I get the feeling that Caine was trying to make her book more interesting, maybe more diverse, but as with the characters of colour she tried to force into Stillhouse Lake and Killman Creek, this attempt falls completely flat. Worst of all was the “casual” transphobia that turned up halfway through the book. The Arden Miller that’s left is a tall redhead, thirty-three years old, who for someone that age has a strange absence of social media. But now we’re back at generic old white dude, and while I agree that that should be the standard villain template, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be more interesting. Absalom started out as interesting enough – a sort of Anonymous gone bad twist to them. To top it all off, the evil villain behind the villain, while technically fitting the theme of the book, is too much of a cardboard cut-out to be interesting. Javier, who initially came across as a possible love interest for Gwen, is now busy babysitting the kids, and dating Kezia, who also happens to be the only other character of colour. Characters of colour are officially relegated to babysitter roles.

Gwen and Sam travel randomly around the country looking for clues to Melvin’s whereabouts, while Melvin goes from a menacing voice on the phone to a cackling James Patterson-worthy slasher in 60 seconds. Gina’s use of words like “gaslit” gives me the impression that she maybe googled “feminist blog” once and then decided to try and slot her life into neat boxes of “woke” terminology.Īside from Gina’s son Connor, and maybe his sister Lanny a little bit, absolutely nobody feels fleshed out in Killman Creek. On the other hand, the relationship between Gina and Melvin feels absolutely forced. Caine’s writing is at its strongest when exploring the relationship Melvin Royal is trying to establish with his son. It also gives us a decent look at what relationships with peak-abusive people look like. In this aspect, Killman Lake acquits itself honourably.

One of the things I liked about Stillhouse Lake was the presentation of an action thriller that didn’t over-fetishize violent crimes against women, even though that was the central theme of the novel. I had a very good opinion of Stillhouse Lake, and while Killman Creek is a mostly readable sequel, there are… problems. Synopsis: Gwen Proctor’s nightmare continues as her husband, the serial killer Melvin Royal, escapes prison and comes after her and her kids. TW: Bad Trans representation/ Transphobia

Stillhouse Lake #2 – Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

Stillhouse lake book 2