The second stranger

Griffin's taut, atmospheric debut is set at a remote Scottish lodge sandwiched between two hulking mountains. On Remie Yorke's last shift as night manager of the MacKinnon Hotel before she flies to Chile to begin a new life, she hears an alarm indicating trouble at the nearby Porterfell Prison, where her inmate brother, Cameron, died a year earlier. A fierce storm sets in, cutting the phone lines, and a man appears at the hotel's door, claiming to be a police officer named Gaines who's been injured while transporting a dangerous prisoner who's now at large. Remie lets the man in and gives him shelter, but not long after, a second man appears, also claiming to be Gaines. Remie and Jai, the hotel's lone guest, can't agree on which is the legitimate policeman; each man's argument seems to consist of equal parts veracity and elaborate artifice, and they're both kept overnight at the hotel until the storm subsides. Griffin makes the most of his strong premise: while Remie does a few foolish things that stretch credibility (including leaving her safe, locked room at one point when she's sure one of her guests is a killer), well-earned shocks and expertly calibrated suspense keep the pages turning. Griffin is a mystery writer to watch. (Nov.)

DEBUT On a stormy winter night in the Scottish Highlands, Remie Yorke is working her last shift as the night manager of the Mackinnon, a remote lodge where she and two guests are the only inhabitants. The closest building to the lodge is the prison where Remie's younger brother Cameron had been incarcerated until his sudden death a year prior. A man purporting to be Police Constable Gaines knocks at the lodge door and claims to have been in an accident while transporting a prisoner. The prisoner has escaped and may be heading toward the Mackinnon. A second man appears soon after, also claiming to be Gaines. With no way to communicate with the outside world and no escape on impassable roads, Remie must figure out who's really with her at the Mackinnon and why. Griffin's debut locked-room mystery quickly shifts into a cat-and-mouse thriller as Remie has to decide whom to trust. VERDICT Uneven pacing and several glaring inconsistencies impede some of the suspense, but fans of plot twists and isolated settings will find something to enjoy. Recommended for larger public libraries.--Anitra Gates