A spy tale with an intriguing premise that’s bogged down by ill-defined conspiracies and one-note characters.
In Blaine’s mystery-thriller, a veteran of the first U.S.-Iraq war is recruited to spy on a Paris-based artist’s cult.
It’s the 1990s, and Amadeo Effscott—not his real name—is a 20-something informant for the United States government, which is investigating the possible terrorist activities of charismatic artist Sean Dorian Knight. The novel is presented as a series of classified documents allegedly recovered in the real-life 2022 FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. In a series of accounts to French police, person-of-interest reports, and dispatches from Amadeo’s handler, readers learn that the informant is torn between his allegiance to the United States and his feelings of genuine friendship for the people in Dorian’s secretive American Renaissance organization. Much of his attachment to the latter seems to stem from his sexual obsession with poet and artist Lilah al-Hazara, a member of Dorian’s inner circle. Amadeo also appears to be suffering from the effects of traumas incurred during his military service in Iraq, which his handler exploits and that may also be affecting his reliability—as an agent and as a narrator. Although he’s tasked with killing Dorian, he tries to reform the leader, instead. Blaine’s novel has a compelling setup. However, readers will find that the details of the cult’s operations are rather fuzzy, largely because Amadeo himself gets lost in a fog of conspiracies disseminated by government agents and potential terrorists. Also, several characters feel underdeveloped, aside from their most basic function in the plot. However, the rumors that Amadeo encounters have a diverting religious overtone: Several main characters come from Muslim backgrounds, and, according to Effscott’s handler, the cult’s central lore involves a “Muslim Jesus” figure. In an additional twist for American literature aficionados, the story is laced with allusions to F. Scott Fitzgerald, including Effscott’s cover name, the presence of a character called the “Sheik of Araby”—a song quoted in The Great Gatsby (1925)—and even the author’s pseudonym (and Effscott’s real name), which references the protagonist of This Side of Paradise (1920).
A spy tale with an intriguing premise that’s bogged down by ill-defined conspiracies and one-note characters.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781960142337
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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