No Bad Deed

November 4, 2019
While driving alone one rainy night, veterinarian Cassie Larkin, the narrator of Chavez’s propulsive debut set in California wine country, spots a large man menacing a young woman in the road. Cassie stops and calls 911, but against the dispatcher’s advice, she gets out of her van and confronts the man, who threatens Cassie before escaping with her car. The next night, which is Halloween, Cassie’s husband, Sam, abandons their six-year-old daughter, Audrey, while trick-or-treating and disappears. Det. Ray Rico, who investigates, suspects that either Cassie or her 15-year-old son, Leo, is involved in Sam’s disappearance. Chavez peoples her tale with credible, flawed individuals, presenting even the multiple antagonists with harrowing backstories and convincing psychological motives. While readers must suspend disbelief at times (as when Cassie fails to check in with Rico and goes rogue), Chavez is in full command of plot and pacing as the connection between Cassie’s roadside confrontation and Sam’s disappearance becomes clear. Domestic thriller fans will be well satisfied. Agent: Peter Steinberg, Foundry Literary + Media.

December 15, 2019
A good Samaritan incurs a psychopath's wrath in this debut thriller. Veterinarian Cassie Larkin is heading home after a 12-hour shift when someone darts in front of her car, causing her to dump her energy drink. As she pulls over to mop up the mess, her headlights illuminate a couple having a physical altercation. Cassie calls 911, but before help arrives, the man tosses the woman down an embankment. Ignoring the dispatcher's instructions, Cassie exits the vehicle and intervenes, preventing the now-unconscious woman's murder. With sirens wailing in the distance, the man warns Cassie: "Let her die, and I'll let you live." He then scrambles back to the road and flees in Cassie's van. Using mug shots, Cassie identifies the thief and would-be killer as Carver Sweet, who is wanted for poisoning his wife. The Santa Rosa police assure Cassie of her safety, but the next evening, her husband, Sam, vanishes while trick-or-treating with their 6-year-old daughter, Audrey. Hours later, he sends texts apologizing and confessing to an affair, but although it's true that Sam and Cassie have been fighting, she suspects foul play--particularly given the previous night's events. Cassie files a report with the cops, but they dismiss her concerns, leaving Cassie to investigate on her own. After a convoluted start, Chavez embarks on a paranoia-fueled thrill ride, escalating the stakes while exploiting readers' darkest domestic fears. The far-fetched plot lacks cohesion and relies too heavily on coincidence to be fully satisfying, but the reader will be invested in learning the Larkin family's fate through to the too-pat conclusion. Chavez delivers a fraught if flawed page-turner that attempts too many twists.

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Starred review from December 1, 2019
An extraordinary thriller from a debut author that may well become the book everyone is talking about, come February. While driving home from her veterinary practice one rainy night, Cassie Larkin sees a man attacking a woman on the side of the road. After calling 911, Cassie jumps out of her car?against her every instinct?and gives futile chase. While she's examining the unconscious victim, the attacker circles back and steals her car. The man now has her name and address. The police, after divulging that the attacker is a dangerous man who is wanted for the murder of his wife, promise to keep watch on Cassie's home. The following day, her husband disappears while trick-or-treating with their daughter after telling Cassie, We need to talk. She worries that he has become involved with another woman but then wonders if his own strong sense of moral obligation has somehow put him in danger. Scary, sometimes deadly things begin to happen to her children and friends, and when Cassie finds eavesdropping equipment, spy cameras, and tracking devices in her home, she begins to realize that her family may have been set up. In a mesmerizing first-person narrative, her fear is palpable, then vanquished by an astonishing ferocity she finds within herself. Where does that come from? Wait until you find out. This one glows in dark.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

If you're a fan of twists and turns, whodunits, and why'd-they-do-its, this is a must-listen. Narrator Megan Tusing does a great job capturing this engaging mystery. The story centers on a veterinarian who's a loving mom, devoted wife, and doer of good deeds. That last part is what gets her into trouble. Has her past finally caught up with her? Is it true that no good deed goes unpunished? Throughout, the surprises come fast and furious. Did her husband play a role in the unfolding mystery? And just what did the violent man she confronted mean when he told her, "Let her die, and I'll let you live"? Tusing's narration imparts just the right amount of suspense. J.P.S. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine