Village in the Dark

September 1, 2023

Over a year ago, the husband and son of Anchorage detective Cara Kennedy died while hiking, their bones eventually found and buried. Now, with evidence suggesting that they might have been victims of foul play, their remains are being unearthed. The case is connected to Mia Upash, who was raised in a remote village sheltering women and children from abusive men and has now entered the unsettling larger world carrying secrets of her own. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 13, 2023
Yamashita’s riveting sequel to 2023’s City Under One Roof sets a chilling murder mystery against the backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness. Detective Cara Kennedy has come to believe that her husband and son died in a natural accident. After Cara discovered and buried the pair’s remains in the Talkeetna forest near where they disappeared on a hike, she takes leave to cope with her loss. But when investigators find a series of photographs in a deceased gang member’s possession, including an image of Cara and her family, she suspects foul play. Fueled by grief, Cara makes a startling discovery—the people in each of the gang member’s photographs are either dead or missing. Among them is Mia Upash, a quiet young woman who grew up in hiding from an abusive man and harbors key secrets that may connect each of the missing people. Enlisting the help of her former partner J.B. Barkowski, Cara sets out to find Mia, uncovering dark truths that endanger herself and her colleagues along the way. Yamashita maintains a breakneck pace throughout—some might argue that she jumps into the investigation a little too quickly—but dispels any initial vertigo with memorable characters and a stunning conclusion. Readers will be glued to the page. Agent: Lucy Carson, The Friedrich Agency.

December 1, 2023
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Yamashita's debut, City under One Roof (2023), ended with a promise of more. "It was a photo of Aaron, Dylan, and Cara on the day they left for Talkeetna." Cara's husband, Aaron, and their son, Dylan, went missing while hiking in Talkeetna; bodies were eventually found and buried. So why does a dead stranger's phone contain their images? Untangling the (dis)connections from Book 1 in Book 2 means Anchorage's Detective Cara Kennedy just got her own series. She starts by exhuming the remains, but while waiting for DNA results, she returns to the "city under one roof," remote Point Mettier, and local cop J. B. She unintentionally gets involved with examining the sudden death of innkeeper Ellie's estranged son. More pictures surface, suggesting unlikely links, including with a young Indigenous woman, Mia, who's struggling to survive outside the haven that kept her and her abused mother safe for decades. A polyphonic triad, Cara, Ellie, and Mia judiciously take turns revealing Yamashita's ingenious plotting filled with corpses, shootouts, and plenty of clever misleads. Book 3 comes out when?

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January 1, 2024
A trio of strong women face multiple challenges, including murder. Former Anchorage police detective Cara Kennedy has been so devastated by the unexplained death of her husband, Aaron, and their young son, Dylan, that her grief has led to long-term disability. A possible clue to the mystery leads her back to remote Point Mettier, whose 205 residents all live in the same apartment building. Pretending she'd been sent by the Anchorage police, Cara solved a baffling murder there several months ago. This atmospheric sequel effectively leans into the darkness, literal and figurative, of its frigid setting. Ellie Wright, who owns the Cozy Condo Inn, which occupies a floor of that huge building, has just learned that her estranged son, Timothy MacCullum, has been found dead in his apartment. Cara's condolence call turns weird when Ellie spots a photo of Timmy on Cara's phone. Drugs and gangs provide possible links between his death and the murder that Cara recently solved. Cara and Ellie had clashed often in the past, but the tragedy they share brings them together as "a regular Cagney and Lacey." As in Yamashita's debut, the perspective rotates in short chapters among multiple female characters, from Cara to Ellie to Mia Upash, a half Indigenous waitress at the drolly named Lonely Diner who's being stalked by the dangerous and volatile Derek. The author's career as a screenwriter is reflected in crisp and concise character descriptions that bring a hardscrabble community alive. Reaching beyond its core whodunit, her story probes the lives of people struggling to survive. A sharp and gritty mystery with a compelling sociopolitical undercurrent.

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Starred review from January 1, 2024

When DNA evidence indicates that former police detective Cara Kennedy buried the wrong bodies, she once again must search for her missing husband and her son. In digging into her husband's past, Cara realizes that he might have been forced to flee for his own safety, and she learns that a young cleaning woman at his workplace, Mia Upash, disappeared at the same time. Mia has reasons for hiding her identity and keeping secrets. She's from an isolated Alaskan village, a refuge for women who endured sexual assault and oppression, and the village itself must remain secret to keep its residents safe. As the story unfolds, greedy, violent people are searching for Cara's husband, and Cara and Mia unwittingly lead them to Mia's village. They're backed in their fight by a small group of eccentric residents from another isolated town, Point Mettier--the city under one roof. VERDICT The sequel to City Under One Roof is compelling story, perfect for readers of crime novels set in isolated areas or those that feature strong, independent characters forced to fight for their lives.--Lesa Holstine

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.