Alex

At first blush a tense psychological drama, this debut comes undone with a lack of suspense. Grieving father Ian Colmes tries to come to terms with his five-year-old son Alex’s death, which is not easy to do as Alex has been haunting him for the six months since he was murdered. The haunting plagues Ian, spilling over into the rest of his life and further straining the relationship between him and his estranged wife. As Alex’s presence grows more insistent, there is no doubt in Ian’s mind that his son’s phantom is trying to tell him something, and it may be linked to the disappearance of another man’s child. While Nicolai paints a moving portrait of a grief-stricken family, the eventual buildup of suspense is overwrought. Although Ian wrestles with the idea that seeing his dead son may be all in his head, it is established too early that ghosts dictate the course of the plot. Readers will appreciate Nicolai’s atmospheric writing, but may be let down by the predictable twists. (BookLife)