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    A Madness of Sunshine
    A Madness of Sunshine
    A Madness of Sunshine
    Audiobook10 hours

    A Madness of Sunshine

    Written by Nalini Singh

    Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh welcomes you to a remote town on the edge of the world where even the blinding brightness of the sun can’t mask the darkness that lies deep within a killer.…

    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 to not 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.  

    It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Audio
    Release dateDec 3, 2019
    ISBN9780593153505
    A Madness of Sunshine
    Author

    Nalini Singh

    New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Nalini Singh loves writing paranormal romances. Currently working on two ongoing series, she also has a passion for travel and has been to places as far afield as Tahiti,Japan, Ireland and Scotland. She makes her home in beautiful New Zealand. To find out more about Nalini's books, please visit her website, www.nalinisingh.com.

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    Reviews for A Madness of Sunshine

    4/5

    118 ratings19 reviews

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    • 4/5

      Sep 12, 2022

      Not at all what I was expecting from Nalini Singh -- this is a realistic, modern thriller with no paranormal elements, but I really enjoyed it. The characters and the setting are compelling (there was a little too much about how the landscape will kill you -- not that it's wrong, it was just an extremely repetitive theme). Loved the New Zealand setting. Very effectively hooked me into caring about the character who vanishes. Great emotional drama. Still have no idea why the madness has anything to do with sunshine? Is it a sunshine coast thing?
    • 3/5

      Jan 17, 2022

      fiction - New Zealand mystery/suspense

      widowed woman returns to her small town roots, finding some things have changed (new police officer), some things have not (incurable neighborhood gossip), and that no one really knows anyone as well as they think.
    • 5/5

      Nov 9, 2021

      Anahera returns to her home town of Golden Cove after the death of her husband. She comes back full of rage and bitterness but hides it well. When Miriama, a local girl, goes missing the town looks for her. Anahera becomes close to the cop in the town, Will. The two are attracted to each other but because of their pasts they try to deny the attraction. Both are broken but with Miriama missing other pasts come up in the town including the town's past. Anahera gives information to Will and together they try to piece the town's pasts, residents' pasts, and current events to find Miriama.

      I enjoyed this story. There is a lot of pain in the town as well as both Will and Anahera's life. I was glad that Anahera was able to fit back into Golden Cove although she knew she could not stay. I liked that she was able to befriend Jemima, the wife of a childhood friend. The friendship caused both to be able to say things that others would not have understood since they had not gone through them. Both needed a friend.

      I appreciated that Will was flawed. He had his own baggage and was able to handle Anahera's anger and rage and understand it. Golden Cove had its secrets but also gave up the secrets.

      I have to admit I did not anticipate the ending, was actually surprised by part of it. A good story that kept me interested and not wanting to put it down.
    • 5/5

      Oct 4, 2021

      Wow! I've been seeing this author's name show up on my book lists and this one caught me. Amazing! The words just flow. From arriving and then going further into the thick of the story. The traditional Māori names threw me off a little but I got with the flow. I love books that take me to other places that I may learn from. The ending is a huge surprise! ;)
    • 3/5

      Aug 22, 2021

      Digital audiobook performed by Saskia Maarleveld.


      Nalini Singh is known for her romantic fantasy books (which I’ve never read), but this is her debut adult detective mystery.

      The setting is a remote town on the West Coast of New Zealand, populated primarily by indigenous Maori. When a beautiful young woman goes missing while on a regular run, people recall a summer some eight years earlier when several hikers when missing. But those women were all tourists to the area, while Miriama is a native, and knows to stay away from the dangerous cliff areas when she runs.

      I really liked this mystery thriller, with several layers of intrigue. Detective Will Gallagher is a great character, with flaws and some darkness in his past … he is, after all, a big-city Detective now assigned to a small town in the middle of nowhere, the only policeman in a town that doesn’t even have a jail. Anahera Spencer-Ashby is recently returned from England to her hometown after her husband died in London. She may have been away for eight years, but she still knows more about the locals and local customs than Will. Together they form a good team.

      The twists and turns kept me guessing, and I didn’t see the ending coming. I hope Singh will write another mystery featuring Will and Anahera, though the ending of these makes that seem unlikely. Still, if she writes it, I’ll read it.

      Saskia Maarleveld does a fine job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and brings the characters to life.
    • 5/5

      Mar 14, 2021

      I read this after enjoying her newest book, as the setting and genre were similar. If you like atmospheric stories with a large cast of characters, many of whom harbor pain and secrets, coupled with plenty of suspects, this is a perfect story for you.
    • 4/5

      Nov 3, 2020

      I enjoyed this mystery set in a small town in New Zealand. I gather this is sort of a departure for this author. Wikipedia describes her as "a New Zealand author of numerous paranormal romance novels" but this certainly doesn't fit into that genre. I would just call it a straightforward mystery.

      Golden Cove is a rather remote small town on the west coast of the South Island. It was founded by miners who thought they would find their fortune but there wasn't much here except water and rocks and forest. These days it survives on tourism, particularly young adventurous tourists. Anahera grew up in Golden Cove but left when she was out of school just after her mother died. She became a renowned pianist living in London and married to a successful English playwright. Ten years after her departure Anahera has come back to town as a widow wondering what to do with the rest of her life. She encounters Will, the sole policeman in Golden Cove, when her car breaks down on her way into town. Will has only lived in Golden Cove for three years taking the demotion from hot shot detective for some reason that doesn't become clear for quite a bit of the book. Soon after Anahera's arrival Will's detective skills are required when a young girl goes missing while on a run. Anahera joins in on the search for Miri and teams up with Will. Between them they uncover a lot of secrets that people in Golden Cove have been hiding but which person could have been responsible for Miri's disappearance? And does this have anything to do with the disappearance of three other female hikers who disappeared without a trace years ago while Anahera was still living in Golden Cove? In exploring the answers to these questions Anahera and Will become quite close and perhaps the two will find more in common than just exploring the mysterious disappearances.

      I'm expecting that there will be a sequel to this book but from the epilogue it doesn't seem that it will take place in New Zealand which is a shame in my opinion. I had originally given this book a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 but after finishing another mystery that had a great location but not nearly as good a plot I increased my rating to 4 stars.
    • 5/5

      Jul 10, 2020

      Nalini Singh's first foray into a suspenseful mystery, with just a dash of romance (but not really with a HEA feeling, more like a we'll-try-it-and-see feeling). What a wonderful story! I was kept guessing the whole way through to the end, and while I wasn't surprised, exactly, at who-dun-it, I was pleased with the way the story developed and ending. She did a fantastic job of writing outside of her comfort zone. I can't wait to read more of this type from her. I love her fantasy romance series' so much and I'm glad to see her branching out!
    • 2/5

      May 6, 2020

      I loved the setting, with its wild jungle-like land, rocky cliffs, roiling waves, and dangerous ocean.

      The writing style is fine.

      The story is a hot mess.

      To start with, this small community is filled with unlikable people behaving badly. We have a whole lot of characters, all of whom are suspects and all more than capable of committing murder. They are, in fact, all guilty of something.

      We also have a subplot with cold case murders that, for reasons never explained, the killer decides to flaunt at the same time as law enforcement is heavily involved in searching the area for the missing woman.

      The missing woman's character is ridiculous in her perfection. She's young, she's gorgeous, she's friendly to absolutely everyone, she's irresistible through no fault of her own, women all love her and men all want her. People flock to be near her and bask in her sunshine.

      Our stars are the broken, hero cop and the woman with a tragic past who returns home with her figurative tail between her legs. Neither character has much depth. They speak and behave exactly as expected. The woe-is-me narrative drove me crazy, as it was repeated over and over... and over again.

      The "romance" between our two star characters isn't a romance at all. These two strangers meet, the cop immediately takes this stranger who isn't a cop into his confidence and makes her his investigative partner for a few days, then they have sex and become a couple. The relationship is forced, unfeeling, and unnecessary.

      Pacing is incredibly slow.

      And then we have the confessional ending, which makes me clench my teeth in irritation. The killer has control of the person who'd figured things out, and so of course this killer answers all questions and expounds on the entire history of bad deeds. As if this isn't bad enough, we have a second confessional ending, concerning the young woman who'd disappeared. Apparently, the residents of this community love to spontaneously confess in detail.
    • 3/5

      Feb 29, 2020

      The Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh is a 2019 Berkley publication.

      As a reader of romance, Nalini Singh’s name is recognizable to me, and I have seen her books reviewed by some of my GRs friends. However, I’m not into fantasy romance novels featuring angels and demons, or changelings, so I’ve never read any of her work. However, when I saw the author had tried her hand at writing a straight up mystery suspense novel, it piqued my curiosity.

      Singh did an admirable job with her first novel of suspense. The book is not without its flaws, but the story is solid when it comes to premise, mood, atmosphere, and location-

      Anahera has returned to her hometown of Golden Cove, a small, secluded enclave in New Zealand after the death of her husband. She hasn't even settled in good when she finds herself swept up in the search for a young, vibrant woman who has vanished without a trace. The woman’s disappearance brings to mind, a summer eight years ago, when several other women also disappeared. Could the two cases be connected?

      Will, the law enforcement officer working the case, is wrestling with his own demons, as he relies on Anahera to help him navigate the mysterious interconnections between the residents of the town and the missing woman.

      I loved the atmosphere of this book. The mood is tense, with so many secrets and possible motives to explore. The book did have a few weaknesses, however…

      I had trouble connecting to Anahera and Will. There’s enough background information provided about each of them, it just wasn’t enough to bring the characters to life for me. The chemistry between the couple felt forced, their dialogue stilted and wooden.

      The plot is straightforward, not at all complicated- but there is a good amount of tension hanging in the air, as the reader tries to puzzle out who had the best motive, who may be hiding a secret affair or harboring an unhealthy obsession or jealousy. Some developments are fairly obvious, but there is a nice twist to keep things from being too predictable. However, a seasoned mystery reader may see it coming anyway.

      Overall, this is a descent mystery. Because this is the author’s first foray into a new genre, I’m going to go a little easy on her. The story is good- but not great, and there’s nothing here that stands out from countless others like it. That said, it was an enjoyable enough read and I think, with a tighter plot and deeper characterizations, the author could carve out another successful niche for herself.
    • 4/5

      Feb 25, 2020

      I really like Nalini Singh's paranormal adventures and I enjoyed this almost more. She discussed it with Sara of Smart Bitches and I found the discussion interesting.

      A story of a woman who discovers after her husband's death that he had a mistress. She decides to set about finding herself by moving back to her childhood home. an isolated village, Golden Cove in New Zealand. There she meets Will who has been sent there to live out his breakdown and police career in this safe space. When one of the girls in the area goes missing they have to join forces to investigate.

      I really liked the read and the characters and look forward to more in this vein by this author.
    • 4/5

      Feb 3, 2020

      4.5 stars.

      A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh is an atmospheric mystery that is absolutely spellbinding.

      Anahera "Ana" Spencer-Ashby  returns to her isolated hometown on the coast of New Zealand following her husband's death.  Troubled by childhood memories, she uneasily settles into the cabin she shared with her mom who died several years earlier.   Ana soon reconnects with best friend, Josie Taufa, Nikau "Nik" Martin and Vincent Baker.  She also meets newcomer, Detective Will Gallagher, the town's lone police officer.

      Immediately after her arrival, Ana and the rest of the town are devastated when Miriama "Miri" goes missing. Most of the residents turn out to search for the missing young woman, but she has vanished into thin air. With eerie similarities to the still unsolved cases of three hikers who disappeared years earlier, Will works around the clock to try to locate Miri and determine whether her case is linked to the hikers.

      Ana is hardened by her life experiences and she is emotionally closed off. She is holding back a lot of grief and anger over her late husband's death and her abusive childhood.  Ana holds her secrets close and not even her dear friend Josie knows much about Ana's life in England. Ana is just as shaken as the rest of the town when Miri vanishes and she reluctantly joins forces with Will in order to find the young woman.

      Will is also battered and tormented by his past. His last case before transferring to Golden Cove almost ended his career and he remains haunted by how it ended. Will takes his job seriously and despite his outsider status, he is well-liked and respected by the townspeople. His instincts remain sharp and although  he knows that something horrible has happened to Miri, he still hopes for the best.  Will finds Ana intriguing and he is surprised by how much he likes her.  He finds her assistance invaluable as he tries to find Miri.

      Gold Cove is an insular town and everyone knows everyone else's secrets. They are also fiercely loyal to one another and they are quick to offer assistance when needed. The surrounding landscape is beautiful but harsh and unforgiving.

      A Madness of Sunshine is a riveting mystery that is foreboding and full of secrets. Will and Ana are compelling, intense characters who are quite likeable. Miri is happy, beloved by everyone and looking forward to a promising future. Will and Ana are determined to figure out who would have wanted to harm such a wonderful young woman.  With stunning twists and shocking revelations, Nalini Singh brings this mesmerizing mystery to a dramatic conclusion.  I highly recommend this captivating mystery to fans of the genre.
    • 5/5

      Feb 3, 2020

      Compulsively readable, this mystery is set in a tiny town on the west coast of New Zealand. I couldn’t help but remember my own trip there while reading the beautiful descriptions of the wilderness and culture. Points of the plot were a bit unbelievable in the end, but I still loved the well-drawn characters and fast pace of the action. It reminded me a bit of The Dry and also The Great Alone.
    • 5/5

      Jan 24, 2020

      4.7 stars

      I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

      Anahera is going back to her hometown, a place that she never wanted to return to but somehow finds she needs the comfort of. While there, Miriama, a young beautiful girl disappears while out jogging and Anahera finds herself helping the new town cop, Will, uncover the secrets of Golden Cove and it's residents.

      She returned home two hundred and seventeen days after burying her husband while his pregnant mistress sobbed so hard that she made herself sick.

      In this standalone, Singh has written an intoxicating mystery suspense. The writing was smooth in a way that sucked me in and wouldn't let me go; I was lost in the beautifully dark atmosphere. Readers are pulled in with the character of Anahera, a woman who grew-up in Golden Cove. Her father was an abusive alcoholic who her mother didn't kick out until he began to turn his abuse on Anahera. While she still has friends that live in Golden Cove, it's not a place of happy memories for her. The background Singh creates for Anahera, abusive father, widowhood that surprises her with a husband who cheated on her, and a miscarriage, all perfectly shapes the character we see on the pages, steely contained, strong, and heartfelt willing.

      “Everyone has secrets,” he repeated after completing the maneuver. “It's often the people who look like they have no secrets at all who turn out to have the biggest ones.”

      While we're led into the story by Anahera, she gives us the lay of the land and townspeople, the emotional aspect, the new town cop Will leads the technical, murder mystery part that takes over the middle of the story. As a reader, I was emotionally locked in the story because of how Singh quickly and thoroughly created a web spun with the townspeople from Anahera's experiences and feelings about them. This made me eager to follow along with Will as he gathered evidence and tries to piece together the how and why about Miriama's disappearance. While I didn't connect as much with Will, he had his own layered backstory of how he ended up in Golden Cove and gave credence to his feelings and actions. The focus of the story is the mystery of Miriama's disappearance but for those looking for it, the bonding relationship that develops between Anahera and Will, infuses the story with a slow burn romance.

      That was the thing with this town---the way the gossip flowed, you'd think you knew everything. But there were secrets here, a thick tide of lava beneath the surface.

      Along with the atmosphere and emotions evoked, the details that Singh includes made this story a cut above for me. How Will goes about the investigation and the facts and alluding he finds or is told along the way kept my eyes on everyone. When Will finds out that three woman hikers disappeared from the Golden Cove area fourteen years ago too, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. If you weren't feeling the atmosphere as much as I, I could see how the middle could drag a touch, as there might be considered one too many red-herring dancing to and away reasons given out. I also thought the villain(s) reveal started to creep into info dump reveal as it went on a beat too long. The ending also felt abrupt but it could be me just not wanting to say goodbye to these characters. A Madness of Sunshine was a small town mystery suspense that showcased the good, bad, and ugly of a small New Zealand town while chilling me to the soul at times and at others, having me smile through the tears.
    • 4/5

      Jan 7, 2020

      This thriller is set in a small town in New Zealand. A local girl goes missing right before she is to leave after winning an internship for her photography. Golden Cove is the town where everyone knows your business and very few actually leave. Ana did leave and left behind her small town to only return as a widow and put her musical career on hold. Will is the stranger in town, highly decorated cop who is now assigned to a small town with demons that haunt him from his job. The case does get solved by the end of the book and there is some romance that goes on between Will and Ana but it isn’t the focus of the story. The murder and the 3 missing hikers from 8 years previously are the main focus of the plot. I really enjoyed it and not sure if there will ever be any more with these characters I will certainly pick it up.
      Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
    • 5/5

      Dec 28, 2019

      This is a very well-paced mystery set on the West Coast of New Zealand, in a small Maori town. All the elements of a good thriller are here: a widow returning to her childhood home after the betrayal and death of her husband, an exiled police officer, and several missing female hikers, all of a common body type and looks. Singh does an excellent job at character development and vividly describes the wild landscape of rough woods and violent seas. She makes each man in town menacing, and does a good job at hiding the guilty criminal amid the red herrings, as each has a disturbing and violent back story. The only slight weakness is a few awkward sex scenes, but the atmospheric contrast of landscape and confinement make this a compelling and fast read.
    • 4/5

      Dec 4, 2019

      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.
    • 2/5

      Dec 1, 2019

      I'm in an obvious minority here, as I didn't like this book at all. The story failed to keep my attention, I kept putting the book down because I didn't care about the characters or action (thankfully, there was always something to watch on Disney+). I also found the plot to be overly predictable (I accurately guessed the killer and other info before I was a third of the way into the book). I enjoy reading romantic-suspense but I expect the suspense to keep me on my toes and guessing at least until the end and this simply fell short. For this reader, this book was way too predictable, overly contrived, and lacking in suspense.
    • 4/5

      Oct 17, 2019

      Although A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE is referred to as a thriller, it really is more mystery than thriller. And what a surprise that it is quite good coming from an author, Nalini Singh, who is known for her many paranormal romances. So this is a departure for her, and I was not expecting it to be so good. She wrote this like she’s been writing mysteries/thrillers for years. She should have been.

      The story is told from the perspectives of Anahera and Will. They live in a small New Zealand town where everybody knows everyone else’s business, or at least they think they do. Then it almost gets like an Agatha Christie novel when a beautiful young woman goes missing and everyone becomes suspect.

      I’m sure I will not be the only one who hopes Nalini Singh writes more mysteries/thrillers.

      I won an ARC of A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE from a Berkeley sweepstakes on Facebook.