★ 06/28/2021
Digital archaeologist Michaela Lambert, the narrator of this exceptional thriller from bestseller Hall (And Now She’s Gone ) has scheduled a meeting with Nadia Denham, the owner of an eclectic shop in a seedy Santa Barbara, Calif., shopping mall, who’s in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Nadia has paid $5,000 to Michaela’s company, Memory Bank, for the Mega-Memory Package, a holographic “next-generation digital scrapbook that will recall those special places she’s visited as well as souvenirs, pictures, and objets d’art that she’s acquired.” The two hit it off, and an appointment to begin the project is set for later that evening. When Michaela arrives at the shop, she finds that Nadia dead, apparently a suicide. As Memory Bank has already cashed Nadia’s check, Michaela decides to proceed with the project, having all the materials she needs and despite the strenuous objections of Nadia’s shop manager. Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose, Michaela is sure she’s being stalked, and disturbing revelations about her own life are surfacing as she delves into her mother’s past in order to create a digital scrapbook. This cleverly plotted, surprise-filled novel offers well-drawn and original characters, lively dialogue, and a refreshing take on the serial killer theme. Hall continues to impress. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Aug.)
This cleverly plotted, surprise-filled novel offers well-drawn and original characters, lively dialogue, and a refreshing take on the serial killer theme. Hall continues to impress.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A mystery/thriller/coming-of-age story you won’t be able to put down till the final revelation.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Rachel Howzell Hall continues to shatter the boundaries of crime fiction through the sheer force of her indomitable talent. These Toxic Things is a master class in tension and suspense. You think you are ready for it. But. You. Are. Not.” —S. A. Cosby, author of Blacktop Wasteland
“These Toxic Things is taut and terrifying, packed with page-turning suspense and breathtaking reveals. But what I loved most is the mother-daughter relationship at the heart of this gripping thriller. Plan on reading it twice: once because you won’t be able to stop, and the second time to savor the razor’s edge balance of plot and poetry that only Rachel Howzell Hall can pull off.” —Jess Lourey, Amazon Charts bestselling author of Unspeakable Things
“The brilliant Rachel Howzell Hall becomes the queen of mind games with this twisty and thought-provoking cat-and-mouse thriller. Where memories are weaponized, keepsakes are deadly, and the past gets ugly when you disturb it. As original, compelling, and sinister as a story can be, with a message that will haunt you long after you race through the pages.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of Her Perfect Life
10/01/2021
Hall's (And Now She's Gone ) new crime thriller follows digital archaeologist Michaela "Mickie" Lambert, who sifts through people's pasts for a living and transforms their most treasured objects into "digital scrapbooks" containing narration, photos, even holograms. Her newest client, Nadia Denham, is an eclectic bohemian who owns Beautiful Things, a curio shop in a rundown strip mall. Nadia, in the early stages of Alzheimer's, prepays for Mickie's "Mega-Memory" package and provides her with 12 mementos and some notes about their provenance. Before Mickie can meet Nadia for further interviews, Nadia is found dead in an apparent suicide. As the police investigation continues, so does Mickie's project to curate Nadia's collection. Soon Mickie discerns a disturbing pattern among the artifacts: Each came from a woman who is now dead or missing. Adding to her mounting anxiety, Mickie starts receiving ominous texts and notes telling her to stop what she's doing. But Mickie doesn't listen and, bolstered by her family (who may be hiding secrets of their own), she'll finish the job—even if it kills her. VERDICT Hall's latest is a tech-savvy juggernaut of fear and paranoia, rendered quirky and original by the colloquial voice of its millennial protagonist. Some good advice before reading: Make sure the doors are locked.
2021-06-16And Now She’s Gone (2020).
Mickie Lambert, the only child of doting parents, left a job in the communications department at her dad’s accounting firm to work for an exciting new digital scrapbook company. Her latest assignment is compiling a $5,000 memory package for Nadia Denham, who owns a curio shop in a dying mall and has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When Mickie goes to Beautiful Things to meet Nadia, Nadia gives her a number of her special treasures along with handwritten notes about them. Acquired on flea-market scouting trips, they all belonged to down-on-their-luck women she helped in some way. When Mickie starts getting creepy anonymous notes slipped under the front door of the home she shares with her parents, she fears that her parents are hiding something from her, especially once she realizes they've been locking their bedroom door when they're not home. Back at work, Mickie bonds with Nadia, who’s slowly sinking into dementia, but not with Riley, the protective store manager at Beautiful Things. The more she researches Nadia’s trips, the more she realizes that all the women she helped have either vanished or died. After Nadia herself dies, an apparent suicide, Mickie continues working on her prepaid memory project even as more threatening messages arrive, saying things like "Stop now or Payback is gonna come." Worn down to her last nerve despite the protection of her policeman uncle, she overcomes her scruples and breaks into a locked box she's found in her mother's nightstand, revealing a secret that drives her deeper into a perilous search for the truth.
A mystery/thriller/coming-of-age story you won't be able to put down till the final revelation.
Listeners join Mickie, a digital archaeologist, who is assigned to record the stories of 12 special mementos that have been collected by Nadia, the owner of a curiosity shop. After their first meeting, Nadia dies of an apparent suicide, and Mickie starts to realize there’s more to the stories than first meets the eye. Susan Dalian’s narration keeps the tension building in this thriller through her spot-on timing. Mickie soon finds her life unraveling, as nothing is quite as it seems. Dalian creates believable characters, including the spoiled and petulant Mickie, along with her caring parents and convincingly voiced men. The result is a thrilling mystery. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
NOVEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
