Whirlwind

January 30, 2017
In this well-crafted standalone from Norman (Fear and Loathing and six other Sam Becket thrillers), the Reaper, a self-proclaimed psychopath and serial killer, stalks New England. Meanwhile, Michael Rider, the scion of a prominent family, is in a downward emotional spiral, and Liza Plain has become a copy editor and ghostwriter for blogs, abandoning her dreams of being a journalist in the mold of Dan Rather and Connie Chung. Discovering what it is that unites these seemingly disparate people is the book’s main pleasure. Fate brings the Reaper, Liza, and Michael together on a snow-laden Christmas Eve in the village of Shiloh, R.I., a place travelers tend to skip unless they are “aficionado of high-profile true crime stories.” The literally and figuratively explosive denouement shatters some long-held illusions and brings carefully concealed secrets and unvoiced pain to the surface. Norman skillfully examines such themes as hypocrisy, cruelty, forgiveness, and redemption in this unsettling novel.

Starred review from March 15, 2017
Norman's latest thriller will grab readers from the first sentence and keep them on the edge of their seats until the very end. Liza Plain, a journalist wannabe, and Michael Rider, a former teacher, have three things in common: they both grew up in the isolated village of Shiloh, Rhode Island; they were both deeply affected when a little girl was murdered in Shiloh years ago; and they both consider themselves failures. Liza has never gotten her big break in journalism and now writes ads for websites, while Michael went off the rails and wound up in prison. Now he takes whatever low-paying job comes around and barely manages to survive. The fourth thing the pair will have in common is that they both decide to return to Shiloh for Christmas, Liza to visit her grandfather, and Michael because he has received a mysterious invitation from someone calling themself The Reaper. What occurs that Christmas is as tense, violent, and terrifying as it is riveting. As both Liza and Michael struggle to understand what is happening to them, they find themselves confronting a moral dilemma that has the ability to alter their lives in unimaginable ways. An outstanding psychological thriller with bizarre twists and unexpected turns.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)