The Gap by Ninie Hammon

The Gap is a psychological thriller and a lot like Knives Out without the comedy.

 

All the family have gathered at Harrington House. A huge family and a huge house. One that seems to have been added onto and taken from indiscriminately with arbitrary passages and rooms that make no sense.

Olivia Harrington is turning 100 years old and the family is at her house for the funeral of her daughter-in-law, Hannah. They also hope that Olivia will divulge the terms of her will, but Olivia has a secret she wants to spring on them.

However, as with all family gatherings and one with such a large number, other secrets are bound to be revealed. Why would Cyrus not allow Hannah to dig up their fish pond? Is Avery right to blame her father Spencer for killing the boy on his bicycle when a photo might prove it was not him? Did Alex kill Hannah? What happened to the ring on Hannah’s finger that was there at the beginning of the viewing? Who is the mysterious stranger connected to the items in the attic who arrives with a loaded gun?

When a storm hits and the power goes out, the tension comes to a head. And when a deliberately set fire breaks out, it could mean that not everyone makes it out of the house alive…

 

The novel is quite long and does seem slow in places, but considering the list of characters and the stories that must be covered for each, it does make sense. Usually I’d want things to come together a bit quicker but in this case I actually enjoyed coming back each time to read some more. It felt like it added to the slow simmer under the surface where you knew it was all going to explode. The author takes you on a journey of personalities and you can feel the greed, the hatred, the angst, the surprise, and the forgiveness. There are so many little things that join together and it’s like an avalanche once the thread is pulled.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed both the story and the writer’s style, as it was just what the story needed. Once I’d finished the book, I felt glad to get away from that family!

The Deadly Samaritan by Michael Geczi

The scissors were inserted in the armpits with skill. Keeping the bodies on the brink of death but not there yet. This is the scenario facing Detective Kaminsky. An attack, no robbery, and the motive unclear. Unfortunately for Kaminsky, this would not be the only attack, but the only one he would be alive to start investigating.

 

Drew McLogan was on his way to see Kaminsky after being asked for some help with the case. But McLogan didn’t make it in time. However, Kaminsky was insistent that this was an unusual one, and spurred on by his previous profession in the press and the personal demons he is working through, McLogan throws himself into doing what he can.

 

But what should be a straightforward investigation is constantly interfered with by politics and religion and the idea that a person is more important than the process. McLogan has his work cut out with so much against him.

 

So perhaps he should begin with the mysterious letters E and R left at the scene…

 

The premise had me intrigued and I was keen to find out the why, who, and how. But the tale turned out to be the backstories behind it and the characters, and why they do the things they do. The book deals with not only the murder itself, but a lot of personal issues like grief, working through abuse, and guilt. These gave the book an extra dimension but also detracted from the main case itself. By this I mean that there was a big side story going on with one of the victims and a lot of time was spent on this while almost nothing was spent on another victim.

 

If you were concentrating, you could figure out the murderer before the end by one action that is odd and I found that detracted as I was now just waiting for the confirmation at the end. And the one thing that was never explained was how the killer knew how to insert the scissors to keep the victim on the verge of death. I didn’t find the final confrontation plausible for the story either.

 

Happily, the style of writing flowed well, making it easy to read, with only a few small proofing errors.

 

While there was nothing wrong with the story, I felt too many tangents took control. Still an enjoyable read, however…

 

Thanks to Reedsy Discovery for the opportunity to review the book.