Review of FOG AND FURY by Rachel Howzell Hall (New Release)

3.5 Stars 

Sonny Rush, after 10 years with the LAPD, takes a job as a private investigator with her godfather’s firm in Haven, California. Her first case is to find Figgy, a missing goldendoodle. Figgy’s case is brought by Mackenzie Sutton and her mother, London Sutton. The twist is that London is married to Cooper Sutton, Sonny’s long-term lover, who had told her that he was getting a divorce. Around the same time, the body of Xander Munroe, a gifted teenager, is found, and Sonny offers to help his family because she fears that because they are Black, Xander’s death will not be investigated thoroughly. It does not take long for Sonny to realize that Haven is not the idyllic place that it may initially seem to be.

This is obviously the first of a series because at the end there is a cliffhanger ending and a lot of unanswered questions. I dislike such endings. Though I understand the desire to entice people to read the next book in the series, I think that creating a relatable protagonist and developing a suspenseful plot are usually sufficient to hook readers into following a series. In this case, the ending just seems manipulative.

Sonny is certainly the strong and feisty main character. Her determination is what stands out; she’s “ready to burn through the heavenly veneer of this charming seaside town and expose the truths lurking beneath.” She has a vulnerable side and personal demons. Sonny has to care for her mother who is experiencing memory issues, and events in Los Angeles have left her with self-doubts and “addicted to guilt.” In many ways, her world has been turned upside down. I loved Sonny’s sarcasm but for some reason I had difficulty connecting with her.

What is emphasized about Haven is that it’s a community with a lot of tensions, especially between long-term residents and newcomers. Cooper, the wealthiest man in the town, wants to renovate the town and create it into a tourist destination. The town is predominantly white; Sonny mentions that the “only obvious diversity was the flavors of Gatorade in their bottles.” She is one of only a handful of Black residents in the town. Because of her colour, she is an outsider and she becomes even more of one when she starts investigating Xander’s death with more seriousness than the police who definitely have a racial bias.

I guessed the villain because there are a lot of clues; it’s actually difficult to believe that Sonny doesn’t see the obvious. I didn’t guess the twist at the end but even there I suspected someone because of the vagueness that surrounds that character.

The title is perfect. Both fog and fury play significant roles. Fog almost becomes a character; it is ever present, emphasizing Haven’s hidden secrets and adding danger and thereby heightening tension.

I can’t say that the novel offers anything exceptional; it is like so many other crime fiction novels. I will probably pick up the next installment in the series, but I can’t say that I’ll be anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Note:  I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.