Locust Lane: A Novel

by Stephen Amidon

Overview

"Locust Lane is as perceptive as it is compulsively readable."

—The Washington Post

For fans of Mystic River by Dennis Lehane and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Stephen Amidon’s Locust Lane is a taut and utterly propulsive story about the search for justice and the fault lines of power and influence in a seemingly idyllic town. Can anyone be trusted?

On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.

With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum on every page, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose—a dynamic read that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798885789004
Publisher:	Gale, A Cengage Company
Publication date:	05/24/2023
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	500
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

STEPHEN AMIDON was born in Chicago and grew up on the East Coast. He lived in London for twelve years before returning to the United States in 1999. He now lives in Massachusetts and Torino, Italy. His books have been published in sixteen countries and include two works of nonfiction, a collection of short stories, and seven novels, including Human Capital, adapted as a film directed by Marc Meyers in 2019, and Security, also adapted as a film and released by Netflix in summer 2021.

Editorial Reviews

10/31/2022

At the start of this uneven mystery from Amidon (The Real Justine), Patrick Noone, whose life went off the rails after his teenage daughter fatally overdosed on heroin, hits a dog late one late night while driving impaired in Emerson, Mass. When he tries to tend to the animal, he spots a man hiding in some trees. He thinks little of the incident until he learns that the house the man had been lurking near was the site of the recent bludgeoning murder of teenager Eden Perry, the dog’s owner. Meanwhile, the police focus on three of Eden’s peers: spoiled rich boy Jack Parrish; Jack’s girlfriend, Hannah Holt; and Christopher Mahoun, the shy son of an immigrant. As the suspects’ parents try to ascertain the truth and protect their children, Patrick gets drawn into the case. Amidon doesn’t pull punches in his grim resolution of the murder puzzle, but readers should be prepared for some awkward prose (“The thought of that not happening added another small boulder to the sled of sadness he was tugging through the frozen tundra of his life”). This works better as a character study than a whodunit. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson, & Lerner Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"A cool-headed, red-blooded novel of such ice-pick intelligence that you might find yourself wondering, as I did, when you last read a thriller this sophisticated. Like Lehane and Landay — like Harlan Coben, too, and Laura Dave in The Last Thing He Told Me, he detonates surprises with perfect timing.

—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"Amidon’s compulsively readable, richly plotted crime novel is a tour de force that grabs readers’ attention and doesn’t let go until the final page."

—Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

"Locust Lane is a thrilling, immersive read that will keep you guessing right until the end."

—The Spectator World

"Stephen Amidon's menacing mystery Locust Lane follows the moneyed families of a suburban town closing ranks when a murder threatens their futures.... Only one child has to go down for the crime, and each parent will do anything to ensure it's not theirs."

—PopSugar, "12 New Mystery Books That'll Have You on the Edge of Your Seat in 2023"

"[A] taut, twist-filled thriller."

—ENews

"Stephen Amidon’s taut domestic thriller Locust Lane... Everyone has a story, everyone has secrets, and all that enthusiastic page-turning created a refreshing breeze. Very satisfactory...."

—The Seattle Times

"Locust Lane is as perceptive as it is compulsively readable."

—The Washington Post

"Stephen Amidon has spent considerable time in London, so perhaps that’s why he’s so good at conjuring the nasty wittiness of a mid-century British novel (which is exactly the tone I want to find in a book about wealthy people behaving very, very badly)."

—CrimeReads, "The Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of 2023"

"This truly gripping novel, both a convoluted family drama and a suspenseful murder investigation, delivers intrigue and moral depth."

—Shelf Awareness

"As a bald faced examination of affluenza and the privileges wealth affords, Locust Lane is a highly realistic read, with an ending that will have readers ruefully wishing that we all lived in a better world."

—Criminal Element

"Stephen Amidon’s Locust Lane is a suburban noir thriller that packs a gut punch."

—Deadly Pleasures Magazine

"A sharp portrait of class divisions and high-end dysfunction."

—New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

Cassandra Campbell narrates this compelling story about murder in an affluent town in Massachusetts. When a teenage girl is found dead in a million-dollar house, it’s obvious from her tattoos that she’s an outsider. It doesn’t take long for the police to focus on three of her friends, and soon they close in on one of them, the shy son of an immigrant. Campbell handles the multiple points of view flawlessly. She is adept at reflecting the dynamics among various characters, expertly portraying men and women, as well as people of different ages and social standing. This is a plot that uncovers many secrets, and Campbell treats them all evenhandedly with no hints that give away the identity of the murderer before the mystery’s reveal. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile

Cassandra Campbell narrates this compelling story about murder in an affluent town in Massachusetts. When a teenage girl is found dead in a million-dollar house, it’s obvious from her tattoos that she’s an outsider. It doesn’t take long for the police to focus on three of her friends, and soon they close in on one of them, the shy son of an immigrant. Campbell handles the multiple points of view flawlessly. She is adept at reflecting the dynamics among various characters, expertly portraying men and women, as well as people of different ages and social standing. This is a plot that uncovers many secrets, and Campbell treats them all evenhandedly with no hints that give away the identity of the murderer before the mystery’s reveal. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile

2022-11-16
Amidon’s latest suburban thriller explores the nature of class privilege and equal justice under the law.

The tranquility of the wealthy Boston suburb of Emerson is shattered when the body of Eden Perry is found in a home on tony Locust Lane, where the 20-year-old had been staying as a caretaker and dog walker. Police tell her estranged mother, Danielle, they believe she was murdered. The teenagers partying with Eden on the night of her death—golden-boy-with-a-dark-streak Jack Parrish, his sweet but troubled girlfriend, Hannah Holt, and shy outsider Christopher Mahoun, who had a crush on Eden—lie to their parents and the police about where they were that evening. But when scratches are found on Christopher’s neck, he becomes the prime suspect. As a grieving but tough Danielle seeks answers, the other parents take steps to protect their children, even if it comes at the expense of others. The shifting points of view alternate among Celia Parrish, who ignores troubling aspects of her son’s personality while relying on her husband to fix the problems Jack causes; successful restaurateur Michel Mahoun, whose ethnicity (Lebanese Maronite Catholic) marks him as a foreigner in the WASPy community; unhappily married Alice Holt, who is convinced her lover Michel’s son is innocent and who plies Hannah, her stepdaughter, with wine to get at the truth; local man Patrick Noone, on a downward spiral from his daughter Gabi’s fatal overdose, who may have seen the killer on Locust Lane during a late-night drive; and Danielle. Amidon writes smoothly but relies on clichés for his observations on class differences. With her dyed black hair and tattoos, Danielle is a working-class representative, while the socially prominent Parrishes are stereotypes of class entitlement. It’s easy to identify the villains early on. The flipping among perspectives slows the narrative and makes it difficult at times to keep track of the mostly unlikable characters in this plodding thriller.

The ambiguous ending may frustrate some readers who like their thrillers neatly wrapped up.

Kirkus Reviews