Starred review from June 1, 2020
Hoping for a romantic retreat at their charming cottage, Ellie and her husband, Neil, find themselves in a nightmare. They are kidnapped by a man who says he is Ellie's soulmate. The man, who calls himself Jake Palmer, sets Ellie a challenge: she has three chances to tell him his name (they knew each other, once upon a time, or so he claims), and for each wrong answer, he will cut a piece off her husband. This is not an idle threat, as Ellie soon discovers, and from this point on the suspense and revelations (about Ellie, her husband, and her own life) make it pretty much impossible for the reader to put the book down. Ruddy, a journalist in Ontario, Canada (where the book is set), makes an auspicious debut. This is a fine thriller, smartly constructed and cleverly written: the author, a master of narrative deception, excels at planting clues subtly and making them pay off spectacularly. Keep an eye on Ruddy, and, in the meantime, give this superb thriller to fans of Ruth Ware and Tana French.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)
April 20, 2020
In Canadian author Ruddy’s well-paced debut, 40-year-old Ellie Patterson and her husband, Neil, have come to their second home on Euclid Lake in the wilds of Ontario. With their children away at camp, the couple hope to rekindle the spark in their marriage and rediscover their “old adventuresome selves.” Barely two days later, Ellie is abducted from her kitchen by a handsome man in his 50s who looks like an actor. Soon afterward, Neil becomes a prisoner of the same psychopath, who claims Ellie is his soulmate. “I have a little game in mind for the three of us,” their captor tells them. Ellie must tell him his name, or he will mutilate Neil, one digit at a time. Ellie proceeds to reexamine her past, searching for clues to his identity among the jumble of memories—some disturbing, some cherished—from her early childhood to her recent past. Readers will cheer as Ellie faces her fears and takes decisive action to save herself and her family. Ruddy plays effectively with issues of identity, regret, and forgiveness in this suspenseful thriller. Agent: Bill Hanna, Acacia House (Canada).