For fans of Mystic River by Dennis Lehane and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Stephen Amidon’s Locust Lane is a taut and utterly propulsive story about the search for justice and the fault lines of power and influence in a seemingly idyllic town. Can anyone be trusted?

On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.

With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum on every page, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose—a dynamic read that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting.

Review:

Compelling, tragic, and suspenseful!

Locust Lane is a tortuous, simmering thriller that delves into the complex dynamics between family members and friends and highlights just how dependent, toxic, and deadly some of those relationships can ultimately be.

The prose is taut and intense. The characters are arrogant, troubled, and self-indulgent. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, unravels and intertwines effortlessly into an ominous tale filled with suspicious personalities, shocking revelations, malicious behaviours, deception, manipulation, secrets, lies, power, corruption, privilege, and murder.

Overall, Locust Lane is a sinister, atmospheric, twisty whodunit by Amidon that does a wonderful job of highlighting just how vulnerable and susceptible technology and social media makes us and reminds us just how far some people are willing to go to keep deep dark secrets hidden away forever.

This novel is available on January 17, 2023.

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