The Euthanist

By Alex Dolan

In this auspicious debut, Alex Dolan announces himself as a virtuoso of psychological suspense and a rightful heir to masters of the genre like Gillian Flynn and Megan Abbott. A young woman helps to end the lives of people with terminal diseases, her reasons her own. When she helps the wrong person, she will be roped into a plot to gain vengeance on behalf of dozens. Her journey will make her question everything she ever thought she knew about herself. And the last life she ends may be her own.

They know her as Kali. She is there to see them off into the afterlife with kindness, with efficiency, and with two needles. She's been a part of the right-to-die movement for years, an integral member, complicit in the deaths of twenty-seven men and women, all suffering from terminal illnesses.

And she just helped the wrong patient.

Leland Moon has been with the Bureau for his entire career, but even as a respected agent, he was unable to keep his own son from being kidnapped on his way to school. When his boy finally came home, he told terrifying stories of his captors, and his nightmares haven't stopped since.

Moon draws Kali into his mission, a mesmerizing cat-and-mouse game with two ruthless predators—one behind bars, one free—who hold the secrets that could bring comfort to the families of their victims. This powerful journey towards grace and towards peace will force both Leland and Kali to question everything they believe to be true and just.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Release date: Jun 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781626815483

Reviews for The Euthanist

[ellie.pelto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

'I'd already thought through this plenty. I wouldn't have committed to this work without knowing why I was doing it. "I remove suffering... It's the difference between compassion and execution. If you can't see that, you really don't understand what I do."'

Kali helps people die. They always have time to change their mind, but most of them don't. They just want their agony to end. But then, Kali meets Leland, and she is forced to think about the morality of what she does. Are all those suffering also dying? Or is she willing to help those who are suffering in different ways? Can she use her unique skills to help get revenge on those most deserving?

"The Euthanist" has it all: twists, kidnapping, torture, serial killers, and an ending so intense that there's no way you will see it coming. A psychological thriller on par with Gillian Flynn's Dark Places and a fantastic debut from author Alex Dolan.

I was provided an Advance Reader Copy of "The Euthanist" from Diversion Books in exchange for an honest review.