The Shattering by Karen HealeyKeri's is trying to come to terms with the suicide of her older brother, Jake. Then Janna a friend from Keri's past tells her Jake was probably murdered. Janna's older brother's death was also labeled a suicide. Keri and Janna live in Summerton, a small beautiful New Zealand island and tourist favorite. Though it's Sione, a tourist who first figures out that the suicides in Summerton have a pattern. He too as lost an older brother to the island. The three decide to work together to find out the truth about the yearly suicides.
The mystery lies in the how and the why as opposed to the who. A very smart move by the author. Since it's set on an island the number of suspects is going to be limited to begin with, so rather then create unbelievable red herrings Healey focuses her energy elsewhere. Much of that goes into the main characters. I loved their individual stories. Each is dealing with things that will impact how they get along and face what's really going on in Summerton. Keri, Janna and Sione all get the same amount of fact time thanks to alternating chapters. It was very nice to see the author once again embracing a diverse cast. Shattering is one of those novels that I enjoyed when I was done and continues to grow on me as I look back on it
Healey set the bar very high with her award winning debut, Guardian of the Dead. Shattering is a very good, page turning follow up.
An excerpt via Little Brown.
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