After a shocking loss Anahera has left London and returned to her small remote community in the New Zealand coastal wilderness. Shortly after her return one of the local girls goes missing, mirroring 3 unsolved missing cases from Anahera’s childhood.

Disgraced detective turned local police officer Will is the only cop in town and with Anahera’s help is determined to find out the truth.

I adore Nalini Singh’s work, and have read every book she has written. This is her first foray into mystery and she has done an exceptional job (not that I was expecting anything less). This book needs to be turned into a mini series immediately. I loved the twists and turns that I never saw coming and have recommended it to everyone I have spoken to since.

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbors; the children, more than schoolmates.
That is until one fateful summer—and several vanished bodies—shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can’t run from the past forever.
Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape.

First off I plan to do this review a little differently by updating my review every 25% I read. I am doing this because I think a lot changes in a Thriller/Mystery book and this was I can be more detailed in my review. So now on to the review itself.

I have read the first 25% of the book and I will start of by saying I am a big fan of Nalini Singh's novels so knowing this was a new genre for her made me excited and scared. So far the story has me hooked and the vibe of the book is perfect. The characters are a mystery and not a lot of back story has been given but I think this maybe done so it doesn't give everything away. The only thing I can fault so far is the fact each chapter is a different persons perspective so it would of been easier to have the name up top with each chapter number. I say thing because every time a new chapter happens it takes me a sentence or two to figure out who's perspective it is. So far I have no idea where the story is going and I love that because I tend to figure the book out really quickly.

I am now 50% through and I think I know how it is going to end. I am still really liking the book and the suspense of the book is still very much there. Even though it doesn't feel like much has happened since the last update so much has when it comes to learning more about the characters and what could of happened. I am about to sit down and read more because I need answers asap, so if that isn't a sign I am enjoying it I don't know what is.

I am now 75% through the book and I am now seconding guessing what I thought had happened and how it would end. This book has so many twists and turns and I love every minute. It has been a while where I have read a thriller and not guessed the ending, so I am really glad this one is keeping me on my toes. At this point I really hope Nalini Singh releases more thrillers because I would buy them within a heart beat.

I finished it and even though the ending was predicable even though I thought it would go another way I still enjoyed it. It is a book you have to just keep reading until the end. I ended up rating it 4 our of 5 stars and I stand by what I said earlier about wanting Nalini Singh to release more thrillers because I would read every single one.

this book was legit amazing, it was a creepy warm hug. the setting and the characters and the small amount of romance was erfect. i loved everything about the story and i was upset when it was finished as i wanted more, the sleepy coastal town they lived in was describe so visually well.

Over the last two years I’ve read a lot of Nalini Singh’s work, across both her urban fantasy/paranormal romance and contemporary romance series. When it was announced that she was going to be releasing thriller/suspense novel, I was intrigued to see what it was like.

A Madness of Sunshine is set in a coastal town in New Zealand. Anahera is returning home after the death of her husband, leaving behind a successful pianist career in London and his husbands pregnant mistress. Anahera returns to a town that’s both familiar and changed – all the people from her childhood are still there, living the lives their built in her absence – and the ghosts of a series of unsolved missing persons cases that plagued the town. When a popular local teen goes missing, it dredges up all the past fears of the town and it’s up to Anahera and Will, the local detective, to unravel the mystery of what has occurred and if there’s a connection to the past unsolved crimes.

A Madness of Sunshine is deeply atmospheric read; the small town comes through as a really strong character in its own right, and is highlighted by its isolation and location against a rugged coastline. What helps build this atmosphere is Anahera’s connection to her hometown and the memories that are slowly revealed as the story progresses.

Anahera was also an interesting character with a striking storyline – the death of her husband and the reveal of his mistress sends her running back to a place she never thought she would return to and this sets up the tone for the whole book. She’s a woman fighting her past but unsure of where her future will take her.

Alongside Anahera’s story, we also meet Will, the outsider in the town – a police detective with an almost spotless record sent to a small town to keep him out of the way for reasons we learn as we get further into the story. Will hasn’t earned the trust of the entire town, yet, but once he begins the search for the missing girl, the entire town bands around him as they try to bring one of their own home.

Singh’s first foray into the mystery genre is a solid start. It’s got atmosphere in spades, but suffered a little from inconsistent pacing. I suspect that the more she writes in this genre, the stronger her storylines will be, and overall it was a great way to spend an afternoon on the couch reading until I had the answers to the mystery.

First, a public service announcement: don't make the mistake I made and start reading this too close to bedtime. It grabbed me from the first page, and there was no easy place to stop reading (which I always think is a sign of excellent writing). I think I read the whole novel in two sittings only because my eyes wouldn't stay open long enough to read it in one.

So what's the story of A Madness of Sunshine? Anahera has returned to her hometown of Golden Cove following the death of her husband ... and the discovery he'd been having a secret affair for years. If death doesn't end a relationship, the pregnant mistress crying at the funeral certainly does.

Yes, A Madness of Sunshine is a change from Nalini Singh's Psy Changeling and Guildhunter paranormal romance novels (which I've only read one of, because while the writing was excellent, there was a little too much on-the-page violence for my taste), and her rock star romances (which I have yet to read).

The setting is the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, part of the country that feels more like Mordor than Hobbiton. The West Coast is remote and rough; the people independent and tough. It's not an area people choose to move to, and it doesn't welcome outsiders. This can be an advantage and a disadvantage when it comes to crime, as the fictional Will—the policeman who's new in town—finds out.

Golden Cove is also a place with secrets. They're not necessarily secrets to the locals—are there any secrets in a small town? But they are secrets to outsider Will, and newly returned Anahera. And the secrets start coming out after a beautiful young woman disappears while taking an evening run along the beach. (Yes, exercise can kill you.)

There are lots of possible evildoers in this scenario, and it was alternately fun and nailbiting as Anahera and Will work together to try and piece together what happened now ... and whether this is related to the three female tourists who went missing eight years ago.

Maybe I'm biased because A Madness of Sunshine is set in New Zealand—and a familiar New Zealand, not the fun version where everyone is a rugby player or dating one, or a scene out of Lord of the Rings. Having said that, murders aren't exactly familiar ...

Natural bias aside, this is a great novel. a fantastic setting, excellent characters, and a nail-biting plot with just enough red herrings to keep me reading to see if I've correctly worked out the identity of the evil doer, and enough twists to keep me happy whether I was right or wrong (and I'm not going to tell you which).

Nalini Singh has done a brilliant job of capturing small-town life with distinctive Kiwi touches, especially the way she's integrated Maori language and culture in a way that's entirely natural and representative of our more remote locations (I grew up at the edge of the North Island's East Coast, which has a lot of similarities to the West Coast of the South Island).

As such, I loved A Madness of Sunshine. It's a brilliant novel, full of great characters who could be real people, and who kept me flicking through the pages on my Kindle. I loved the authentic Kiwi setting, and I'm thrilled to hear this won't be Nalini Singh's only venture into a mystery—apparently she has another story in progress, but set in a different remote part of New Zealand. Well, we have a lot of remote coastline for her to choose from ...

And if you're looking for something to read after A Madness of Sunshine, check out Poison Bay by Belinda Pollard—another excellent psychological thriller set in the wilds of New Zealand. But we're not all bloodthirsty murderers, I promise!

Recommended for mystery and thriller fans.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley house for providing a free ebook for review.

One chapter into a Madness of Sunshine I thought to myself "Nalini Singh has nailed it!"  What has she nailed? The setting - it is so west coast South Island New Zealand. Reading into it I got that same feeling within when I fly in from overseas and see the hills and I know I am back in "my place". As well as drawing for us the picture of the atmospheric west coast in all its beauty she is also able to give us the darker side of it.  I also loved her use of Maori words, often she doesn't give any translation - although  in other places where it might be more difficult to intuit the meaning she gives a little added hint.

It is a murder mystery, a thriller really. There is a murder and some possible cold cases. I hate being in suspense, I am the kind of reader who will peek at the ending, but this time I didn't. I changed my mind a few times about who it was. Just when I made up my mind something was placed before me to  doubt that decision.  This is not a fast paced action novel but rather a painstaking step by step sorting through the gathering of details. With the type of murder and the culprit finally exposed I just thought it is so true and reminded me of recent court cases that have taken place in recent times here in New Zealand. Chilling and yet real.

Two of the main characters are in this small town with secrets and dark backgrounds of their own. We have Will who is a police officer who has come to this small west coast town. I very much liked his caring approach to those he was there to protect. He was an excellent detective but had a case go wrong on him. Anahera has returned to her home place after her husband has died. She escaped from Golden Cove many years ago. Her life experiences have contributed to making her into a strong, compassionate woman. Slowly Will and Anahera work together to bring peace and justice to this twisted situation. And they learn to trust again, forming a very positive relationship. But note, the relationship is not centre stage, it's the murder and mystery that takes that.

It's good! I do prefer Nalini Singh's paranormal novels but ... she has a talent for this kind of a story. I highly recommend it.

As an aside I was interested and delighted to see  New Zealand bookstores placing this book on their front tables. It has had good publicity on the radio as well. Nalini is a New York Times best selling author - but because paranormal is not widely read she goes under the radar. Her writing is so good she deserves to be to the forefront. I hope books like this raise her profile here!

A great review for this book can be found over at Caffeinated Reviewer - for the audiobook version. I notice Nalini Singh even included a quote from it in her recent newsletter.

A Madness of Sunshine is well-known paranormal romance and urban fantasy author Nalini Singh's first foray into writing murder mystery, but it will come as no surprise to anyone who's read her other work that Nalini takes to the challenge with consummate skill. The tiny town of Golden Cove, on the rugged coat of the South Island of New Zealand, is vividly brought to life, both in the unforgiving beauty of the landscape and the harsh, strong people inhabiting it.

Too often in murder mysteries, the first time the reader encounters the victim is when a body is discovered by the story protagonist, but it's not the case here. We get to know the victim just well enough to be rooting for her, to grieve her loss, and through the investigation into her life which ensues we never get to lose sight of the fact that she was a person, someone with hopes and dreams cruelly snuffed out before her time.

The protagonists of the story are Anahera, recently returned after a decade away, and Will, a former big city detective shuffled into obscurity as the only cop in a one-horse town. Both of them have recently had their lives upended by tragedy not of their own making, and neither are quite in the right headspace for a romance, but they're drawn together nevertheless, and I believed in the relationship all the more because there were no pretty illusions held by either party. Will needs Anahera's insights, the answers the locals will give one of their own which they won't give him, and he doesn't lie to her about that, which she respects. Together, the pair of them edge closer to the truth with every rock they upturn… a truth neither of them ever expected, and one which might claim more victims before it’s all over.

This is quite sheerly a brilliant work of fiction. Nalini Singh’s skills as a narrative storyteller are superlative; I could almost hear the crashing ocean waves, smell the New Zealand bushland in the driving rain, hear the native birds singing. She brings the small town with its insularity and small-mindedness vividly to life, every resident with their own story to tell, their own path taken. Anahera is the perfect lens through which to view the story as it unfolds, the insider with the perspective ten years away has given her, close enough to know all the buried secrets, distant enough to see things clearly. It’s a fantastic story which will open up the mysterious, rugged south coast of New Zealand for you, and I seriously hope it gets made into a movie or TV series because I can only imagine how beautiful it would look on screen. Five stars for a fantastic, thrilling mystery.

An eerie crime thriller in small-town Golden Cove, New Zealand, Anahera returns home after the tragic death of her husband Edward. After finding out that the past four years of her life with her husband were filled with lies and betrayal, she made the decision that Golden Cove would help her heal as well as being far far away from the uncontrollable grief of her husband's mistress. But her homecoming takes a dark turn when a local young woman, Miriama, disappears and the entire town finds itself at a standstill. Secrets are uncovered, serial killers unmasked and the perpretator of Miriama's disappearance and death an unpredictable confession.

As always, the strength of Nalini Singh's writing shines through within her first thriller, A Madness of Sunshine. If you are familiar with Nalini Singh's writing, you will know that many of her previous books, such as the Psy-Changeling Series and the Guildhunter series, interweaves thriller=like aspects to the story itself. Singh has always been a powerhouse in her ability to interweave suspense practically seamlessly with complex world-buidling, incredible character development and intricate plot lines. Though this novel does not occur in such a breadth of scope like Singh's other novels that I have mentioned, Singh's ability to create such an incredibly eerie, dark and wonderful atmosphere kept me on my toes. By atmosphere I refer to the weather being described which added a sense of foreboding as well as a countdown, the nature of the landscape- it's relentless and ruthless fury- it created such an immersive experience as the reader which added to the overall vibe of the story.

The two main characters, Will and Anahera, were interesting and unique. I found their dynamic to be refreshing but also hopeful. Will's character was fantastic; his tenacity and commitment was a thing of beauty. He was extremely intelligent and the way he connected each small link or evidence to reach the conclusions he did, as the reader was right alongside him when he had those 'lightbulb' moments, was extremely enjoyable.

Anahera's character was also quite unique, but Nalini SIngh always does ensure to write extremely strong-willed female protagonists, and Anahera was exactly that. Though I didn't feel as connected with her as I did with Will, I enjoyed her character, her courage as well as her relationship with Will. I felt that Anahera was quite a complex character, but we were not given the opportunity to really explore her as her own character in any sort of depth. Obviously, it was because the plot arc of the crime aspect of the book was the major one, with the protagonists more of a side-character to the story, if that makes sense.

Nalini Singh is an auto-boy author for me, I have loved and read most of her bibliiography and I was not disappointed. I feel as though writing murder mystery is a natural progression, especially because she's technically been writing such in her Psy-Changeling Series and Guildhunter novels as major plot lines. A Madness of Sunshine delivers but I found that it lacked a certain emotional quality. Not in terms of the emotionality of the story, as Mirimama's disappearance and the resulting grief from her death made me cry, but I felt that the characters themselves did not have particularly great personalities. Singh's writing always creates such incredibel cast of characters, and the ways in which they connect with eachother, and those connections blind with their depth and loyalty of those friendships. Here, that felt like it was missing. Especially between Anahera and her best friend Josie, there wasn't really a connection there. As this aspect is one of Singh's strengths in her writing, it was noticeable when it was missing in this book and I believe that is why I felt that I didn't really feel much for the characters. I enjoyed reading them and seeing their stories develop, but it was a superficial type of connection.

However, I do have to point out that this book highlights the atrocities that women can experience in their lives. Domestic violence, spousal violence, sexual violence, abuse, for instance, are just a few aspects of the woman's experience that are highlighted within this story. Miriama's story was heartbreaking, a woman who was only ever seen as a possession, a commodity to the men in her life. Miriama's aunt, a victim of spousal violence, Jemima's husband being a serial killer and an abusive partner, Anahera the child of domestic violence and an alcoholic, abusive father; at its core, it was a story which highlighted the ways in which women are victimised and abused, but also how women rise up, support each other and find the strength to come out kicking. It wasn't until I finished reading when I realised this, and I just sat there blinking because that was a powerful element in A Madness of Sunshine.

I am looking forward to more murder mystery novels by Nalini Singh as well as everything else she will be publishing, because she is an absolute fantastic author with incredible talent.

Anahera has returned to Golden Cover, New Zealand, a place where she was born but left, hoping to never return. However, events in her life, see her returning to a place where several women had vanished from. Things begin to go wrong soon after her return, and together she and Will, the local police officer, must solve the mystery of a young woman’s death.
The two characters of Anahera and Will were well developed as flawed and very real individuals. Will’s strives to do what is right despite the many challenges he faces in his search for the missing. Together with Anahera, who is distrusting at first, the search for answers, makes for such a great read. This was definitely a fast-paced story of mystery and betrayal, that I could myself captivated with from the beginning to the very end.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Best known for her popular paranormal romance series, Guild Hunters (of which I’ve read a few), A Madness of Sunshine is Nalini Singh’s first published foray into the genre of contemporary thriller/suspense.

In need of familiarity after heartbreaking loss, Anahera Rawiri returns from London to Golden Cove, the close-knit community on New Zealand’s West coast where she grew up. It seems to have changed little during her near decade long absence, but the town’s equilibrium is shattered when a beloved young local woman disappears while out jogging.
Will Gallagher, the sole police officer stationed in Golden Cove, is quick to launch a search for the missing teen, and when it proves fruitless, must consider that a local is responsible for Miriama’s disappearance. As an outsider, Will finds himself relying on Anahera to help unearth the secrets that may reveal a killer hiding in their midst.

A Madness of Sunshine offers more than one intriguing mystery, Miriama is not the first young woman to vanish in Golden Cove, around fifteen years previously three female hikers also disappeared, their bodies never found. Will is compelled to explore the possibility of a link, though Singh provides several red herrings to distract the reader as Will investigates, shedding light on the darkness of the past, and the present.

Anahera and Will are both complex, well developed characters, with interesting backgrounds. They share scars from life changing trauma, and have an attraction that is almost instinctual. I liked the relationship that developed between them, though it has only a minor role in the story.

The residents of Golden Cove are representative of a small town, with long-standing, often complicated, relationships. The author deftly includes elements of Maori culture within the story, communicating a sense of place without any awkwardness. Singh’s description of the isolated town and its wild environs are also wonderfully evocative, underscoring the vaguely disquieting atmosphere that intensifies as the plot unfolds.

A well crafted novel offering a compelling mystery and engaging characters, I really enjoyed A Madness of Sunshine.

First of all I'd like to thank Netgalley and Hachette Australia for sharing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story begins as Anahera, a native of the area is returning to her home in New Zealand. She's been away for many years but finds herself coming home after her husband dies and she finds out he has a mistress who is carrying his child. Once home she soon encounters Will, the only police presence in the town. He's been sent into the small town after troubles he had during a previous case. Anahera is wary of Will in the beginning but they soon make a connection of sorts as a woman disappears and they work together to find the woman.

I liked the way the Maori culture is reflected in this story. Many of the characters are Maori and it's nice to see indigenous characters in the context of community. The disappearance of the woman is the central part of the story and it was good to see how the community reacts and works together. While some of the characters are so likable, they do rally around when the town needs it. As to the whodunit aspect, the writer throws out all sorts of tidbits to confuse us and had me guessing and second guessing aspects of the story.

I did enjoy this book but I'm not totally convinced by the results at the end. I felt there were some characters that were well developed but others had too much left out to really see how they fit into the whole picture. Also I will admit that while the first chapters engaged me quickly, things dragged a bit in the middle so it took me a while to finish the story.

Overall, an enjoyable book that I give three stars.

Anahera has returned home to New Zealand after many years. Her husband has just died and his mistress is pregnant with his child and there was nothing left for her in London. She knows that it is going to be hard to start over especially as she has been away so long and all her friends have their own lives now. The new cop in town is someone that she should stay away from but when a young woman goes missing, she is drawn into his world. Will knew that he had no choice when he was transferred to Golden Cove as his career was basically over. He is still trying to get over his last case when two of his witnesses were killed. And now that a young woman is missing he knows that they don't have much time before things end badly. He is drawn to Ana and he knows that it is no use fighting it but he worries about her and when her mother's cabin is burnt down to the ground he knows that he will need to do everything to keep her safe. But who took the young woman she had everything going for and her secrets are starting to be revealed but that still doesn't answer all the questions that Will has. What does the case of the missing hikers have to do with this case are they related even though they were ruled as accidents? Will he be able to stop the killer from taking another victim? What future does Will & Ana have? A good solid read. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

Nalini Singh is probably one of the only authors I would cross genres for, and when I heard that she was writing a thriller, I just had to seek this book out. 

A Madness of Sunshine is set in a tiny insular speck of a town in New Zealand, where the locals tolerate but are suspicious of outsiders. Heart sore, our heroine, Anahera returns home widowed after years in London and soon becomes entangled in a mystery when the town darling disappears.

This book was incredibly atmospheric and I had a visceral reaction where I felt increasingly tensed and chilled as the plot unfolded. As in all her other books, Nalini’s well drawn out characters provided much depth and dimension to the plot and it was interesting seeing how she utilised this skill in a thriller setting. 

The mystery in this book was tightly plotted with no wasted words and long strings that you probably need a second read to fully appreciate. I became as paranoid as the characters as I kept trying to guess who the villain was and the reveal truly had me surprised.

I've read quite a few books from Nalini Singh and this was completely different to anything she's done prior but in a good way. The best way I can describe this book is hauntingly beautiful. It grabbed my interest from page one and it was such a shame that work kept getting in the way otherwise I would have easily finished this in one sitting. I really liked both Anahera and Will's characters but honestly it was the description of the environment that really stuck with me. It made me want to jump on a plane and go to New Zealand again. I loved the inclusion of the Maori culture into the story.

My only criticism was that there seems like some unfinished business with a few characters. Obviously being a murder mystery there needs to be suspicions on a few people for suspense etc but I felt that when this happened to two of the characters the reasons for the suspicions didn't really have a conclusion, if that makes sense.

Anyway I give this a solid recommendation for reading. I received a copy from NetGalley and have provided an honest review because this is the thing to do.