In Sanders’ disquieting plunge into the murderous mind, young women have been disappearing in an idyllic New Hampshire town, and nobody knows when the serial killer called the Huntsman and his Rohypnol-laced apples will strike again. ICU nurse Max Mason thought he’d seen the worst of humanity in Afghanistan, but he wasn’t prepared for the Huntsman to kidnap his pregnant wife, Annie, or for the prime suspect, Lincoln Douglas Raider, to fall into his lap as a coma patient. Annie’s location remains a mystery, but Max, striking up a relationship, tells Linc that he has a secret of his own: he, too, is a killer, and they could be amazing partners, except for Linc’s wife, Jolene, newborn daughter, Rosy, and Max’s detective sister, Darby.

As with the Huntsman in Snow White, themes of jealousy and love drive the plot: the Huntsman, stalking unsuspecting women; Max, willing to do whatever it takes to find his missing wife; Jolene, frantic for her ideal family life; Darby, hunting the Huntsman; and Linc, living on a farm that Sanders makes richly creepy, seeming to confess to crimes of his own. Sanders teases out the mysteries with an emphasis on suspense rather than serial-killer gore. Max’s narration is compelling, and the compassion he feels for his accidental friends proves affecting, but readers will likely have a sense of what shoe’s going to drop quite a while before it finally does. The final act, though, is gripping, and the novel is powered by fleet, sharp-edged scenes, memorable dialogue, and pared-down prose tinged with dark poetry.

The complexity of Max and Linc’s relationship elevates the mystery into something like a duel or even a suspenseful courtship, as Sanders challenges and rewards readers’ expectations—and empathy. The element of found family is unsettling, as is the detachment with which Linc prepares a rabbit stew—“Skinned, Fluffy has disappeared. It’s just meat”—and discusses coyotes’ zeal for blood. Such scenes pulse with nervy power.

Takeaway: The tense story of a desperate infiltration into the farm, life, and mind of a potential serial killer.

Great for fans of: Alaina Urquhart’s The Butcher and the Wren, Devashish Sardana’s The Girl in the Glass Case.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A