talk about toxic parents

Gwen Tanner had a bad day. She stubbed her toe four times in one day. The same toe, even. What are the odds? Especially since it was the day her mother got out of prison. And the day someone left a cardboard box on her doorstep, a box with a man’s severed arm in it.

Gwen was born Marin Haggerty, but when she was nine, her parents went to prison for killing a family who lived near them. Her father, Abel Haggarty, had killed many more, but he had only been convicted of 8 counts of first-degree murder. Her mother Reanne had only been convicted of aiding and abetting, so she was able to get parole after twenty years, while her father would be in prison for the rest of his life.

Gwen finding that box on her doorstep, with a note that said, “Hi, Marin,” meant that someone knew exactly who she was and where she lived. But Gwen couldn’t think of who would do such a thing. And she didn’t know who the arm belonged to, so she packed up the box and find a dark corner of the city far away from her apartment to dump it. She did it in a way that it would be found, so the someone would call the police, and Gwen could find out who the man had been.

When the second box shows up on her doorstep, she does the same thing and waits for the police to figure out his identity. In the meantime, she goes about the quiet life she has crafted for herself. She lives alone and works for a financial services company, as an assistant in recruiting. She spends much of her free time in a local paint-it-yourself pottery shop with one of the employees, Porter. Porter doesn’t know anything about her past, and Gwen can leave her past behind for a while when she’s at Painting Pots, doing her thing.

But when it turns out that the arms belong to the policeman who found her a safe place to live after her parents were convicted and the attorney who worked on her legal name change, then Gwen knows that she will have to go back through her past in order to find yet another killer whose actions affect her.

Haven’t Killed in Years is a twisty story of a young woman trying to move on from her traumatic childhood while those around her want to drag her back into it. There are some mad twists and many unexpected reveals as Gwen relives her past. The cast of characters who are around her bring a lot of interest to this story, from the man who is writing a book about her father to the new friend with a surprising connection to her past to the mysterious stalker who leaves body parts at her door.

I found this book really smart and innovative, with so many surprising moves. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, there was a completely unexpected twist that changed everything. It was like reading a book that was plotted by a chess grandmaster. Author Amy K. Green was always several steps in front of me and ready with a move that I absolutely could not see coming.

This was not an easy book to read. Clearly, one of the main characters is a serial killer with no remorse. Abel Haggarty’s actions were dark and horrific, and he was not shy about his daughter being around that part of his world. And clearly, there is a killer in the present who is pretty dark and dangerous. But Gwen is a strong, smart woman, far from perfect, but willing to face up to her failings and sins. She is the key to unlocking this story, and she is the reason I couldn’t stop reading this book. If you can take the darkness of the premise, then Haven’t Killed in Years is a pretty amazing story.

Egalleys for Haven’t Killed in Years were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.