Tessa Wegert | DEATH IN THE FAMILY

Plot (via Goodreads):

A storm-struck island. A blood-soaked bed. A missing man. Senior Investigator Shana Merchant believes it all adds up to a killer in their midst—and that murder is a family affair.

Thirteen months ago, former NYPD detective Shana Merchant barely survived being abducted by a serial killer. Now hoping to leave grisly murder cases behind, she's taken a job in her fiancé's sleepy hometown in the Thousand Islands region of Upstate New York.

But as a nor'easter bears down on her new territory, Shana and fellow investigator Tim Wellington receive a call about a man missing on a private island. Shana and Tim travel to the isolated island owned by the wealthy Sinclair family to question the witnesses. They arrive to find blood on the scene and a house full of Sinclair family and friends on edge.

While Tim guesses they're dealing with a runaway case, Shana is convinced that they have a murder on their hands. As the gale intensifies outside, she starts conducting interviews and discovers the Sinclairs and their guests are crawling with dark and dangerous secrets.

Trapped on the island by the raging storm with only Tim whose reliability is thrown into question, the increasingly restless suspects, and her own trauma-fueled flashbacks for company, Shana will have to trust the one person her abduction destroyed her faith in—herself. But time is ticking down, because if Shana's right, a killer is in their midst and as the pressure mounts, so do the odds that they'll strike again.

Review:

Death in the Family is a stunning debut novel and the beginning of a new series that I will be sure to devour every single title in. One thing I was shocked to find out was that this novel takes place in Alexandria Bay, NY which is very close to where I live in Upstate New York - and let's be honest, it's rare to have a book take place all the way up here! There are so many components within this one that made it such a lovable book for me. I literally binged it all in one night and was disastrously tired the next morning, but with one extra cup of coffee, it was totally worth it.

So, Death in the Family is a perfectly blended murder mystery, police procedural, and psychological thriller with a small dash of a character study story-line with our protagonist. I loved how this story began with an ominous and eerie opening and then dove into the case by jumping ahead thirteen months. The way that Wegert kind of gives you these tiny morsels of information regarding Shana's history and how she ended up going from living in New York City to being in Alexandria Bay. With two story-lines and one moving at a slow-burning pace with small reveals here and there featuring a police procedural aspect and the other more sporadic with little enough information to make you inquisitive and yet not enough for you to have the full story. Regarding the case, I found this atmospheric and chilling murder mystery to be reminiscent of Agatha Christie with a modern psychological feel and while I would say this is a slow-burning one, I was still completely immersed and just had to keep going, I needed to know what happened next and how many would survive this island. As the pacing increased, I was still at a loss with who the guilty party was and as my theories continued to be debunked, I was ravenous for answers. For such a big cast, each character stood out well and I didn't feel overwhelmed with trying to remember who was who.

I'm really anxious to see where this series goes. Wegert captivated me, introduced me to a plethora of devilish characters, built one hell of a mystery, and left me satisfied with this story, but anticipating plenty more with this protagonist that is enjoyable to read and yet shrouded in mystery that I know enough to love her but still want to know more. I will be surely ready to enjoy a second novel in this series and many more to come after that.

Special thanks to Berkley Publishing for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5