Novels No. 11 (329)

 

Elle Marr. The Family Bones. USA: Thomas & Mercer, 2023.

Here's a slightly different premise for a crime novel—is psychopathy hereditary throughout generations of a family? The extensive Eriksen family thinks so. Olivia Eriksen is close to finishing her doctorate in psychology, exploring whether psychopathy can be apparent from birth. A family reunion at Horsefly Falls Resort ‒ hosted by her Uncle Zane, who collects their cell phones to complete a relaxing atmosphere ‒ may provide what she needs, even if she hasn't seen any of them for years. Her fiancé Howard comes along willingly. Olivia is well aware of strange behaviour or disorders that manifested among them. A few are in prison for violent crimes, unlike her father Ephraim whose "only" transgression was insider trading. Ephraim has seven siblings and five Eriksen cousins, plus their progeny, so we refer often to the family tree chart. Grandpa Edgar is the oldest of the weekend attendees, possibly a bit demented, but the best potential anecdotal source for Olivia.

Next morning, the aftermath of an overnight storm has blocked road access to the resort and Olivia's favourite cousin Alfred is found floating dead in the lake. In the shock of repercussions, Olivia almost forgets why she came, as well as their plan to announce her engagement to Howard. Edgar is avoiding her anyway, Howard is disappointed, Aunt Uma disappears, and as more sinister events occur, Olivia feels she is being set up as a killer, but why is a complete mystery. Is Olivia paranoid with far too many possible scenarios and perps drifting through her head? Nevertheless, she missed considering the one person who matters. The police are unable to reach them even if Zane indeed called them. One family member snaps under stress, sending them all scrambling to hide from knife attacks.

Did I mention Birdie, the true crime podcaster, who determinedly hiked over the rocky roadblocks to the resort and is about to find the answer to her latest unsolved crime subject? Author Marr keeps you on your toes as Olivia and Birdie make separate curious, deadly discoveries. It's not exactly a catalogue of DSM-5 disorders, but crazily close enough. Soundly structured, The Family Bones is on the wild side, but truly effective.

Olivia

▪ "Why would I sequester myself with a bunch of strangers, many of whom are incapable of emotional connection?" (15)

▪ Not only is Howard the assistant dean and an incredible partner to me during my grad studies, but he's reminded me that I'm more than my family bones—the bizarre smorgasbord of off-center genes that have dominated my line for generations. (17-18)

▪ Uncle Francis is a narcissist ... If he's not promoting himself, he's not interested in the conversation. (69)

▪ "Uma said something about you offering up therapy to the family?" (76)

▪ My dad's cousin Jimmy has schizophrenia. He was once arrested for streaking through a Fourth of July parade, with zero understanding of where he was. (78)

▪ To my knowledge, however, Felicity was diagnosed by a psychologist back in the nineties and has been living in denial ever since. (148)

▪ "You don't know what really led to his longtime girlfriend, Sasha, leaving. Do you?" (151)

▪ Whoever moved Alfred bears a grudge against me. And they're setting me up to take the fall. (157)

▪ Was Kyla attacked by Shane at all, and insulted by Great-Aunt Jacquie? Or was it all a ploy to get me to trust and pity her? (220)

▪ Jimmy was ranting about something valuable being left behind after the last Eriksen family retreat. (239)

Birdie

▪ "Li Ming Na was an active member of her community who disappeared without notice, and with rock-solid alibis for those who knew her." (52-3)

▪ Injustice should be called out whenever and wherever it happens. (90)

▪ "The father of her kid. What convinced the police that he wasn't behind Li's death?" (109)

▪ The more I learn about Li, the less I'm interested in any of the other open cases on my dashboard. (110)

▪ There's no telling who's up there now, but I've come too far to turn back without seeing this resort for myself. (230)

▪ I'm so close to answers, I can practically hear my own voice describing my findings on next week's podcast. (269)

Welcome

"Evening, everyone," Xavier says. "If you have any special requests, please don't hesitate to ask myself or any of my twenty staff members. We're here to provide an all-inclusive experience to your whole family, twenty-four hours a day, including spa treatments at our wellness center, group activities such as sunrise yoga, archery, guided hikes, painting classes, arts and crafts, and other opportunities for you to refresh away from city life. If you have any questions, just stop by our welcome desk in the reception hall. Welcome to your Horsefly Falls Resort!" (41)

Amy Stuart. A Death at the Party. Ebook download from TPL. USA: Simon & Schuster, 2023.

Another nervous woman in the spotlight—one entire day in her life. Although recovering well from a broken hip, Nadine Walsh is more tightly wound than usual. She's known for obsessively making to-do lists, for herself and everyone else in the family: husband Paul, kids Isobel (17) and Damien (15), live-in niece Margot (24). Whether Nadine has recovered from the end of her extramarital affair with Lionel ‒ a neighbour, and Paul's best friend ‒ is questionable. Fury steams below her surface over the abrupt way he ended it and his almost immediate wedding thereafter to the irreproachable Daphne. Today is the sixtieth birthday for her mother Marilyn Millay, crime fiction writer, and Nadine is hosting a lavish party in her honour.

Margot, who came to help during Nadine's long hospital time, stayed on as a welcome confidante. Nadine is lapsing into nostalgia during her party preparations, particularly that it's also the anniversary of Colleen's awful death. Colleen was born fifteen years after her sister Marilyn, adored by her slightly younger niece Nadine. They spent summertimes together on the Fitzgerald grandparents' farm. An early quirk of fate had the fathers of Paul and his law partner/old friend, Seymour, renting out their hobby farms to Grandpa Fitzgerald, although Paul and Nadine did not meet until many years later. Nadine doesn't know who her father was—Marilyn won't talk about that period of her life. But journalist Julian Simone, though, is prying for secrets.

A number of old and new secrets are about to collide during the elegant evening party. Even the teenagers are not exempt; Isobel's best friend River is in a coma from a drug overdose. Nadine appears to be sleepwalking half the time; as she put it, ever since she hit her head when she fell, "everything shook loose." It's hard to stop reading when the party promises to explode in different directions. A real winner.

Bits

▪ Even the shop owners know me and my to-do lists, my claim to fame. (19)

▪ I've always been a worrier, but since the accident, my brain all but malfunctions when that worry gets the best of me. I get dizzy. Sweaty. Anxious. Paranoid, even. (30)

▪ I'm sorry, N. I can't do this anymore. I can't do this to Paul. (36)

▪ I probably shouldn't confide in Margot the way I do, but the truth is, she's become the person I talk to most. (37)

▪ These days, I'm focused on the past more than ever. On Colleen. She's a ghost, haunting me. (48)

▪ I'm angry I didn't know about this burgeoning friendship with Daphne. What other secret is Daphne keeping from me? (79)

▪ I do this. I assume the worst. Paul often chides me for it. He argues that I'm a catastrophist. (89)

▪ This man was digging into my mother's life without her consent, sifting through her past in search of salacious tales to put into print. (130)

▪ Imagine how bewildering it felt to learn secrets about my own family from a hack journalist. Secrets my mother opted to keep from me. Truths she denied me. (157)

▪ "You've been extra weird today, mom. Your stress is stressing me out." (179)