Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2022
After a 25-year hiatus, Elm (Delusion) returns with a captivating psychological thriller that delves into the twists and turns of journalist Jenna Sinclair's past. As a rookie reporter, Jenna inadvertently revealed that Denny Dennison, then a culinary arts student and soon-to-be father, was the illegitimate son of the infamous serial rapist and murderer, Evil Ed. The brutal media coverage that followed destroyed Denny's life and led a guilt-ridden Jenna to flee to the Hamptons to write travel articles and manage a bed-and-breakfast with her husband, Zack. With a clear and confident tone, narrator Rachel Fulginiti describes how Jenna's picture-perfect life goes off the rails when her former lover is assaulted outside of her apartment building. Jenna believes that Denny could be behind the attack, and her search for answers reveals horrifying secrets that threaten Jenna's entire family. Fulginiti's precise narration complements the story's building suspense, infusing it with the perfect amount of tension and momentum. Excellent characterizations and accent work further enhance the listening experience. VERDICT Share widely with listeners looking for well-crafted and compelling mysteries. This audio will be popular with fans of J. P. Delaney, Greer Hendricks, and Liv Constantine.—Sarah Hashimoto
Publishers Weekly
01/24/2022
Set in 2019, this well-constructed mystery from Elm (Delusion) stars journalist Jenna Sinclair, who left her job at the New York Sun two decades earlier under a weight of guilt after an article Jenna she wrote revealed that Denny Dennison, a culinary student who never knew his biological father, was the illegitimate son of a psychopathic rapist/murderer executed in 1978. The media frenzy that followed wreaked havoc on the young man’s life. Jenna fled to the Hamptons, where she wrote for local papers and helped her husband run their bed and breakfast. Jenna’s recent exposé about eateries in the Hamptons has garnered considerable attention, and she has renewed her affair with Ryan McCallister, formerly her editor at the Sun. When Ryan is attacked after a night spent celebrating Jenna’s success, Jenna believes Denny could be the culprit. Her search for Denny pulls her into a disturbing spiral of events and leads to more than one murder. Elm provides some nice misdirection and loads the plot with liars and murky, shifting motives. Despite an ending that’s a bit too predictable and tidy, readers will be satisfied. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"This one really stops the presses! This terrific thriller mixes blood and ink . . . [A] sizzling read that will leave you on the edge of your seat.” —Barry Levine, author of The Spider and All the President’s Women, Pulitzer Prize-nominated veteran investigative reporter and editor, and Huffington Post “Game Changer” award winner
“Joanna Elm has masterfully crafted a stunning thriller that has it all: a beautifully flawed protagonist who we can't help but root for; a complex antagonist with a tragic past; a setting alive with vivid details, and a gripping story with cascading tension that explodes in the well-earned climax. Well done, Elm.” —Gregory Lee Renz, author of Beneath the Flames
“Full of stunning twists and surprises, and you won’t see the ending coming. Read it!” —R.G. Belsky, award-winning author of the Clare Carlson mystery series
“[T]his well-constructed mystery . . . provides some nice misdirection and loads the plot with liars and murky, shifting motives . . . readers will be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly
“ . . . [Joanna Elm's] writing intricately weaves lovers, both former and present, in such a way that any one of them could be suspect for murder.” —Lois Cahall, #1 bestselling author, Plan C: Just In Case; Founder, The Palm Beach Book Festival
