The Death Row Club by V.A. Vazquez
Gallery/Scout Press/July 14, 2026
Can we still love a family member who has committed heinous acts, separate the person we know from the monster who deserves to be locked away? V.A. Vazquez’s dark and engaging debut thriller, The Death Row Club, investigates this question while unspooling a twisting and unputdownable mystery that will appeal to fans of locked room thrillers.
Months ago, Nicola Fischer’s father was outed as a serial killer by the same true crime show in which she’d willingly participated as an amateur sleuth. Nicola had expected the show to unmask the murderer who had not only destroyed the peace of her small town, but butchered her own best friend, Claire. But, when police burst through the doors to arrest her father, Nicole realized that Greer Woods, the host of To Catch a Killer and a woman she’d considered a true friend, had suspected her father all along.
Nicola’s entire world is destroyed by this revelation. Not only has she lost her rock, the kind man who had raised her singlehandedly, but she’s lost everything–her job as an art teacher, due to her infamy; her privacy; her trust in others. She’s worse than a pariah because the show painted her as being complicit in her father’s heinous acts, with the grand finale casting her in such a dark light that she fears cracking the blinds in her own home.
Nicole spends her evenings alternating between contemplating suicide and drunk-dialing Greer after imbibing on cheap boxed wine. But finally, after days of her calls going straight to voicemail, Greer asks her if she’s “received her letter,” which turns out to be an invitation to an annual retreat held exclusively for the children of serial killers. Greer herself is one; her father, Tom, is currently on death row; she has involved him in To Catch a Killer as somewhat of an expert witness in the hopes that his participation might convince authorities to commune his sentence to life in prison.
With the intention of confronting Greer and the dangling carrot of a reprieve from prying eyes, Nicola accepts the invitation. Arriving at a remote cabin with a handful of other damaged souls, Nicola hopes to find solace in a shared experience. Instead, the arrival of an unwanted guest shakes the group’s sense of security, only to be followed the next morning by a tragedy that takes the life of one of them. When it becomes clear that foul play was the cause, the group realizes a killer must be among them.
The Death Row Club is told in dual perspectives, with most of the narrative spent on Nicola but alternating with the backstory of someone called “Steffanie.” Steffanie has escaped her psychopath father through grit and determination, only to fall into even more dangerous hands. Her story is looped through Nicola’s, her identity and fate unclear. Is she the stranger who shows up at the cabin? If so, what does she want, and what do these adult children of serial killers have to give her? Vazquez teases us with the answer, providing clues and red herrings in piecemeal as the two stories marry to reveal an extremely satisfying and cleverly foreshadowed twist.
This darkly satisfying novel is a fresh take on a locked room thriller, thanks to expert pacing and misdirection but also due to its examination of heavy issues. Can the child of someone capable of committing a truly heinous crime completely escape inheriting dark inclinations? And, what does forgiving such a parent say about that person? Nicola hasn’t been to visit her father in prison since he was outed as a killer, can’t reconcile the criminal from the man she knew. Meanwhile, Greer has worked tirelessly to ensure her father live despite the many lives he has stolen.
Is that because Greer unwittingly had a hand in him being caught, because unconditional love is possible, or because Greer is morally defective too? Or is it a little of all three of these reasons?
The Death Row Club touches on a myriad of issues related to familial love, guilt, accountability, and the relative strength of nature versus nurture. It does so with not one, but two strong female protagonists: Vazquez follows the rule of making the reader empathize but not sympathize with both Nicola and Steffanie, who are imperfect–indeed, damaged–but far from victims as they deal with horrific situations. Nicola is a jealous, sexually inhibited underachiever, but she’s also strong and learning to be self-aware. And Steffanie is, more than anything, born with a sense of survival that gets her far and makes her the true star of this fabulous debut.
*About the reviewer: Sarah Reida’s debut adult novel, Neighborhood Watch, received a Kirkus Star and was honored as an Amazon editorial pick as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far 2024. She is seeking representation for her sophomore novel, a small town mystery involving beer and murder. Join Sarah’s elite group of Instagram followers here.*
