Dominance
Authors: Will Lavender
Praise for Will Lavender and
DOMINANCE
“Lavender is Houdini-level dexterous at the sleight-of-verb necessary to keep the reader guessing, doubting, perplexed and attentive throughout the book. Characters lie, memories lie, senses lie, and underpinning it all is the game-that's-not-a-game, this enigmatic Procedure, that pulls like an uncontrollable undertow from beyond the grave. Who is Paul Fallows? Maybe the students in
Dominance
would have been better off never knowing the answer, but Lavender's readers will be abundantly rewarded.”
â
BookPage
“The Silence of the Lambs
meets
And Then There Were None
 . . . a terrific premise.”
â
Booklist
“Mr. Lavender should be able to write his third, fourth and fifth puzzle-crazy potboilers on the visceral strength of the first two . . .
Dominance
is quick and complicated . . . Part of Lavender's sleight of hand involves flattering the reader's keen intelligence . . . And he writes with real enthusiasm.”
âJanet Maslin,
The New York Times
“Lavender's novel is a literary labyrinth, the kind made popular by Jorge Luis Borges, without ever losing the pace or the pleasure of a taut thriller.”
â
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“If you like puzzles you will enjoy this book. If you are a fan of twists you will like this book. If you like both puzzles AND twists then you will probably flip over this book. It will have you guessing until the final page.”
â
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“A twisting, tilting, hall-of-mirrors funhouse of a book . . . [The plot] unfolds like origami with razor-sharp edges . . .
Dominance
reveals its secret stealthily, maintaining the mystery and suspense of the present while divulging the secrets of the past. That is a tricky tightrope, and it is marvelously executed.”
â
The Louisville Courier-Journal
“The self-reflective process of literary criticism known as âdeconstructing the text' becomes a diabolical game of murder in
Dominance,
an academic mystery by Will Lavender that gleefully illustrates the dangers of losing yourself in a book . . . Lavender has the devious skills to write a twisted puzzle mystery.”
â
The New York Times Book Review
“
Silence of the Lambs,
Agatha Christie, and maybe Pynchon are prerequisites for this thriller set in small-town academia.”
â
San Antonio Express-News
“If anyone out there is looking for a good summer book, maybe a beach read, instead of reading something frivolous and light, why not try something that will actually make you think? Will Lavender writes puzzle books: half mystery, half thriller, with a literary twist thrown in for good measure. His newest book,
Dominance,
will make you think. A lot.”
â
Fort Worth Fiction
“If you enjoy puzzling twists and turns, and suspense that doesn't let up even on the last page, you should delve into
Dominance
.”
â
Bowling Green (KY) Daily News
“[A] taut second standalone . . . Full-bodied characters, an effective gothic atmosphere, and a deliciously creepy, unpredictable finale.”
â
Publishers Weekly
“Lavender's exciting second literary thriller (after
Obedience
) pulls readers right into the hunt. Aldiss reminds us of a sexy Hannibal Lecter, and the mystery of the reclusive author Paul Fallows and his connection to the class is riveting. Well-drawn characters, excellent plot, good use of flashbacks, and many red herrings will keep the pages turning to the very end.”
â
Library Journal
“Lavender takes on another puzzle-within-a-thriller . . . Twisty and turny, with all kinds of side roads . . . [He] manages to maintain the novel's taut, sinister atmosphere from the first page to the last . . . Readers who loved Lavender's first book will doubtless delight in this one.”
â
Kirkus Reviews
“With nods to Christie, Poe and Lovecraft, Lavender crafts a deadly game of obsession, full of riddles, subterfuge, grim revelation and red herrings galore.”
â
Winnipeg (MB) Free Press
“A brilliant concept, brilliantly executed.
Dominance
soars to the top of the thriller genre by infusing its rapid-fire plot with the mysteries of literature and authorship and offering cutting-edge (so to speak) psychological insights into minds both noble and horrifically demented. You'll never look at professors, authors or, well, books the same again. Oh, and that last page . . .”
âJeffery Deaver, #1 international bestselling author of
Carte Blanche
and
The Burning Wire
“Will Lavender constructs plots with the expertise of a Parisian baker, masterfully layering mystery on top of mystery until, just when you think the whole thing might topple over, he sets it all together into a dangerously delectable mille-feuille of storytelling. Do save room for seconds.”
âGraham Moore,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Sherlockian
“
Dominance
is a twisting, intriguing and compelling psychological thriller of the first order. Will Lavender has created a clever maze of a
plot, fraught with dark corridors and deadly ends. With this novel in your hands, you'll be voraciously turning the pages late into the night, maybe thinking you're a step ahead, until you realize you've always been a step behindâright up until the stunning final scene.”
âLisa Unger,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Fragile
“Will Lavender has laid out a rich feast for fans of psychological thrillersâat the heart of it all is a weird, addictive game that's far more dangerous than anyone realizes. This intricately layered story of murders past and present generates plenty of chilling twists and turns, right up to the final sentence.”
âJohn Verdon, bestselling author of
Think of a Number
and
Shut Your Eyes Tight
Praise for Will Lavender's debut puzzle thriller,
Obedience
“It's a genuine, if slightly perverse, kick to follow every Byzantine clue in this bizarre game . . . If you solve this one without peeking at the last chapter, it's an automatic A.”
â
The New York Times Book Review
“Evidence that crime fiction is hardly a played-out genre . . . A mystery as ambitious as one could imagine.”
â
The Wall Street Journal
“Taut, twisty, and highly original: the pages turned themselves.”
âPeter Abrahams
“A thriller that will strike some as a mix of John Fowles'
The Magus
and Stephen King's
The Shining
 . . . The conspiracy becomes so all-encompassing, so elaborate.”
â
Publishers Weekly
“
Obedience
draws you in and never lets goâand what a ride!”
âDavid Baldacci
“Quite a twisty tale . . . Haunting . . . Irresistible.”
â
New York Daily News
“
Obedience
is a full course-load of sinister fun.”
âSalon.com
“A taut and timely thriller that explores the dark side of academia, where classrooms are dangerous and paranoia abounds.”
âKarin Slaughter
“A devilishly inventive debut that reads like a house of mirrors. Nothing is what it seems, right up to the devastating finale.”
âBrian Freeman
“With superb confidence, Lavender constructs a brilliant fictional web of lies, inventively warping the psychological thriller to fit the confines of a scholarly investigation. An inspired thriller.”
â
Kirkus Reviews
“Terrific debut . . . A wonderful book with an emotional punch at the end.”
â
St. Petersburg Times
“Tautly strung debut . . . Lavender tears a page of out Milgram's notebooks and sets into motion a chain of events that escalates far beyond its intended intellectual exercise. . . . Mystery fans will be satisfied to hang on around the story's hairpin turns as the list of suspects swells and narrows with the unearthing of each clue, but Lavender . . . is aiming at a broader target and posing deeper questions.”
â
BookPage
“Chilling, unpredictable . . . a delicious mystery.”
â
Sacramento News & Review
“Lavender's first novel suggests he has a bright future.
Obedience
builds to a swirling conclusion.”
â
The Tampa Tribune
“Will Lavender stuns with this compelling thriller . . . A new master of the genre.”
â
The Louisville Courier-Journal
“Infuriating, brilliant puzzle . . . [An] intriguing and addicting psychological thriller from a talented new writer worthy of our undivided attention.”
âBookreporter.com
“As a fan, readingâand reviewingâmany, many crime novels, it is a pleasure to discover a book that goes out of its way to try something different and really make the reader think. Will Lavender has done this.”
âCrimesquad.com
“The most gripping book of this or any other year.”
â
Edmonton (AB) Journal
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