Book Review: The Greedy Three by Karen Katchur

It’s been a long three years since Amazon Charts bestselling author Karen Katchur’s last book was published. Spring Girls was the third entry in her stellar Northampton County series following River Bodies and Cold Woods. Prior to transitioning to straight-up suspense, Katchur—who earned degrees in criminal justice and education before turning to the page—also wrote two contemporary fiction novels with dark undertones, The Secrets of Lake Road and The Sisters of Blue Mountain. Her welcome return comes with the standalone thriller, The Greedy Three.

The story opens in the thick of both the action and the upstate New York woods, where three conspirators, a baby, and a bagful of cash form a desperate and deadly alliance. Noah Weber is a kidnapper who’s been hired to acquire an infant from the leader of a human trafficking ring, Shot, and transport her across the Canadian border for a hefty payday from a wealthy couple. But when tensions flare and Shot accosts their female companion, Noah delivers a fatal blow to his neck—only to find himself on the receiving end of a rock to the head. Rendered temporarily unconscious, he awakens to discover that the girl, the baby, and the money have all gone missing. But they can’t have gotten far …

Meanwhile, the girl—who assumes the name Eve—finds refuge at an isolated cottage in the woods, where an eccentric woman named Hester lives. A former hospital employee who lost her job due to a fixation with newborns, Hester—a (forcibly) estranged mother/grandmother and cousin of the local Sheriff, Laura Pennington—has been christened a witch and ostracized by the townspeople. But having a baby in the house gives her new purpose, which is why she hides the money and makes herself indispensable to Eve. Lacking a solid plan, and without power due to intense rainstorms, Hester is nevertheless determined to make things work. Then, Noah shows up with a grudge … and a gun—and others aren’t far behind.

While much of the action is confined to Hester’s claustrophobic cabin, Katchur’s roaming narration—which includes Sheriff Pennington, who is haunted by a cold case that stymied her dad—makes for a broader canvas, from the backwoods (and the backwoods folks) of Bordertown to Canada’s high society. Consequently, readers are given both an intimate drama and one that illuminates the international implications of human trafficking (and related crimes). A girl gone missing, a string of dead bodies with tenuous ties, and a turf war with the FBI all make for a compelling, and impressively executed, suspense story.    

Dark, and darkly funny (you’ll find yourself unexpectedly LOL’ing in between palpitations), The Greedy Three is a thriller that claws its way under your skin and into your heart. With a cast of memorably mixed-up characters who will do anything—and stop at nothing—to get what they want, the stakes are high and the alliances ever-shifting. A bold, brutal ending reminds us that redemption sometimes comes with holding on and sometimes comes with letting go. Whatever Karen Katchur does next, I’m here for it—and you should be, too. But read this one first. It’s well worth your time.