Whidbey

by T Kira Madden

A stunning literary achievement and portrait of three women connected through one man in the aftermath of his murder—the explosive and highly anticipated debut novel from beloved and award-winning memoirist, T Kira Madden.

Birdie Chang didn’t know anything about Whidbey Island when she chose it, only that it was about as far away as she could get from her own life. She’s a woman on the run, desperate for an escape from the headlines back home and the look of concern in her girlfriend’s eyes—and from Calvin Boyer, the man who abused her as a child and who’s now resurfaced. On her way, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger on the ferry who offers her a proposition, a sinister solution, a plan for revenge.

But Birdie isn’t the only girl Calvin harmed back then. There’s also Linzie King, a former reality TV star who recently wrote all about it in her bestselling memoir. Though the two women have never met, their stories intertwine. Once Birdie arrives on Whidbey, she finally cracks the book’s spine, only to find too much she recognizes in its pages. Soon after, on the other side of the country, Calvin’s loving mother, Mary-Beth, receives a shocking phone call from the police: her only son has been murdered.

Calvin’s death sets into motion a series of events that sends each woman on a desperate search for answers. A complex whodunnit told from alternating points of view, Whidbey is searingly perceptive and astonishingly original. Exploring the long reach of violence and our flawed systems of incarceration and rehabilitation, this is a tense and provocative debut that’s sure to incite crucial questions about the pursuit of justice and who has real power over a story: the one who lives it, or the one who tells it?

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Literary Fiction, Adult, Contemporary

384 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 10, 2026

About the author

T Kira Māhealani Madden is a diasporic Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) writer and author of the novel Whidbey, forthcoming with Mariner in 2026. Her memoir, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, was named a New York Times Editors' Choice, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, and the Lambda Literary Award. She is the Founding Editor of No Tokens, a magazine of literature and art, and has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Hedgebrook, Tin House, MacDowell, Yaddo, and Lō’ihi. Winner of the 2021 Judith A. Markowitz Award, she served as the Distinguished Writer in Residence at University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and currently teaches at Hamilton College as an assistant professor in Creative Writing and Indigenous literatures.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whidbey might be one of the most brilliant releases of 2026. With its deep psychological exploration and its compassionate approach to multiple perspectives, it shows how trauma lives differently inside each person—how the same tragedy can wound, transform, and reshape lives in completely different ways. Sadness seeps from every page. The raw, heart-wrenching prose speaks directly to your soul, echoing loneliness, grief, and all the words left unsaid. As each character’s buried pain rises to the surface, your own invisible scars begin to ache too. This is a powerful character study and an emotionally immersive drama that pulls you in from the very first page with its distinctive, original storytelling.

The novel unfolds through the points of view of three women, all bound by dark pasts that have shaped who they are—and all connected by a shocking murder that upends their present lives.

Birdie Chang is the first. We meet her on a ferry headed to Whidbey Island, searching for isolation and a fragile sense of peace after a lifetime of unhealed childhood trauma. She is running from a stalker, a man who molested her and shattered her sense of safety. In a moment of vulnerability, she blurts out his name to a stranger on the ferry—an eerie, modern echo of Strangers on a Train. The scarred man half-jokingly tells her he’ll kill him. Birdie brushes it off… until she later learns that the very man who destroyed her childhood—and whose case was dismissed by the courts—has been murdered. Panic sets in. Did her words matter? Did she somehow set this in motion? Her fear deepens when her longtime girlfriend, Trace, begins acting like she’s hiding something. Suddenly, even the person she trusts most feels like a stranger.

Then there is Mary Beth, the mother of Calvin Boyer—the convicted pedophile who is found murdered inside the facility where he was incarcerated. Mary Beth may be the most heartbreaking and resonant character in the book. Abandoned years ago by her husband, she raised her son alone, clinging to unconditional love and the hope that treatment could help him change. She dreamed of his release, of starting over, of rebuilding some version of a life together. Now he’s gone. She can barely breathe, yet she keeps showing up for her shifts at a gas station, dressed in an elf costume, surrounded by the cruel irony of holiday cheer while carrying unbearable grief inside. Her sister Syl moves in with her, leaving behind her husband, twin daughters, and farm life to offer support—but even that feels heavy and complicated. When Mary Beth’s ex-husband suddenly reappears, claiming he may know who killed their son, she is pulled into a spiral of new secrets, danger, and devastating choices that threaten to fracture what little stability she has left.

And finally, Lizzie King—a former dating show star whose life changes after she speaks publicly about Calvin Boyer. Seeking to shape the narrative and capitalize on the moment, her father hires a ghostwriter to produce a sensational memoir that doesn’t fully reflect the truth. The book brings Lizzie fame, attention, and influence—but also fierce backlash from victims who feel their pain is being exploited, including Birdie. Lizzie becomes a lightning rod for hard questions: Is she a pawn in her father’s ambitions, or a willing participant? Is she an opportunist benefiting from others’ suffering, or another damaged soul trying to survive? And could she somehow be connected to the murder itself?

The story dares to ask painful, uncomfortable questions. Can a molester ever truly change? What does justice look like when the system fails? What happens to the mothers who love their children despite everything they’ve done? And what about the victims left behind—can they ever fully heal? Can forgiveness exist without erasing the harm? Or will trauma always find ways to resurface, sometimes twisted into rage, silence, or even the hunger for attention and meaning?

There are many sides to this story, many voices, many truths. But at its core, Whidbey is about real pain—raw, complicated, and deeply human—and the desperate search for a way to live with it.

This book is profoundly thought-provoking, a brilliantly executed character study, and a slow-burn psychological mystery blended seamlessly with women’s fiction. I savored it slowly, wanting to absorb every detail, every emotion, every quiet moment, even as the characters’ suffering broke my heart again and again. It’s the kind of story that lingers long after you turn the last page.

This is one of the best books you should not miss.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for sharing this powerful thriller/women’s fiction digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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[emma]

i loved this author's memoir. i did not expect my next read from her would be a murder mystery 7 years later, but i'll take it

[Nikki Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear readers, this story will be incredibly personal to you. You, too, might have experienced childhood trauma that is talked about in this book. If you are one of the lucky ones, and have not, I’m sure you know someone who has.

The book is about two women who were sexually abused by the same man when they were children. I will share that the abuse is not in great detail, thank gawd for that. It’s handled with grace.

Another important character here is the mother of the abuser. Imagine finding out your son had done those things, how would you feel? Imagine being in her shoes.

This is a queer dark literary fiction that will be huge in 2026! Whidbey is a character study of the human condition and boy, is it powerful! How these women think and just how relatable they are. I was completely mesmerized by Madden’s writing. It is absolutely stellar! In fact, I was so in awe, that I felt I wasn’t worthy of writing this review.

This is the book everyone will be talking about! Evocative, shocking, and downright disturbing. I am in awe of this author’s work! Top 10 of 2025 for me! Please add this to your TBR!!!

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Massive thanks to Mariner Books and T Kira Madden for my beautiful gifted copy.

Expected Pub Date - 3/2026

[Dutchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whidbey shows the ripple effect of a pedophile’s(Calvin) assault on two young girls. Birdie, who was assaulted at the age of nine is unable to move on from what happened to her. Now, as an adult, she goes to Whidbey to try to mentally start over. Linzie, who was assaulted at the age of 13, has written a memoir detailing how the abuse affected her as well as the time she spent on a reality show. Then finally, we see the impact on Calvin’s mother, Mary Beth. All three women’s stories show them trying to cope and understand their lives after Calvin’s assault and conviction.

The novel gives us a first hand look into the minds of these three women. At times it is rather grim and depressing. It also explores how things can be viewed differently between people. The final third of the novel is told from an unbiased POV and gives the reader a truer view of each of the character’s motivations and recollections. I liked how this was done as it gave added context to the women’s point of view, as well as as details omitted from the story that they might not have been privy to.

While I found this to be more of a literary character study there was also a bit of a mystery embedded into it. Calvin was found dead, having been killed by a hit-and-run driver.

I loved the writing style of the novel and the characters themselves felt super realistic. The topic itself obviously will be triggering for some but I felt the author did a great job of not making it gratuitous.

I can certainly recommend this novel, but please be aware of the trigger warnings.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published March 10, 2026.

3 stars

“There are child molestors, sexual abusers, pedophiles, and then there are Calvins,” says this book, but Calvin really is the first three things too. The book covers Calvin, his mother, Mary-Beth, her sister Sylvia and two of Calvin’s victims, Linzie and Birdie, years after the abuse of the girls. Now Calvin and s a resident of a community specifically for those in the sex offender registry (including a poor woman who is listed on the registry after being found guilty of public urination. I hope that hasn’t really happened.).

Linzie has written a book about her experiences both with Calvin and on a reality show where her trauma was used for ratings.
Birdie has never really come to terms. Her partner, Trace, had sent her on a month-long visit to Whidbey Island in the Pacific Northwest to reflect.

The third section of the book adds an omniscient narrator who reveals secrets. It was a bit odd. Overall, though, the book was fine. It was interesting to read what becomes of people who are CSAs and I would have liked more coverage of that.

[Book Riot Community]

Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026:

Here is a whodunnit that offers the thrill of a mystery in need of solving alongside scrutiny of our incarceration system. T. Kira Madden is best known for her memoir about growing up queer and biracial, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, and now we’re getting a debut novel from the writer known for a thoughtful and compassionate approach to storytelling. Whidbey follows the women whose lives are forever altered by an abuser—an abuser who has turned up dead. If Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods was the book club book of 2024, I predict this will be ours for 2026. —S. Zainab Williams

[Angela Lashbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best things I’ve read in recent memory and also one of the most difficult. Madden’s remarkable empathy for her characters makes this book all the more heartbreaking.

[Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ! Full rtc

[Mai H.]

ANHPI TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books

[Angie Miale · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I tell you this book will build your empathy as much as it did your righteous anger, I mean this in the darkest way. The author says this book is about the commodification of suffering, and this is a sweeping theme across the novel and the years. This book sucked me in so thoroughly and absolutely gutted me from the beginning. The writing style is like Allie Larkin (The People We Keep, Home of the American Circus) along with a murder mystery and along with disturbing subject matter.

The book follows Birdie, a victim of sexual abuse, as she flees to Whidbey, a remote island off the Washington coast. In alternating chapters, we read the POV of Mary Beth, the mother of the convicted pedophile Calvin Boyer. I think I found Mary Beth’s chapters the most heartbreaking. She somehow has to grieve her son, while making sense of his lifetime as an abuser. In act two, Linzie’s POV is added as well, one of Calvin’s later victims who wrote a memoir about her experiences and ended up on a reality show similar to The Bachelor.

It is truly haunting that the author manages to make Calvin a tragic empathetic character, considering she is a survivor of sexual abuse from a young age.

If you are in the mood for something extremely engaging and deep, I know this book will be one people are talking about.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC. Book to be published March 9, 2025.

[thebookybird · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof.

Okay well I can see this being a very buzzy read, the plot in theory is interesting but the rest was lacking.

Poorly drawn characters that felt unbelievable and not relatable.

Clunky dialogue.

And the end, womp womp, heavy eye roll.

Not for me.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whidbey is the kind of novel that gets under your skin, that makes you confront the uncomfortable questions. I appreciate the way T Kira humanizes all her characters — even the “monster” of the story has a mother who loves him, has people who will miss him. This was as twisty and tense as the best genre thriller, and literary in a way that makes me wish I was more eloquent, so I could fully put into words this book’s impact on me. I’m going to be thinking about this one for a long time.

[Mainlinebooker · Rating 3 out of 5]

T. Kira Madden’s Whidbey is a profoundly unsettling and unflinching novel—one that demands emotional stamina from its reader and offers little reprieve from its relentless examination of trauma. Gratefully, I have not been a victim of child sexual abuse, yet this book felt so raw and viscerally rendered that it could undoubtedly serve as a trigger for those who have endured such violations. Madden does not soften the blows; the pain is ever-present, cumulative, and suffocating.
I found the novel oppressive and, at times, exceedingly difficult to persevere through—not because of any failure in craft, but precisely because the anguish never relents. Roughly three-quarters of the way through, I found myself wanting the book to simply end, as the emotional weight had become all-consuming. This is not a narrative that offers catharsis or comfort; instead, it immerses the reader in the aftermath of abuse and refuses to look away.
The story unfolds through alternating perspectives: Birdie and Linzie, the girls whose childhoods were irrevocably damaged; their abuser; and, chillingly, the abuser’s mother. Each voice reveals a different, often disturbing, method of coping with devastation—through denial, displacement, rationalization, or silent endurance. Madden’s choice to include the interior life of the abuser and his mother is particularly provocative, forcing the reader into morally uncomfortable territory and raising difficult questions about complicity, willful blindness, and generational harm.
When the abuser is abruptly killed after being run over by a car, the novel ostensibly shifts into the terrain of a mystery. Yet this is a mystery in only the loosest sense. The search for answers unfolds slowly, almost reluctantly, and serves more as a narrative scaffold than a driving force. The true focus of Whidbey lies not in plot resolution but in the internal landscapes of its characters—their fractured psyches, their unresolved rage, and their attempts, however faltering, to survive what cannot be undone.
Madden writes with a precision that suggests intimate familiarity with her subject matter. The prose is spare, controlled, and unsparing, mirroring the emotional barrenness experienced by the characters themselves. She accomplishes exactly what she sets out to do: to bear witness, to name the damage, and to refuse the consolations of easy redemption. But this achievement comes at a cost—to the reader, who must sit with discomfort and despair, and who may close the book feeling shaken rather than soothed.
Whidbey is a powerful and courageous novel, but it is not an easy one. It demands to be read slowly, deliberately, and with emotional preparedness. For readers willing to endure its darkness, it offers a stark and necessary meditation on trauma, silence, and the long shadows cast by abuse.


thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review

[Full of Lit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject matter of this book and the author‘s ability to address something this deep and traumatic were done well.

The downside of this book was the writing style just didn’t work for me. It was very ambiguous and very drawn out, and that can work, but the way it was done in this book just didn’t work for me personally.

The way the subject matter was addressed in the points it made about the subject matter were very true and will stick with a lot of people especially people that have experienced CSA.

The ambiguity in the book was hard for me. I wasn’t even sure who was guilty and I can’t even say who I’m talking about because I don’t want to give anything away, but I was definitely like did they do it?? I I would recommend everyone check this book out!

[suzannah ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5.

[Lyon.Brit.andthebookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Report: Whidbey by T Kira Madden

As soon as I saw the title my PNW heart was all in🌲and can we take a moment for this cover?! 😍 I’ll be picking up a finished copy for that alone.

Now… let’s get into the story.
This dark literary fiction felt like a character study 🌀three very different people each scarred and shaped by trauma and all connected by one chilling thread. It’s not an easy read but it shouldn’t be. Madden doesn’t flinch from discomfort. Her writing? Effortless yet piercing. Every section felt distinct and embodied…I felt fumbly and heavy reading Mary-Beth’s POV 🤍…isolated and raw through Birdie’s 🕯️and uncertain almost performative inside Linzie’s. Each voice carried its own ache, and together they formed something hauntingly cohesive.

The pacing is deliberate the tension slow burning but when the threads finally pull tight at the end it’s such a satisfying scope of everything that came before. This was my first by Madden but definitely not my last. I already have her others queued up🖤

✨ “The worst part of being alive has always been my general loathing of people but my sporadic, frantic need for them.”

A book that lingers long after the final page uncomfortable…necessary and beautifully told. Please be aware of content warnings which the author address in the book. 

Thank you mariner for the ecopy and my favorite indie bookstore Beach Books for sending me a copy. 

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...

[tam tam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this tremendous and timely book. My brain is a little blasted because if ever a text could be termed "compulsively readable"--this one swings for the fences. Right out of the park. Intricate, careful writing. I don't like to summarize but I do like to compare, and this one---well, it is right there with JCO's Fox, which I read earlier this year thanks to NetGalley & Random House/Hogarth Press. Seems it's the time of the season. Zeitgeist. There will be detractors. There will be readers scandalized, disgusted, disbelieving.. Maybe some of those angry people can take a step back and examine their responses, and ask themselves, if this is too much, where's my outermost boundary of not-too-much? If this is unbelievable..., well, where do we draw the line? How firm are our convictions, our will to convict, our tendency to apply victimhood perhaps sometimes illogically given our perception of who's who in a power imbalance?

But about the book, the text itself--well, I'm breathless. That feeling of closing the book and needing to keep my hand on it as if it were a vulnerable animal in my care, this story, these stories so befitting and deserving of tender recognition. Wth each perspective shift I felt a pang of letting go of one voice, and a greedy need to hear the next. Filling in the blanks of perspective's blind spots, each character well-drawn and individual, desperate, connected, prejuidicial, misunderstood. All striving for --truth? betterment? redemption? revenge? striving blindly while running to stand still? All of these. It's a remarkable machine, and Madden is a brilliant Divine Clocksmith. It is stunning to read this and remember that it is a debut novel. I hope for more while recognizing the power and scope and singularity of Whidby.


One last thing: I wish Dorothy Allison could read this book, because I bet she'd like it. Rest in Peace Dorothy.

[Jen G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very difficult read, that puts you inside the heads of women survivors of childhood sexual abuse and the manifestations of trauma in their adult lives. The book alternates narrators between Birdie Chang and Linzie King, two survivors of childhoods sexual assault by the same man, Calvin Boyer, and Mary-Beth Boyer, Calvin's mother, in the aftermath of his murder. Linzie has just published a best-selling memoir about her sexual abuse, which also includes details of Birdie's abuse obtained from court records, without Birdie's permission (the two have never met). With the help of her girlfriend Trace, Birdie goes into hiding on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound to avoid the media frenzy around the book, and - Trace hopes - to avoid hearing any details about the book. Learning more about the three main female characters (as well as a few others who come into play later) from each of their perspectives allows readers to empathize with each of them and why they have acted the way they did. This book is not an easy read, but the stories - particularly Linzie's life story - will stay with me for a long time.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-ARC.

[em · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like a book in two halves and I loved the first half. The writing was atmospheric, especially the chapters that focused on Mary Beth. Birdie’s trauma and Linzie’s POV were all excellent additions that really brought this book to life.

The second half, however, felt messy and rushed. I found myself skim reading through the narrative change and only stuck it out to find out who killed Calvin. The writing style seemed to have changed too, it all felt very choppy. An interesting premise, with slightly confusing narratives.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Whibdey #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whidbey by T Kira Madden was an enlightening yet disturbing and uncomfortable read. It has triggers, but I couldn’t put it down. I saw myself in every person dealing with this crime, from the mother to each and every victim. It’s a complex, painful, and permanent part of what shapes a person forever. The novel features a mysterious death and all the elements of a person’s breakdown that make all of them guilty. The author did an excellent job of helping us understand the complexity of abuse and how confusing it continues to be. It’s a difficult read, but I’m glad I read it.

Thanks, Mariner Books via NetGalley.

[SueK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for the digital ARC. Opinions are mine.

Incredibly well-written, and incredibly hard to read. At the end of the book you will find the author’s content warning. This is a story about child sexual abuse, told from the perspective of victims, the perpetrator, relatives (especially the mother of Calvin, the perpetrator). While switching perspectives can cause a challenge, and some sections written almost like stream of consciousness from the person who’s currently telling their side of the story, there’s much to compel while reading this book.
However, I can’t say I enjoyed it. I can’t say there was a single character in the book that I liked, or hoped to champion. I can’t even say that I’ll recommend it to anyone, yet my bones tell me this is going to be an important book.
Rating a three because reading it is murky and disturbing, but the prose is outstanding.

[Sacha · Rating 2 out of 5]

****If you or someone you know needs support: https://rainn.org/.****

Ummmm.....it's complicated. Four stars for writing and negative ten stars for traumatic content? Is there a scale for that?

This is one of the most dificult books I've read. In many ways, it's a great novel. It's also incredibly awful content, and I don't see myself recommending this to anyone. I do imagine that if I hear of folks who are interested in reading, I'll be performing a lengthy monologue about what they need to know before they proceed.

Also, this is very well written and intriguing in many ways. So to be clear, this isn't bad writing or poor conception. It's just...out of what I think will be many people's scope. I also think it could be invaluable to others who are looking for a window or mirror into this experience.

Like I said. It's complicated.

The central issue here is that this entire book centers on CSA. The perpetrator is at the core, but he is...humanized. His mother is a primary figure. She's not the monster you assume she will be (at least not in a clear cut way). Know who else is featured here? Survivors of CSA. Also, their experiences are included in varying degrees of detail. To be clear, there IS detail. Of CSA.

I am not a survivor of CSA. I do work with many people who are survivors of SA and DV in their adult lives, so I hear a lot of detail about these circumstances on a regular basis. Even with this experience, I had a very difficult time getting through this material.

Madden is as responsible as one can be if they're going to choose to write on this. There's a clear CW, including what is included and why. The acknowledgements section includes people like Chanel Miller.

For me, the payoff was not worth the content management. I will absolutely read more from this author, but I learned that I won't intentionally read about this subject in this format again. Prospective readers need to be very mindful about this one.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

[Nina Alstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

challenging, horrifying, beautiful, complex, poetic, different from anything else I've read. because of the subject matter I know this book won't be for everyone, but I wish it could be.

[Kate Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Birdie Chang is heading to Whidbey Island, the most remote place she could find to deal with the reemergence of the man, Calvin, who assaulted her as a child. To make matters worse, another girl he assaulted, Linzie, has now released a memoir that everyone is talking about. Birdie meet someone on the ferry to Whidbey Island who offers to kill Calvin, and Birdie wonders if this is real. So, when Calvin is murdered soon after, Birdie reckons with what may be the consequences of her own actions. Told primarily through the viewpoint of Birdie, Linzie, and Calvin's mother Mary Beth, this is an interesting look into how assault can change your life, and the lives of those around you forever.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

[Mirae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC for review.

A brilliant novel about women who were sexually abused as children by the same man, with a nimbly plotted mystery intertwined. A content warning at the end (which some readers should probably read before beginning) outlines the themes of "suffering, the commodification of pain, and the refusal to see it and name it in others."

The author's empathy for her characters allows readers a profound understanding of ongoing aftereffects of their traumas while honoring their strength and resilience. She presents the perpetrator's mother's inner life with equal sensitivity. The author also deserves kudos for showing how racism, sexism, classism and homophobia impact the characters' lives.

[dori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instant immersion (insert smiley faces with heart eyes here). LOVE THIS.

I am not one of those people who writes a synopsis of the book with my reviews unless it's going up alone, so there isn't one here - what follows is my experience and opinion alone:

I first became a fan of Madden when I read her autobio (which I also loved, and also thanks, Netgalley), but I drifted away from a lot of things social media for a while so I was unaware this was in the works. Imagine my glee and surprise when, after a few years had passed, Netgalley notified me that I would probably love this one.

Well, Netgalley was right on the money. Madden was a good writer to begin with as she told her own story but my god, how is this a FIRST novel??!!??

This is a story to fall right into and a joy to read even if it's very HARD to read at times (thanks for the content warning). Madden does not shy away from the hard stuff, thankfully, but she makes her players tough, vulnerable, queer, questionably stable and astute (my kind of people, basically).

The way she paints people makes them visible right down to a hair on a chin. You get invested, you see what they see, feel what they feel, and think what they think without it falling into saccharine terribleness . Dare I say it but I think this is a bit of a masterpiece and might be one of the best books I have read in quite a while. Well done, T Kira Madden.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars--I really liked it. I was interested in this book because of the setting on Whidbey Island, and was pleased to discover good writing and deep characterization. This is a character-driven book, documenting the cascading destruction a single predator can have on those around him (his victims, his family, his victims' families, and so on).

It's a tough read, but important, and each character is rendered with heartbreaking clarity.

I didn't care for the last 30% or so, where the voice changes to an omniscient narrator, but I understand why this broad overview was necessary.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a heavy book dealing with childhood sexual abuse and its aftermath. The whole story centers on that, and there’s a lot of explicit detail, so it’s definitely not for everyone.
Aside from the subject matter, I also just didn’t enjoy reading it. The style kept pulling me out of the story. There are no quotation marks, the punctuation is inconsistent, and the structure feels loose. That could be an intentional choice, or it could be something that gets cleaned up in the final edit since this was an ARC, but either way it made it hard for me to stay focused.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advance copy.

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author says it best in her Author's Note, "Whidbey is a novel largely about suffering, the commodification of pain, and the refusal to see it and to name it in others. What it means to look away from these violences, and at what cost. It is also a novel about who we believe."

This book is extremely atmospheric. The settings in both PNW and Florida are so well written that you feel like you are there. But more than that, you feel the pain, shame, struggle, darkness, and more from each of these characters. This is not a thriller. There may be a mystery about the murder that takes place, but this book is about CSA trauma and what it does to all the involved parties. It's not an easy read - it is dark and gruesome at times. The writing is superb, and the construction was genius. There are plenty of content warnings here, so take care of yourself.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I also highly recommend you read the following excellent review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mina]

A compelling, heartbreaking book about so many women and the scars they bear after childhood abuse. Calvin Boyer is at the center of each women's story...his mother, his Aunt, and his victims. There is the before and the after of his awful acts. The writing is evocative and at times I had to take a deep breath before continuing to read.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.