I'm so pleased I agreed to read and review a copy of Christopher Null's latest book, The Cul-de-Sac. It only took me a couple of days to read and was a complete page-turner. The story was told from multiple points of view, I think it was primarily six, with the odd contribution from a few others. I know some people find these complicated, but I love them, once I get to know who people are and how they fit into the story.
The majority of the characters have a backstory, some of them we find out about and others are just as much a mystery at the end, as well as at the beginning. I think this is what made the book so entertaining for me. All the characters are so very, very different, with one common denominator....they all pretty much keep themselves to themselves within their cul-de-sac...to a degree.
I hope to goodness that there is at least one more book to follow and that this cliffhanger ending isn't the last we see of these quirky neighbours and their hidden secrets.
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read and review The Cul-de-Sac by Christopher Null.
About the Book
How well do you really know your neighbors?
Veteran serial killer Klaus Fischer is determined that his most recent murder will be his last, but like many retirements, this one isn’t sticking. No one has come close to suspecting he’s buried the victims on his quiet suburban California cul-de-sac property—but he’s feeling the urge to kill again, and this time he’s set his sights on a target dangerously close to home.
Widowed Peg Jurgensen has lived on the cul-de-sac for the past fifteen years, and she’s ready to shed her doldrums and re-enter the world around her. And where better to start than with mothering the curious young teen Eliza van Damal, whose family just moved to the cul-de-sac in order to expose their daughter to a better life.
Eliza, however, prefers to coerce the enigmatic hermit next door, Alex, into helping her pass math. Alex wishes the lot of them would disappear.
The closer these misfits become, the more danger even the most ordinary conversations invite. As the body count rises, can these residents trust anyone hiding behind their doors on this street?
About Christopher
Christopher Null is an award-winning journalist, editor, and novelist. He is best known as the founding editor of Filmcritic.com, which was launched in 1995 and acquired by American Movie Classics in 2009, and the founder and editor of Drinkhacker, which launched in 2007. He was also the founding editor of Mobile PC magazine in 2003, the first ever periodical focused exclusively on mobile technology, before spending 4 1/2 years writing about tech daily for Yahoo! Tech as “The Working Guy.” He was the tech columnist for Executive Travel magazine (published by American Express) from 2008 to 2014.
Today Null runs a media company, Null Media, which provides editorial consulting, strategic direction, and writing services to media and non-media companies alike. He continues to contribute regularly for Wired, PC World, and other outfits online and off. His 2015 Wired article about his unique last name went viral and became the subject of an episode of Radiolab, and featured in segments on Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and the British quiz show QI. He still regularly answers reporter queries about the “Null” phenomenon.
Null's long-form work includes two novels and two-non-fiction books. His first novel, Half Mast, arrived in bookstores in 2002 and was heralded as “the best of contemporary American fiction” by the New York Resident. His second novel, The Cul-de-sac, arrives in February 2025. Null's 2005 book, Five Stars!, a how-to guide for aspiring film critics, is often used as a textbook for film criticism curriculum at a number of colleges and universities. A second edition was released in 2013.
Chris has been featured in dozens of publications and programs, including Wired magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, ESPN, Folio, and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. He received a BBA and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin in 1993 and 1996, respectively.
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