On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, the discovery of several vanished bodies shatters the trust holding the Golden Cove community together. Eight years later, another young woman disappears without a trace, and the dark past collides with the haunting present, forcing deadly secrets to come to light.
Singh pulls out all the tropes here: a moody heroine, a man with a clouded past, a hamlet hiding horrors, a heretofore unknown serial killer and, overall, does these oft stock mores deftly. Golden Cove’s residents are each written with nuance as are the complex relationships they share. Sex, power, money, and violence shape all in the town and with each successive chapter Singh erodes the veneers almost everyone in Golden Cove wears. I tore through this book. The mystery is compelling and Singh’s prose is evocative and precise ... If you’re looking for an atmospheric, beautifully written suspense novel with a soupcon of romance I highly recommend this book.
...a complicated, compelling story that addresses the pain posed by the title of Thomas Wolfe’s famous book, You Can’t Go Home Again ... A Madness of Sunshine doesn’t condescend to readers; it is through inferences and Maori phrases that Anahera’s ethnicity is made obvious ... Set aside the weekend before starting A Madness of Sunshine because it’s unputdownable. Check out your airline miles too because after you finish, you may want to accept Nalini Singh’s invitation to visit her 'distant country' ... beautiful.
Singh elevates the missing-girl trope with a compassionate cop and nuanced secondary characters. Readers are immersed in New Zealand, from the Maōri language and culture to the rugged, dangerous beauty of the landscape. An immensely satisfying procedural, and, though the romance is secondary, it has the intensity that Singh’s fans have come to expect.
