Pubblicato in Italia con il titolo Orient. Benvenuti ad Orient, alla punta di Long Island, ad una breve distanza da New York, dove tutti gli abitanti si conoscono, ma non accolgono i nuovo arrivati a braccia aperte, come Beth, un’artista nata nella piccola cittadina, che dopo pochi anni a New York è tornata ad Orient con suo marito. E come Mills, un ragazzo di strada dal passato difficile. E quando gli omicidi cominciano, gli abitanti di Orient sanno a chi dare la colpa.
Orient is a small town at the tip of Long Island and it is famous for its wealthy and famous residents. Mills has nothing to do with Orient. He is a young boy, just of age, he is an ex drug addict, he is homeless and, when he was a child, he was in foster care. So how did he end up in Orient? One of the residents, Paul Benchley, offers him his home at Orient in exchange for his help cleaning and renovating his family’s house after the death of his mother. But not everyone in Orient accepts the boy coming from nowhere and when the murders begin everyone is convinced that Mills has something to do with it. Luckily he has the support of Paul and Beth, a local artist, who helps Mills to investigate the murders.
The author explores in details the life of a close community who rejects outsiders. Even Beth, who was born in Orient, is not welcomed back after a few years spent in New York. Everyone seems to know everyone’s secrets but there are darker truths behind each character that slowly unravel throughout the novel.
I loved the setting of the small American town, a small community, with all its drama and its secrets (it made me think of Desperate Housewives) that make this story so compelling and captivating. The author’s writing and the dark twists and turns that turn up every few pages keep you glued to the page and I especially loved the final ending.
The author had another book coming out last year, The Destroyers, and I look forward to read that one, too.
