A down-on-his-luck gambler gets more than he bargained for in this supernatural thriller from Patterson.
Trent Hawkins, a notorious gambler and the famed survivor of a fall from an airplane, returns to Las Vegas with his girlfriend, Susan, for her new nursing job. Banned from entering most major casinos, Trent has few ideas of how to find work but is increasingly concerned by unusual weather patterns. Meanwhile, homeless Salvatore can’t remember where he’s been, but has a growing suspicion that he’s been involved in several killings in Las Vegas. Things come to a head when we learn that Salvatore is host to the ancient demon Zamagiel, who is intent on finding a young girl named Celia. Zamagiel, along with a huge, spiderlike smoke monster called the Render, find Celia in the hospital where Susan works and Trent is visiting. When havoc ensues as the Render and Zamagiel attempt to capture Celia, Susan and Trent have no choice but to flee for their lives with Celia in tow. Facing an unprecedented blizzard and an unfulfilled demonic prophecy, Trent must protect Celia and Susan at all costs. Patterson’s novel flows with eager excitement, a blend of Las Vegas gambling culture, modern cowboy adventure, biblical doom and videogame action. The characters feel well-developed, with villains that are thoroughly sinister and heroes that are damaged but good at heart. Trent’s battle to save his loved ones is gripping, even if the story sometimes dips into the formulaic. The details of the back story involving demons and angels can be confusing at times, but the novel is a satisfying adventure, a gritty, pulpy tale that keeps up the pace right to the climactic end. A fast-paced fight against demonic forces that will appeal to lovers of supernatural thrillers.
Pub Date: July 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-0983844815
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Digimonkey Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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