Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This exceptional thriller from bestseller Rickstad (Reap) opens with a letter from the Shireburne, Vt., police chief to the town's citizens regarding a manuscript by Wayland Maynard, a former resident who was believed to have died in a fire in Shireburne in 1984. Maynard's account begins in 1976, when, at age eight, he came home to witness his father, Roland, the local barber, shoot himself in the head with a shotgun. Maynard, who was splattered with his parent's blood, finds a note nearby with the cryptic message "I Am Not Who You Think I Am," but conceals it from everyone else. His mother's response to the suicide--to rid the home of anything connected with Roland--further traumatizes Maynard. As a 16-year-old, Maynard begins to question what he believes about his father's death, but his investigation just leads him into more confusion and violence. The reveal about the meaning of the note comes as a genuine gut-punch. Knowing that the story line is building toward the fatal conflagration keeps the tension high. Rickstad has raised his game to a new level. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In Rickstad's (What Remains of Her) 1984-set thriller, 16-year-old Wayland Maynard is still traumatized by his father's suicide, which he witnessed as an eight-year-old. He lives on the fringes of the small Vermont village of Shireburne with his mother and sister, and the family barely scrapes by. Wayland is keeping a secret: eight years ago, he found a note near his father's body, bearing the cryptic message "I am not who you think I am." Wayland is convinced that the man who died that afternoon was not his father. Now he launches his own investigation, digging into the twisted past of the Vanders family, scions of Shireburne society who owned the dilapidated mansion in the woods outside of town. Someone out there will stop at nothing to keep Wayland from learning the history of his father's birth and death. VERDICT Rickstad ratchets up the suspense, filling Wayland's investigations with misdirection, shadowy characters, and gothic elements. There's a sense of dread throughout the book, but the final plot twist is a jaw-dropper. Recommended for readers who like their thrillers dark and twisted.--Nanette Donohue, Champaign P.L., IL
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