Brendan Duffy
anticipated publication date February 2018
4/5 stars
Nate McHale survives a tragic accident in his youth, and it's effect continues through his high school and college years. Now, 14 years later, he's a respected surgeon and a family man, having left the past behind. Then, skeletal remains are found in his hometown of Greystone Lake, and he returns for the funeral, and to discover the murderer, This reawakens his past with a vengeance.
The Storm King starts slow and somewhat confusingly. The reader follows McHale's return to Greystone Lake without any knowledge of the past. Then, Duffy begins to weave the past and present stories together and the novel becomes enthralling. Duffy keeps the reader guessing, both as to the identity of the killer, and to where the story is actually going. The narrative flows quickly and pulls the reader along. (Though, I must say that the last 80 pages or so seemed too long, and at a slower pace, and detracted from what should have been a dynamic ending.)
The main character is not actually McHale, but the town itself. Duffy creates a history, and even a mythology of sorts, for Greystone Lake, which is one of the best parts of the story. It's not often that location plays such an integral part of the plot, and this is well done and effective.
Overall, this is a fine suspense novel, engaging and entertaining. If suffers from a rambling ending, but otherwise makes a great, quick read.
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