The Cul-De-Sac by Christopher Null

Tule Publishing (February 10, 2025)

Thriller

How well do you really know your neighbors?

Veteran serial killer Klaus Fischer is determined that his most recent murder will be his last, but like many retirements, this one isn’t sticking. No one has come close to suspecting he’s buried the victims on his quiet suburban California cul-de-sac property—but he’s feeling the urge to kill again, and this time he’s set his sights on a target dangerously close to home.

Widowed Peg Jurgensen has lived on the cul-de-sac for the past fifteen years, and she’s ready to shed her doldrums and re-enter the world around her. And where better to start than with mothering the curious young teen Eliza van Damal, whose family just moved to the cul-de-sac in order to expose their daughter to a better life.

Eliza, however, prefers to coerce the enigmatic hermit next door, Alex, into helping her pass math. Alex wishes the lot of them would disappear.

The closer these misfits become, the more danger even the most ordinary conversations invite. As the body count rises, can these residents trust anyone hiding behind their doors on this street?

Fans of The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena, The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell and The Good Neighbor by A.J. Banner will love this domestic thriller filled with dark secrets and dangers lurking in a seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood…

BUY LINKS & EXCERPT

The Cul-de-sac – Tule Publishing Group |

REVIEW

The story is set in a small cul-de-sac in California. You would think being so small the neighbors would know each other. These neighbors keep to themselves, some barely leave their house, most don’t know one another. There are multiple characters and POV’s. There is a serial killer who lives there, which you know from the beginning. The mystery isn’t the killings but all that goes on behind all doors in the cul-de-sac.

What I liked – I enjoyed the multiple personalities of the cul-de-sac. I enjoyed the many twists in the plot. I enjoyed the short chapters. I enjoyed the layers of the characters and how their pasts were revealed. I liked the growing friendship of the teenager and the neighbor who unwittingly becomes her tutor.

What I didn’t like – Not sure if this is a part 1 or not; nothing indicates that a follow up book is coming.  The book ends in a cliffhanger, which I am not a fan of surprise cliffhangers. If there is not a book 2 then you will be left with a huge hole; lots of unanswered questions and unresolved storylines. So I was very disappointed in the ending.

Mixed feelings on this book. It was a page turner, and I was invested. Negative is the unsatisfying ending.

Reviewed by Comfy Chair Books/Lisa Reigel (January 13, 2025)

eARC provided by Tule Publishing

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christopher Null is an award-winning writer who regularly contributes to Wired magazine and who muses daily about wine and spirits on the website Drinkhacker, where he serves as editor in chief. His first novel, Half Mast, was hailed by critics as “the best of contemporary American fiction.” He currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Susanne.

Christopher Null: Author, Writer, Blogger

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