HAPPY HOUSE HUNTING… where he ties her to a chair. The intruder has a singular, if unusual, demand: he wants her to make a phone call. One that Nelle isn’t confident she can make, even though her life depends on it.
Desperate to see herself and her husband to safety, Nelle doesn’t yet realize this was no chance encounter—it was a carefully planned attack. With no one to hear them scream, their secluded home feels horrifyingly isolated. And before this long day is through, Nelle and Evan, who share a dangerous secret, will bring a violent reckoning down upon all of them.
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CLOSING COSTS is a compelling portrait of a marriage, and an unflinching look at a terrible tangle of secrets, lies, and mistakes that lead to irrevocable consequences. From the explosive first pages, through every hairpin twist and turn, and right to the shocking final scenes, Bracken MacLeod expertly ratchets up the suspense page by breathless page in this stellar home invasion thriller.
Nelle and Evan Pereira have finally purchased their dream home, a secluded house in the woods of Massachusetts. But a few weeks later, Nelle is accosted and tied up in her home, with the perpetrator insisting she make one phone call, or he will kill her. Desperate to survive, Nelle agrees to do whatever her captor asks for, but when Evan returns home and he, too, is tied up, Nelle sees her chances of survival diminishing. Who is the man and what does he want? Is it possible that the secret Nelle and Evan have been keeping has gotten out? Will they survive?
Bracken McLeod’s newest novel, “Closing Costs”, is a tantalizingly addictive tale, told from the perspective of Nelle and Evan, before and after the closing date of their new home, as well as the suspect’s perspective, both before and after the event. Each segment and chapter is clearly marked, with the closing date as the baseline (“six weeks before closing”, “twelve days after closing”, etc) so it is easy to follow the plot.
Right off the bat, it is obvious that Nelle and Evan are keeping a secret, but the details aren’t revealed until about halfway through the book, and it’s obvious from this point on that no good will come of it. The story did not immediately capture my interest, but once I had reached this point, it quickly picked up and soon became page after page of action and suspense.
Anything that can go wrong for Nelle and Evan do, as one captor comes for them, followed by two more (who are there for another entirely different reason). Soon Nelle and Evan are battling two completely separate groups of intruders, and the plot holds a Hollywood-action-movie level of unrealism and lacks believability. However, there is no shortage of action, with gun fights, physical altercations and escape attempts- “Closing Costs” definitely has an exciting plot.
The conclusion provided the right amount of closure, and I was grateful that it held some realism in that it was not an entirely happy or positive ending.
I am a new reader of McLeod’s, although he has several novels, novellas, and short story collections under his belt. He definitely has writing chops, and I appreciated his developed writing style, realistic characters and action-packed plot. “Closing Costs” is definitely a suspenseful page- turner!
3.5 stars
Closing Costs is the story of Evan and Nelle who just bought their dream house that backs on to the forest.
Evan and Nelle are no saints and there is a reason why they can afford this house.
The book goes back and forth from past to present.
The pages will turn quickly and you will be checking that your doors and windows are locked.
Closing Costs was an enjoyable read, some things were a bit far fetched but I still liked the book and will check out Bracken MacLeod’s other books.
Well worth the read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Mariner Books for an enjoyable read.
“Closing Costs” is about buying a home, well that and a lot more. Evan and Nelle, a couple of “rockabilly hipsters” find their “Dream Home.” The narrative travels back and forth in time, both before and after the closing, with chapters identifying the time frame and the point of view. It turns out that several people have secrets, and things do not go exactly as Evan and Nelle had planned with this house.
The story centers on Evan, Nelle, and the house, of course. Immediately, readers know things are not going to go well, and soon the anticipated tranquility of the new home is shattered by horror and incredulity. Who are these home invaders? Why this house? Why Evan and Nell? Why indeed? Secrets, lies, and mistakes have unintended consequences. There is plenty of drama and action; some events push characters and readers to the very the edge of credibility. Secondary characters wander in and out of the story to add color, interest, and danger. There are perhaps a few too many since some do not really contribute a lot.
“Closing Costs” is powerful and gripping. Evan and Nelle thought that they were prepared for everything, that they would know how to react in an emergency. They were wrong. I received a review copy of “Closing Costs” from Bracken MacLeod and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing. The action increases exponentially, and there are twists and turns on every page. In the end, well, it ends, and I won’t spoil it.
#ClosingCosts #BrackenMacLeod #ActionThriller
Past secrets never remain hidden.
Closing Costs by Bracken MacLeod had a lot of potential. It is a fairly good suspense story but it falls short because it seems like there are just too many unnecessary and extraneous details that really don’t further the primary story much. The novel starts when Evan and Nelle decided to move from the city out to their dream home in the country. It’s a secluded house that backs up the woods. As they adjust to their new and quieter life, Nelle, accidentally finds a drive in a corpse, that she had been working on at her mortuary job. She and Evan decide to find out what is on the drive and keep what they find. Enter, Mack, previous owner of their house and a sadistic psychopath on a murder spree. Enter other thugs who speak Russian and have their own agenda. Multiple dead bodies and grievous injuries later, Nelle is running for her life and searching for help. In the end, she takes matters into her own hands and is able to find closure. I would have given the novel three and a half stars but that wasn’t an option. Thank-you to the author and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.