterizations, with motivations readers will identify with and find believable, even as the tension escalates. Liss Kehoe is in a tight spot. Her husband has been unfaithful, again, and he's moved out, which makes her role as a mother feel precarious. Her son's birth mother, Ashley, has not been seen since she dropped baby Callan off with Liss 15 years ago. Now human remains are found on Liss and her husband's property, implying that Ashley never made it very far. In their small town, suspicion and assumptions abound. People are talking about Liss, her husband, her relationship with the sheriff, and everything that went down 15 years ago. Liss doesn't know whom to trust as she tries to protect her son. Did she "protect" him from Ashley as well? A side plot about the death of a friend adds little but is interesting on its own. The mystery is limited by the number of possible murderers, so readers may not be shocked at the twist, but it is satisfying. VERDICT With romantic and family elements, this could appeal to readers of domestic fiction or romance looking to try suspense.--Catherine Field

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