This Luxor-based psychological thriller should be your next read. Havoc by Christopher Bollen follows Maggie Burkhardt, an 81-year-old — seemingly sweet — widow. But behind her calm exterior lies a strange passion for manipulation that she considers “helping.”

Maggie has been hotel-hopping for years, stirring up drama wherever she goes. Why? She views herself as an agent of change and aims to “liberate” people from their unhappy relationships — whether they ask for it or not — by planting false evidence, spreading rumors, and other bizarre plans she comes up with. That is the way it's always been, until she meets Otto — a precocious 8-year-old boy who seems just as devious as she is.

The plot is a series of psychological mind games. The character dynamic between Maggie and Otto is twisted with constant moments of intrigue, keeping readers on their toes as the plot shifts from deception to obsession to murder to something else entirely without warning — making it an impossible-to-put-down book.

Bollen’s writing is sharp, balancing humor with creepiness. Maggie’s unreliable narration adds an extra layer of intrigue and confusion to the plot — readers don’t know how much of her past is real and how much is part of her carefully constructed story. Is she losing her mind? Is she dangerous? The questions continue to rise along with the suspense.

WHERE TO FIND IT- Havoc is available on Amazon.

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