Review: A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

A Madness of Sunshine
Nalini Singh
Release: December 3, 2019
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New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh welcomes you to a remote town on the edge of the world where even the blinding brightness of the sun can’t mask the darkness that lies deep within a killer…
On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbors; the children, more than schoolmates.
 
That is until one fateful summer—and several vanished bodies—shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can’t run from the past forever.

Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape.

It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light.

Review:
During much of my teen years, I read almost exclusively thrillers and romantic suspense novels because that's the genre my small community library had the most of. I loved them! But by the time I was a junior in high school, I was burnt out on them. Since then I've maybe read one or two a year which is sad now that I think about it.

When I heard that Nalini Singh was writing a thriller, I could barely contain my excitement but I was a bit wary as well. I'm still really tired of the young beautiful woman gets murdered as a start to the plot of a thriller and that what I got from the synopsis. I shouldn't have been worried. Everything I love about Nalini Singh's storytelling in her paranormal books were present in this book.

I don't want to say a lot about the book because I think the experience will be better if you go into the story semi-blind. I will say that the characters felt real. Nalini Singh added her signature touch to all the usual thriller characters like the town gossip, the jaded detective, the angry and hurt heroine, and the untrusting locals.  I loved the small romance subplot so much! It added to the mystery and made the book even more enjoyable for me. 

I loved the setting so much! The description of this small town in a remote part of New Zealand makes me want to go visit and she totally captured the atmosphere of a small town even if it was a bit gloomy and distrustful because of certain events. I also loved the elements of Maori culture in the book! It made the setting even more richer which I didn't think would be possible. As for the mystery, this was more of a slow burn thriller but I was kept guessing until the very end.

If you're looking for something different to your usual romance or SFF fare like me, I can't recommend picking up this book enough. Nalini Singh has resparked my interest in the thriller genre enough that I'll definitely be looking for more to add to my reading list for next year.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

   

  4 / 5 Stars