No Rest For The Wicked by Rachel Adams Book Review

About the Book:

In one Halloween obsessed Midwestern town, everyone’s on red alert after a local politician goes missing. Little do they know it’s only the beginning.

It’s been close to twenty years since forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. The town is famous for its Halloween celebrations, but also its history of violent deaths linked to the holiday. To Dolores, it’s the place she fled, family, bad memories, and all. Until the FBI calls to tell her that her father--the former mayor turned US Senator--is missing under mysterious circumstances.

Some people count to ten to wake up from a nightmare. Dolores always counts the bones of her head instead: sphenoid, frontal, lacrimal. But no matter how many times she counts them, it doesn’t change the fact that her father is missing, that his final words of warning to her were to trust no one, and that now, the rest of her family is giving Dolores a chilling welcome. With Halloween fast approaching, Dolores must face the past she left behind before it’s too late.

My Review:

Secrets from long ago surface in this author debut. It is not as creepy (as in paranormal) as the cover would make one believe. I felt it was more of a regular mystery and a good one. But it does have some well described and graphic murder scenes. Dolores is a good semi-amateur sleuth. She is a forensic pathologist and has done some work on murder scenes before so is not entirely an amateur. She is plagued with events from the past, however, as she returns to her home town to help on the case of her missing father.

Potential readers should realize there are some graphic descriptions of murder and other forms of cruelty. There are hints and allusions to rape. Adams has crafted a good and complex murder plot that keeps moving. Her character development is good. As to the cover, there are cats involved but it is more of like a kill shelter issue than something spooky.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Rachel Louise Adams was raised in a small town in Brittany by a French father and a North American mother. After studying literature at university, she wrote her PhD thesis on American fast foods and meat-eating. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found advocating for animal rights, spending time with her fiancé, her friends, and her two cats.

Minotaur Books, 322 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)