A rousing war saga that blends alternate history with grittily convincing combat.
U.S. Marines, Soviet airborne troops, Iraqi and Iranian soldiers, and Sandinistas and Contras tangle as the world inches toward Armageddon in Aaronson and Rosone’s series-starting thriller.
The authors explore an alternate version of 1979 and 1980 in which the era’s real-life military confrontations veer into fictional scenarios. The novel starts with the seizure of American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Iranian students, then proceeds to a rescue mission that recovers most of the hostages after a bloody firefight between Marine infantry and Iranian forces. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran ensues, but in this telling, the U.S. government conducts airstrikes that obliterate Iraqi tank columns. Elsewhere, an attack by Sandinista missile boats on American warships pitches the U.S. into war with Nicaragua. Meanwhile, President Jimmy Carter sees his approval ratings soar to over 70% as the administration seeks to secure ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Meanwhile, Operation Bogatyr, the Kremlin’s plan to “free the workers of the world” by conquering Europe, proceeds apace. The novel has a teeming cast of characters from all the contending forces, but the closest thing to a protagonist is Marine Corps Sgt. Carlos Rodriguez, who fights Iranians, watches his marriage disintegrate stateside, and goes on a covert op to Nicaragua, where he’s taken prisoner by a Sandinista militia member who hates Soviets more than Americans. Aaronson and Rosone, both veterans, paint a panorama of military experience from every angle: tank melees, damage control in a stricken destroyer, helicopters blasted by sandstorms, soldiers drowning their grief in alcohol. The novel’s geo-strategizing sometimes bogs down in long-winded debates in the White House Situation Room. However, the action scenes are detailed, realistic, and gripping, especially in small-unit infantry clashes, which build from clipped, tense procedural to panicked frenzy: “ ‘Shoot back! For cryin’ out loud, Poole, you have to shoot back!’ Rodriguez screamed as he sent three-round bursts in the enemy’s direction.” The authors’ energetic prose and fine rendering of conflict make for an engrossing read.
A rousing war saga that blends alternate history with grittily convincing combat.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2022
ISBN: 9781957634623
Page Count: 338
Publisher: Front Line Publishing Inc.
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Come for the forensics, stay for the nonhumans.
A Christmas bout between Kay Scarpetta and the Phantom Slasher.
But first, Scarpetta, Virginia’s chief medical examiner, has to figure out how software designer Rowdy O’Leary died. Fished from the Potomac River on Christmas Eve six years after a hit-and-run driver left him permanently disabled and a week after he plunked down the cash for a pricey emerald ring, he fell off his fishing perch and drowned—or did he? Scarpetta’s examination of his body is cut short by two disturbing developments: the discovery of an unidentified woman’s remains buried on the grounds of Mercy Psychiatric Hospital, and celebrity TV reporter Dana Diletti’s report that the red-eyed ghost associated with the Slasher’s three murders has floated through the window of her home. She’s got video, too, and the apparition looks real and scary. The final blow to Scarpetta’s plans for a Christmas getaway with her husband, Secret Service forensic psychologist Benton Wesley, is an attack on an Alexandria home that kills Mercy psychiatrist Georgine Duvall, who used to treat Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy Farinelli, and nearly kills graduate student Zain Willard, White House intern and nephew of presidential candidate Sen. Calvin Willard. This time the Slasher’s ghost has been spotted on the scene by none other than Pete Marino, head of investigations for the medical examiner’s office and Scarpetta’s longtime sidekick. Cornwell’s use of Robbie, Zain’s robotic dog, and Janet, Lucy’s AI companion, integrates the futuristic elements she favors more successfully than in her recent outings. But the solutions to all these mysteries will leave fans of the venerable franchise pursing their lips rather than gasping in awe.
Come for the forensics, stay for the nonhumans.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781538773963
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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