Strictly phoned-in thrills.
Second in Quick’s (The Girl Who Knew Too Much, 2017, etc.) series of thrillers about 1930s Tinseltown.
This installment follows a formula laid down in the first: A woman in jeopardy flees to Burning Cove, California, assumes a new identity, and soon finds a kindred spirit in a man with a dark past who just happens to be fiercely protective and, of course, handsome and sexy. This time, the fugitive is Adelaide Blake, who has escaped from Rushbrook, an insane asylum south of San Francisco. She hopes to elude her husband, Conrad Massey, who had her committed so he could steal her considerable inheritance. Adelaide’s late parents were scientists killed in an accident after concocting a dangerous hallucinogenic drug, Daydream. (Or was it an accident?) Rushbrook administrators, in cahoots with Conrad, were experimenting with Daydream on Adelaide, who survived thanks to her own herbal antidote. Once in Burning Cove, where she's a tea house waitress, Adelaide and readers realize how far-flung—and far-fetched—the Daydream conspiracy is. Known as a resort town where movie stars go on well-publicized retreats, Burning Cove isn’t the likeliest hideaway: Adelaide is being stalked, which is where her neighbor Jake Truett proves helpful: He was formerly in the “import-export” business, with ties to international espionage and other murky (but ultimately patriotic) endeavors. When “Psychic to the Stars” Zolanda and her assistant turn up dead in separate incidents, Adelaide suspects that someone—a dizzying array of someones, in fact—is using Daydream to make murder look like suicide (as she herself witnessed shortly before leaving Rushbrook). Conrad is glimpsed lurking about, and, as Jake and Adelaide attempt to solve the murders, they themselves become targets—taking time out to consummate their love. Although Vera, an actress, “the Most Beautiful Woman in Hollywood,” has a peripheral, mostly offstage role, this volume is surprisingly short on movie dish: Burning Cove could be any resort town.
Strictly phoned-in thrills.Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-58532-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
