An amusing takedown of influencer culture.
A submissive young woman trades family pressure for friendship with a wannabe New Age influencer involved with murder in a Southwestern mecca.
Ronnie Khan can’t believe she’s out from under her Aunt Shameem’s thumb after all these years. Sure, Pakistani culture emphasizes honoring her elders, but did that really mean shrinking in the shadows as Shameem abused her for so many years after her parents’ deaths? Now she’s moved with her best friend, empowerment coach Marley Dewhurst, from New York City to Sedona to embrace the New Age lifestyle Marley’s promised. Instead of bringing Shameem her chai, Ronnie takes desert hikes with Marley. Not yet self-aware enough to know that neither of these brings her the happiness she seeks, she’s confident that yoga, caftans, and crystals will make her feel centered. In fact, crystals are something Ronnie genuinely connects to, along with Brit and Star, the twin owners of BritStar Crystals, who offer her a job and their friendship. And not a moment too soon, because Marley, whom Ronnie’s considered her savior, has taken on shades of Shameem, taking Ronnie for granted and ordering her around. Ronnie’s convinced it’s the influence of Caroline, a social climber with a bad aura who’s attached herself to Marley and plans to brand Marley as Sedona’s biggest influencer. After Ronnie and Marley find human remains on a desert hike, Caroline pushes Marley to create Marley’s Eyes, a vigilante group designed to keep Sedona safe. The effect may be the opposite, and Ronnie wonders if she should trust in her friend or her instincts.
An amusing takedown of influencer culture.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-3426-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Despite the stakes, the heroine’s second adventure is a generally lighthearted anti-caper.
Gabriela Rose, the recovery agent famed for being able to find almost anything, goes looking for the Rosetta Stone. And that’s only the beginning.
You didn’t know the Rosetta Stone was missing? That’s because the British Museum, wanting to keep its theft hush-hush, has been displaying a copy in its place. And Gabriela’s involvement is equally secretive. Her ex-husband, Rafer Jones, has pressed her to find it because his idiot cousin, Harley Patch, who improbably became president of the Searl and Junkett bank, has taken it upon himself to insure a slew of priceless artifacts—many of which have now gone missing. The stone, as it turns out, is surprisingly easy to find. Following the trail of Leon Blake, a new operations officer at the museum who quit two days after the theft, and John Mackey, a museum security guard who was shot to death that same day, Gabriela successfully beats out rival recovery agent Ahmed Ed Ghaly, who’s been tasked with bringing the stone back to Egypt, in the hunt. An altogether more elusive prize is the golden inner coffin of Tutankhamen’s half brother, unofficially dubbed “Brendan.” This search is more dangerous, too, because Ahmed kidnaps Harley to make sure that Gabriela turns the coffin over to him. Jim, the Cairo cabbie Gabriela hires to drive her around, takes to calling himself Jim Bond once he sees her in action; and he’s on to something—not because the fate of the free world hangs in the balance, but because “the heist to end all heists” gradually dissolves into an amusing, episodic travelogue whose climax feels like just one more picturesque tableau.
Despite the stakes, the heroine’s second adventure is a generally lighthearted anti-caper.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781668027479
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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