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“What do you get when you combine Tommy Orange, Angie Thomas, and Tomi Adeyemi?” —Entertainment Weekly. Firekeeper’s Daughter is a groundbreaking thriller centered on Daunis, a biracial unenrolled tribal member who’s never quite fit in. After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known? Keep the secret. Live the lie. Earn your truth.
Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!
Maybe I’m projecting here, but I think everyone could use a little bit of distraction and escape this week! So how about a thriller set in the Scottish Highlands? Let’s go!
The Missing Years by Lexie Elliott
Ailsa has just inherited half a house from her mother. The house in question is her childhood home in the Scottish Highlands, which she hasn’t returned to in over two decades when her father disappeared with a small fortune in jewels. She can’t sell the place because technically, the other half belongs to her father, who has never been declared dead despite the fact that no one has heard from him since.
At a personal and professional crossroads, Ailsa leaves her home in London and moves into the house, along with her younger half-sister, who is an actor in a play in Edinburgh. Almost immediately, Ailsa feels as though something is off. Break-ins, weird sounds, unexplainable events, and hostile locals make for an unsettling experience as Ailsa tries to piece it all together. Does this have to do with her missing dad, or is something more suspicious going on?
I loved this book because it’s a great novel with an unsettling, uncertain atmosphere, and there’s a light question of whether or not anything supernatural is going on. The setting is very atmospheric and vivid, striking a great balance between a claustrophobic small town vibe and the wide open beauty of the countryside. I enjoyed the cast of characters, from Ailsa and her sister to the locals they meet and make friends with. The relationships also contribute to this unease. Ailsa has never felt close to her half-sister, and she’s haunted by her father’s disappearance, so suddenly living in close proximity with her sister and facing the consequences of her father’s supposed crimes are both very uncomfortable for her. Getting to the bottom of what’s going on in her house forces her to open herself up emotionally, which can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable. The hint of supernatural was definitely enough to keep me guessing, and I think that this book has similar appeal to Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark, but with a more nuanced touch that stayed more on the thriller end of the spectrum, without verging into horror. It really was a great escape that, at its heart, is about reconciling where you stand with family!
Happy reading!
Tirzah
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