Saint X (Schaitkin) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Any death of course creates aftershocks among those closest to the deceased, but we rarely spare a thought for those on the fringes. Schaitkin does, demonstrating in no more than a few pages each how Alison's passing affects her various satellites: her teacher, roommate, a random man on holiday, an actor, the girlfriend of the suspect and so on. The connections are faint, the domino effect crystal clear. All these sub-narratives dedicated to minor and major characters, chapters that do little to move the plot along, could easily have resulted in a novel that buckled under the weight of its structural ambitions, but Schaitkin pulls it off without a hitch.… Saint X is hypnotic, delivering acute social commentary on everything from class and race to familial bonds and community…. I devoured Saint X in a day.
Oyinkan Braithwaite - New York Times Book Review -


A smart, socially conscious thriller that will take you away.
People


There’s one moment in every person’s life, posits Saint X, that will define the rest of it. For many in this novel, it’s the death of Alison Thomas, a teenage girl who perishes while vacationing with her family on a Caribbean island. The mystery remains unsolved until years later, when her sister Claire runs into one of the original suspects in New York and befriends him, hoping to piece together what happened to Alison. Claire’s obsessive pursuit of the truth gives Alexis Schaitkin’s debut the urgency of a thriller, but its most compelling chapters take the perspectives of peripheral characters, whose accounts alter our understanding of Alison’s death–and of where it happened: a cruel, fragile paradise.
Entertainment Weekly


Schaitkin’s unsettling debut plays with the conventions of the romantic thriller to comment on the uneasy relationship between working-class residents of a fictional island in the Caribbean and the wealthy American tourists…. This is a smart page-turner, both thought-provoking and effortlessly entertaining.
Publishers Weekly


While point-of-view shifts may be confusing…, the richness of the characters makes the attempt worthwhile. Questions of race and privilege deepen the impact of the characters' struggles…. Readers who enjoy a mystery with emotional depth will find this a compelling and impressive debut. —Julie Ciccarelli, Tacoma P.L., WA
Library Journal


Magnetic…a nuanced examination of class, privilege and the terrible ways that tragedy can echo forward in time. Schaitkin embellishes a strong plot with psychologically complex main characters…. This is a must-read for fans of literary suspense.
BookPage


(Starred review) The death of a teenage vacationer on a fictional Caribbean island reverberates through many lives, particularly those of her 7-year-old sister and one of the workers at the resort.…This writer is fearless, and her…killer debut is a thriller…and insightful study of race, class, and obsession.
Kirkus Reviews