Marshall Karp ratchets up his signature dark humor and amps up the twisty, suspenseful turn of events that turn the story on its head in the best way possible. Don’t Tell Me How to Die is Karp in his element.
Maggie Dunn is running out of time. She has a wonderful family and everything she wants, except for time. Before she departs, she wants to set her family up to live wholesome long lives with a new wife to her husband and a new mother figure to her kids. This sets her down a path where things may have started off with good intentions but the execution of Maggie’s plan turns sour and dark just as it did with her past.
Known for writing sarcastic and sardonic characters that use humor to mask the pain and shame hidden underneath, Karp fashions Maggie Dunn as a painful character with her streak of bad decisions that paradoxically make her more relatable as a character. Her checkered past and twisted albeit understandable preparedness for departure from this world create interesting dynamics for the story to naturally evolve from a drama to a crime thriller that slowly simmers, initially without a clear indication of the plot until the narrative goes from 0 - 100 in the blink of an eye. As we follow Maggie’s descent into a dark hole, we can’t tear our eyes away from the book because the suspense is brilliantly cooked on low but palpable heat that slowly gives way to chaotic events unfolding just when you least expect them.
Don’t Tell Me How to Die is a departure from typical crime thrillers as it ventures down the lane of a family drama before it switches gears and hightails into an intense and creepy story all the while keeping you guessing as to what is really going on. Marshall Karp does not disappoint.
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