The Second Stranger

Griffin’s taut, atmospheric debut is set at a remote Scottish lodge sandwiched between two hulking mountains. On Remie Yorke’s last shift as night manager of the MacKinnon Hotel before she flies to Chile to begin a new life, she hears an alarm indicating trouble at the nearby Porterfell Prison, where her inmate brother, Cameron, died a year earlier. A fierce storm sets in, cutting the phone lines, and a man appears at the hotel’s door, claiming to be a police officer named Gaines who’s been injured while transporting a dangerous prisoner who’s now at large. Remie lets the man in and gives him shelter, but not long after, a second man appears, also claiming to be Gaines. Remie and Jai, the hotel’s lone guest, can’t agree on which is the legitimate policeman; each man’s argument seems to consist of equal parts veracity and elaborate artifice, and they’re both kept overnight at the hotel until the storm subsides. Griffin makes the most of his strong premise: while Remie does a few foolish things that stretch credibility (including leaving her safe, locked room at one point when she’s sure one of her guests is a killer), well-earned shocks and expertly calibrated suspense keep the pages turning. Griffin is a mystery writer to watch. (Nov.)