Trigger warnings for references to sexual abuse of a child and animal death.
Maggie Burkhardt is finally on holiday. She and her husband never really traveled and, now that he has passed on, there’s nothing to hold her in Wisconsin anymore. She’s taken their carefully saved retirement and lit out for the territories. In her case, the territory is Luxor, Egypt, and the Grand Karnak Palace Hotel. Maggie can while away the days at the pool, eating the cook’s special pistachio cookies, and having the staff take care of her. It’s perfect…until the arrival of a particularly annoying little boy starts to drive Maggie insane. Havoc, by Christopher Bollen, charts a harrowing contest of wills between the two.
Maggie’s new life at the Grand Karnak Palace Hotel is a simple one. Up early to make sure she’s the first person to breakfast and then enjoy the surrounding country before it gets too hot. (The Valley of the Kings is nearby.) Then lunch by the pool with her new best friends, a married couple from the US. Later, Maggie rings a bell to summon guests and staff to watch the spectacular sunset. Every now and then, Maggie decides to “help” someone out by causing a little chaos—nothing too much, just a little nudge to push someone to break up with a cheating partner. Maggie very much loves helping people find a happier path through life, whether they like it or not. The only thing that could spoil Maggie’s retirement is the arrival of Otto Seeber.
Otto and Maggie are on to each other from their first meeting. Both of them see too much and, it turns out, both of them look for opportunities to nudge people around. Maggie sees herself as a guardian angel. Otto, on the other hand, is clearly a monster (according to Maggie). Their ages are great camouflage for their underhanded deeds; who would suspect an old lady of framing a cheater or a young boy of lying about being slapped for no reason, after all? But since they can spot each other from a mile away and resent the hell out of anyone else being manipulative on their patch, their antipathy ramps up shockingly fast.
I was surprised at how viciously Maggie and Otto spar with each other. Havoc turned out to be a shockingly dark book. At first, I thought Havoc was going to be a humorous fight between the two of them but the gloves do not stay on very long at all. Readers who like villains tearing each other down will enjoy this book a lot. Readers who prefer their battles of wills on the farcical side might want to brace themselves.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
