A graphic, gripping start to a new series.
A handsome, rich, successful ad exec tormented by his past discovers that, contrary to the slogan, what happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily stay there.
Royce’s first book in her Neon Diaries series features Craig Keller, one of four partners (another partner is Jane, his spicy second wife) in a midsize advertising agency in Santa Monica, California. Craig was not the favorite child of brilliant, wealthy serial cheater Donovan C. Keller; the preferred son and heir apparent to his father’s law firm was the now-deceased Donovan James “D.J.” Keller. After the elder Donovan’s sudden death, it’s Craig who speaks at his father’s memorial service, calling him “brutal, unforgiving, full of rage and fury.” In attendance are countless friends and business associates—platinum-haired, steely-eyed Luuk Van Ness was both. Craig muses that though Luuk “was something of an unofficial godfather,” he never knew if he could trust him. Luuk owns the Regal Oasis, a high-end Las Vegas resort; in the late 1980s, Donovan successfully defended a mobster who was an Oasis regular. Donovan’s law practice made him incredibly wealthy, and D.J. would have taken the firm over had it not been for a tragedy nearly 30 years earlier. It was Craig’s 17th birthday, and he and D.J. and some of D.J.’s law school buddies were partying until they passed out on Donovan’s yacht. When D.J. came to and the waves got choppy, he looked below deck for Craig. Instead of his brother, he found a tall, burly man and bags of cocaine. “Dude, you’re…running dope on my father’s yacht?” D.J. blurted out. They fought and toppled into the water, close to the yacht’s propeller; only body parts were found. Craig blames himself for his brother’s death. He is haunted by the tragedy, to the point of thinking he sees his brother from time to time. He constantly worries about losing others, even Jane, who pledges she is his (even though she, like him, has an adulterous past). When their ad agency gets involved with Luuk and his chain-smoking son Hendrik on the rebranding of the Oasis, jealousy mounts, as does danger, particularly when a mobster who went to jail due to a mistake made by Donovan’s firm is paroled.
Though the novel is plot-driven, it has rich character development. There are enough characters—casino kingpins, mobsters, ad agency staff, and family members—to stir up the story and lead to sequels, but not so many that a scorecard is needed. Aside from Craig’s four children (two with Jane, two with the ex), no one is beyond reproach. Every character is compelling, particularly Craig, who “could dazzle clients by being good-looking and glib,” and Hendrik, whose shoulder-length blond hair streams down “like rays of light.” The language can be gritty, and the sex can get steamy—Jane has a thing for getting her clothes ripped off. Rich descriptions fill the narrative: Craig’s teeth are “unusually straight and white, with slightly elongated canines”; Jane calls them his “vampire teeth.”
A graphic, gripping start to a new series.Pub Date: June 20, 2024
ISBN: 9798990326903
Page Count: 398
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.
A woman fears she made a fatal mistake by taking in a blood-soaked tween during a storm.
High winds and torrential rain are forecast for “The Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire,” making Casey question the structural integrity of her ramshackle rental cabin. Still, she’s loath to seek shelter with her lecherous landlord or her paternalistic neighbor, so instead she just crosses her fingers, gathers some candles, and hopes for the best. Casey is cooking dinner when she notices a light in her shed. She grabs her gun and investigates, only to find a rail-thin girl hiding in the corner under a blanket. She’s clutching a knife with “Eleanor” written on the handle in black marker, and though her clothes are bloody, she appears uninjured. The weather is rapidly worsening, so before she can second-guess herself, former Boston-area teacher Casey invites the girl—whom she judges to be 12 or 13—inside to eat and get warm. A wary but starving Eleanor accepts in exchange for Casey promising not to call the police—a deal Casey comes to regret after the phones go down, the power goes out, and her hostile, sullen guest drops something that’s a big surprise. Meanwhile, in interspersed chapters labeled “Before,” middle-schooler Ella befriends fellow outcast Anton, who helps her endure life in Medford, Massachusetts, with her abusive, neglectful hoarder of a mother. As per her usual, McFadden lulls readers using a seemingly straightforward thriller setup before launching headlong into a series of progressively seismic (and increasingly bonkers) plot twists. The visceral first-person, present-tense narrative alternates perspectives, fostering tension and immediacy while establishing character and engendering empathy. Ella and Anton’s relationship particularly shines, its heartrending authenticity counterbalancing some of the story’s soapier turns.
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781464260919
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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