Scottish-based author Tariq Ashkanani was responsible for one of the best thrillers of 2025 with ‘The Midnight King’ – a twisty (and twisted) new take on the serial killer genre – and he’s followed it up with another doozy. Just as he did with ‘The Midnight King’ he’s once again chosen smalltown America as the backdrop for some particularly nefarious deeds. This time it’s Aurora – a place that, by any measure, is on its knees. The story begins with Emily Yates who is in her back garden surrounded by lit candles (“five in total and placed in a wide circle, just as she’d been taught”). She’s made a mound in the centre of the circle out of dry wood, bones, and strands of her son’s hair that she’s taken from his hairbrush. That son is nine-year-old Danny, who has been dead for a year. Emily then takes a blade to her hand and lets her blood drip all over the mound before setting fire to it. It’s a ritual she hopes will bring Danny back. Later, in another part of town, there’s a hubbub outside of the local baseball stadium when a dishevelled and disoriented young boy arrives, seemingly out of nowhere. He looks exactly like Danny. Trying to make sense of it all is Chief of Police John Deacon who also has some decidedly odd animal killings to investigate. Ashkanani’s fourth novel sees him painting a world that feels lived-in, cynical and drenched in shadow and mystery. It also has a page-turning narrative that’s lean and mean and keeps you guessing right to the end. With Ashkanani, it’s no filler and all killer. RM

Published by Viper