The Death of Us

Rader-Day’s (Death at Greenway) suspenseful family drama has good characterizations, with motivations readers will identify with and find believable, even as the tension escalates. Liss Kehoe is in a tight spot. Her husband has been unfaithful, again, and he’s moved out, which makes her role as a mother feel precarious. Her son’s birth mother, Ashley, has not been seen since she dropped baby Callan off with Liss 15 years ago. Now human remains are found on Liss and her husband’s property, implying that Ashley never made it very far. In their small town, suspicion and assumptions abound. People are talking about Liss, her husband, her relationship with the sheriff, and everything that went down 15 years ago. Liss doesn’t know whom to trust as she tries to protect her son. Did she “protect” him from Ashley as well? A side plot about the death of a friend adds little but is interesting on its own. The mystery is limited by the number of possible murderers, so readers may not be shocked at the twist, but it is satisfying.