Rumors of Her Death

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 19 Sep 2023 | Archive Date 18 Sep 2023

Description

In this kaleidoscopic psychological thriller, a man haunted by his girlfriend's suicide dons a revolving door of identities in a futile attempt to outrun his past.

The most dangerous lies are the ones we tell ourselves

When the man calling himself Archie Leach begins spotting his dead lover at random locations around the city, he must finally stop running and face the truth—which may not be quite as he's remembered it all these years. An American living in Australia, Archie's had so many aliases that when he wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed, he almost forgets which one he's supposed to use. With his delivery job derailed by a brief and inconvenient death, he's earned the wrath of his underworld boss, landing him an exorbitant repayment plan and the commandeering of his apartment for everything from corpse storage to Tuesday night yoga class.

While recovering from his injuries, Archie is roped into dog-sitting for his new neighbor, Nisha, and a reluctant friendship ensues. She introduces Archie to the strange world of the Orrery, a nine-story mecca of surreal hedonism whose ninth level promises to hold the answers they're both seeking. But Nisha has spun plenty of her own deceptions, as Archie realizes too late. At this rate, they may both end up dead without ever knowing who's been fooling whom.

In this kaleidoscopic psychological thriller, a man haunted by his girlfriend's suicide dons a revolving door of identities in a futile attempt to outrun his past.

The most dangerous lies are the ones...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781728273112
PRICE $16.99 (USD)
PAGES 304

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (EPUB)
Send to Kindle (EPUB)
Download (EPUB)

Average rating from 46 members


Featured Reviews

this was such a great concept for a psychological thriller, it worked well on all levels and I enjoyed reading this. The characters worked well and were written realistically with dealing with this situation. J M Donellan has a great writing style and I'm glad I got to read this.

"That’s a long conversation we should have when we have both rested. Here, I got you something to say thank you for looking after Dante. I should probably keep it, given how that turned out. But I think you are deserving of a second chance.” She unzips the top pocket on her luggage, tosses me a small brown bag. Then she unzips a slender pocket on the side and takes out her keys. “Guess I hid these a little too well. Thanks for letting me stay here.”

Was this review helpful?

A roller coaster of a ride! Different from your average psychological thriller, Rumors of Her Death delves into the mind of a man haunted by grief and guilt he can’t escape. To make his existence more miserable are the bad guys who won’t allow him to break free from his criminal lifestyle.

I was hooked from the first page as Leach wakes in the hospital, having cheated death. From there, the book follows him as he tries to make restitution for failing to deliver a valuable package to the kingpin of a motorcycle gang. In his world, being clinically dead for a short time is no excuse for not getting the job done. What really drives Leach, though, is the need to punish himself for his culpability in the death of a woman he loved years ago.

The dark nature of the plot is tempered with wry humor as Donellan recounts Leach’s story through a first person point of view. As the reader gets into Leach’s head, it is revealed that he’s not who he claims to be. Nor is he any of the other personalities he has taken on. Although Leach doesn’t believe he’s a good person and his involvement with thugs, along with his reaction to dealing with dead bodies, would have one thinking he lacks human emotion and empathy, I found myself totally invested in this anti-hero, rooting for him to have a satisfying outcome.

As the plot progresses, it takes what I can only describe as a ‘weird’ turn of events with an element of fantasy in a strange new world. When Leach meets his new neighbor, Nisha, she takes him to an establishment called the Orrery, where each floor delivers a different type of sensory experience, and his current life and his past intertwine. The building’s levels act as a metaphor for the complex layers of Leach’s mind, and both are peeled back gradually to expose their true essence. In a journey of self-discovery, Leach’s subconscious grapples with who he truly is and the consequences of that.

The scenes of criminal activity, personal regret, his new friendship, and the ever-present past lead to a heart-pounding conclusion, linking to the beginning of the book, in which Leach (or some version of himself) finds atonement for his sins.

With constant twists in the plot and new revelations about Leach’s identity and his past life, the book will have you racing to discover what’s real and what Leach has fabricated. An unputdownable thriller full of sardonic wit, Rumors of Her Death will have you reading late into the night.

Was this review helpful?

Buckle up for a bumpy ride—and I mean that in the most positive way possible! Rumors of Her Death, by J.M. Donellan, is a fun read, filled with eccentric characters and unexpected plot twists that will leave you wondering who you can trust and what you can believe. Donellan writes with crisp prose, a dark wit, and a fast pace that keeps the pages turning. Woven with threads of psychology, philosophy, technology, and criminology, the book is as multifaceted as its troubled narrator. Rumors of Her Death is a triumph of a thriller!

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: