In this debut thriller set in Austin in the 1980s, a former killer named Sean Suh has vowed to put his violent past behind him. But when Annabelle goes missing, Sean becomes a suspect and sets out to find her and clear his name.
...gripping ... Author Wendy Heard makes a bold choice in asking readers to identify with Sean, a confessed killer of women who hasn’t quite tamed his violent urges ... Heard excels at setting a tense creepy mood, but as the novel hurtles toward its conclusion, a few too-hard-to-swallow plot twists take things in an implausible direction that doesn’t gibe with what’s come before. But despite a flawed third act, Hunting Annabelle entertains with a story that raises questions about guilt, justice, and if violent, mentally ill criminals can ever be truly cured.
A promising debut from Heard, this dark, gritty thriller keeps the pages turning, making this a solid pick for readers who enjoy a trip through an unstable mind, such as in Caroline Kepnes's You.
...suspenseful if contrived ... Heard hooks readers with her intriguing premise and complex protagonist, but stumbles during the final third of the book with a dizzying series of unbelievable plot twists. Still, fans of psychological thrillers will be curious to see what she comes up with next.
