When I saw that Max Barry was releasing a new book this year, I was beyond excited and immediately sent an email to my editor begging her to see if I could review it. Providence was one of my favourite books of 2020 and when I heard the premise of The 22 Murders of Madison May—a serial killer hunting the same woman across various realitie—I was intrigued and I wasn’t disappointed.
My favourite thing about Barry as an author is that the premises of his books are unique. I mean, sure, they’ve likely been done before by someone, somewhere—nothing’s new, right?—but there’s a freshness to them which means I’m excited from page one. If I had to pinpoint what it is about the originality of his works that delights me so, I think it’s the depth of thought that has gone into the construction of the premise, and the roundedness of the characters who guide us through the idea and situation he’s exploring, even if the characters aren’t necessarily that likeable (more on this later). While the notion of alternate realities, or the multiverse, has been looked at before, combining it with the idea of a man who is obsessively killing the same woman in every reality where he finds her immediately piqued my interest. It’s a novel twist on subject matter that’s been done before (serial killer/stalker and dimensional travel). I don’t want to go into too much detail about the plot because I think the delight in reading a book such as this lies in the discovery of the unfolding narrative events, especially when the premise is this interesting.
And the premise is not at all let down by the execution, as so often happens with exciting concept books. Barry’s writing is compelling; I had to force myself to put the book down when the clock was hitting midnight, only because I had to be up early the next day. Moreover, Barry’s writing is invisible. You don’t see the brushstrokes of the author’s constructed world, but instead the writing drags the reader into the story, morbidly curious as to what’s going to happen next. This is the other thing that’s worth noting; as with all of Barry’s stories, the plot developed in genuinely unique ways. Combined with really solid pacing which keeps the narrative moving, it meant that I ploughed through the book in only a couple of days, ultimately finishing it in an afternoon.
While it could be argued that the tone at times seems inconsistent, it was one of the things I found kept me so compelled by the text; I was never bored, and, honestly, I don’t think I could have managed to read at the pace I did if the book was as consistently creepy and ominous as it was in those chapters which focused on the perspective of the Madisons as they were being stalked (and killed) by the obsessed, dimension-travelling murderer.
If there was one point of critique I had to raise, it would be the protagonist, Felicity, who is inadvertently pulled into the multiverse and consequently becomes entangled in the hunt for Madison’s killer. I didn’t really love her as a character and I found it difficult to empathise with the vague sense of dissatisfaction she felt toward various aspects of her life, like her job and her boyfriend, even as I understand that this sense of existing in her life rather than making active choices and appreciating what she has was part of the point. On reflection, those aspects of Felicity’s personality are the very foundation from which her character development grows, and a large part of the book’s central idea about embracing the life you have, and acknowledging your choices. Felicity’s character development sits alongside the way she’s first inadvertently, and then increasingly drawn into trying to prevent the next murder of poor Madison. It’s an interesting idea, and one I really like, but perhaps it could have been teased out a little more robustly. However, given the book’s interesting premise and the very competent writing, such things are easily forgiven.
If you enjoy science fiction, murder mysteries/thrillers, or both, this is definitely the book for you. Barry has not disappointed with this latest offering.
The 22 Murders of Madison May is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 6th 2021.
Will you be picking up The 22 Murders of Madison May? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From the critically acclaimed author of Jennifer Government and Lexicon comes mind-bending speculative psychological suspense about a serial killer pursuing his victim across time and space, and the woman who is determined to stop him, even if it upends her own reality.
I love you. In every world.
Young real estate agent Madison May is shocked when a client at an open house says these words to her. The man, a stranger, seems to know far too much about her, and professes his love–shortly before he murders her.
Felicity Staples hates reporting on murders. As a journalist for a midsize New York City paper, she knows she must take on the assignment to research Madison May’s shocking murder, but the crime seems random and the suspect is in the wind. That is, until Felicity spots the killer on the subway, right before he vanishes.
Soon, Felicity senses her entire universe has shifted. No one remembers Madison May, or Felicity’s encounter with the mysterious man. And her cat is missing. Felicity realizes that in her pursuit of Madison’s killer, she followed him into a different dimension–one where everything about her existence is slightly altered. At first, she is determined to return to the reality she knows, but when Madison May–in this world, a struggling actress–is murdered again, Felicity decides she must find the killer–and learns that she is not the only one hunting him.
Traveling through different realities, Felicity uncovers the opportunity–and danger–of living more than one life.
