Maggie is a fixer.  She has a talent – no, a calling – for rescuing people from their unhappy lives and helping them land in a far better spot.  At least that’s how she sees it – others can agree to disagree.  Maggie has recently landed at the Royal Karnak Hotel in Egypt – she’s not on the run, not necessarily – and has vowed that she is done helping other people if they aren’t going to be able to see the value she’s bringing them.  That is, of course, easier said than done, when she sees the fractures and problems that she could so handily remedy in a variety of relationships.  There’s workaholic Ben and his Adonis house-husband Zachary, but their bond is airtight.  Then there’s the Bradleys.  Geoff has such a glaringly obvious wandering eye and Shelley is obliviously going through the motions as the mom of an insufferable teenager.  But Maggie has learned from her past and is leaving well enough alone.  Until she runs into a young mother traveling alone with her eight-year-old son. There are lots of problems she can help them overcome.  But things are not as they seem.  Some problems can’t be fixed, and some kiddos may not be as sugary-sweet as they seem on the surface.  In Christopher Bollen’s HAVOC, we encounter a knock-down, drag-out battle of wills that will utterly blow your socks off.

Let me be clear – this is not your mama’s literary hotel thriller.  If you are coming into this expecting something like Nita Prose’s The Maid, be warned that this is significantly, exponentially, darker and far less quirkily fun.  Fans of Bollen will find the best parts of his signature style in HAVOC – the strong sense of atmosphere and incredibly well-developed character psychology.  Throw in a wholly unreliable narrator and a satisfyingly slow burn that is rounded out with a genuinely jaw-dropping conclusion, and you will leave this book speechless and disturbed… for at least several days. 

Bollen will have you questioning everything you just read after you finish HAVOC.  What, and who can you trust?  (No one.)  Should you reread this a second, third, or fourth time to figure out what just happened?  (Probably.)  Do you need to join a book club with English professors just so you can unpack this one?  (Yes, and tell me when you find this club as I’ll be right behind you signing up.)  Will you be on the lookout for any and every Bollen interview where he explains himself and the layers upon layers of havoc that he just created in HAVOC?  (I know I will!)