cover image Darkness All Around

Darkness All Around

Doug Magee. Touchstone, $25 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4391-5402-1

In Magee’s tortuous thriller, Risa Tuvic has come a long way in the 10 years since her husband, Sean Collins, disappeared in an alcoholic fog shortly before her best friend, Carol Slezak, was brutally murdered in the small Pennsylvania town of Braden. After Sean was legally declared dead, Risa married rising politician Alan Benson, and her son, Kevin Collins, later emerged as a powerful high school football player. Sean’s unexpected return with confused claims that he killed Carol—a crime another man confessed to and was convicted for—throws Risa’s world into disarray. No one wants to listen to Sean, particularly Alan, who’s in the midst of a campaign and wants Sean to disappear again. The town unites against Sean, except for Risa and reporter Henry Saltz. The more Risa comes to believe Sean, the more she questions Alan’s actions. The story plods at times, but Magee (Never Wave Goodbye) manages some nifty twists to keep readers guessing. (Oct.)