DiscoverPsychological Thriller

Hunting Abigail

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Worth reading 😎

A bloody mystery mixes with the tensions of island survival in this thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end.

Traveling through the airport is a psychological thriller unto itself. Unlike the airport, Hunting Abigail is fast-paced and engaging. If there’s one similarity between the two, it’s that both are chock-full of surprise twists and turns.


Hunting Abigail centers on two time periods: 1992, where detectives search for the “Valentine Killer,” and 2011, where survivors of a plane crash must confront their own deadly mystery. Connecting these periods is Abigail Fuller, who came face-to-face with the killer in 1992. She wasn’t afraid then, but now, stuck on a deserted island with ominous happenings, she can’t help but fear that the past has caught up to her.


Costello has created a story simultaneously unique in idea and familiar in some of its tropes. Is it really a murder mystery if there isn’t at least one rough-talking detective with a hat? Fortunately, the narration seemingly acknowledges these tropes, which stops them from becoming distracting. Instead, they become small hints of humor between all the tension.


Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of tension, and little breathing space between the story’s reveals results in what can feel like a quick read. This isn’t bad; however, there were some reveals that I would have liked to sit on longer before they were overshadowed. My other critiques lie in small details. There are odd ways of describing someone’s skin tone or accent, and with another character, behavior that seemed to be a clear case of workplace harassment is overlooked, or even played off as a sort of laugh.


Overall though I did enjoy Hunting Abigail. If you like psychological thrillers, murder mysteries, and want a new but at times familiar take on them, then you’ll likely enjoy it too. Novel length matters little as curiosity will have you finishing as fast as possible. In fact, while I don’t plan to, there is good reason to re-read once you finish, as things once confusing suddenly become clear in their implication. That there’s the seeds for a possible continuation of this universe, should Costello decide to go that route, helps too.

Reviewed by

I've always had a passion for reading and sharing my opinions on what I've read. I have experience being a weekly book editor for my school newspaper, and once that ended, I began doing book reviews on my own. I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting books to read.

2011

About the author

Jeremy Costello was born in Nottinghamshire in 1979. He is the author of several novels including his debut thriller Hunting Abigail and his upcoming suspense title Breaking Nathan. A jet-setter in his early years, Jeremy has since settled back in the UK where he continues to live with his family. view profile

Published on August 25, 2020

Published by

100000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Reviewed by