She didn’t See it coming
Shari Lapena’s crime fiction moves at a brisk pace, her descriptions of settings and characters economical. Lapena primarily uses the simple present tense to convey her characters’ thoughts and actions. This adds immediacy, allowing the reader to experience events as the characters do, heightening suspense and creating a sense of urgency and unpredictability as the situation unfolds and grows more precarious.
I enjoy Lapena’s work for the challenge of solving the puzzle. Who is the culprit? Who committed the murder? I have read enough of her work to guess “the bad guy” most of the time.
When a wife and mother vanishes one day while working from home in her luxury condo, her disappearance raises more questions than answers. Where has she gone? If she even left the premises at all.
Lisa Jewell masterfully employs vivid imagery and clever metaphors to breathe life into her characters and settings, creating worlds that feel both tangible and emotionally resonant. Her descriptive writing immerses readers, painting scenes with rich detail and crafting characters whose inner lives are as vividly drawn as their outward appearances.
In Don’t Let Him In, Nina Swann, a grieving widow, receives a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, a former friend of her late husband. Nick is charming, confident, and seemingly perfect—the kind of man who can instantly put people at ease. But while Nina is drawn to his charm, her daughter, Ash, is far more skeptical. To Ash, Nick’s polished demeanor feels too good to be true, and her suspicions lead her to dig into his past. What she uncovers is downright chilling.
At the same time, we’re introduced to Martha, a florist in a nearby town who’s questioning her husband Alistair’s frequent absences. His excuses seem reasonable enough, but Martha can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t adding up. The tension builds as these two storylines intertwine, leading to a jaw-dropping collision of secrets and truths.
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