An action-packed political thriller that delivers surprising plot turns and affecting characterization.
In Bridgeman’s novel, a young man learns a shocking truth about himself and is thrust into a deadly world of political intrigue and a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government.
Ben Danvers grew up in rural Vermont with cold, overprotective parents, and now he and his girlfriend live together in Boston, where he struggles to make a name for himself at Cambridge Hill Holdings. Then federal investigators tell him that he was a kidnapping victim in his youth, and that he’s actually the son of one of the most powerful people in the world: Vice President-elect Kimberly Hancock, “a descendant of American royalty. Wealthy beyond measure.”. Together with two FBI agents—one, a veteran who's been working Ben’s case for years, and the other, a newly minted operative who’s determined to prove her worth—Ben attempts to learn who’s behind a deadly plot to bring the country to its knees. A mysterious cult has spent the last 20 years carefully orchestrating a terrible plan, led by a man known only as “Father.” Bridgeman has crafted a propulsive, brilliantly executed thriller that will keep readers guessing as the story moves briskly along. Although there are many twists, the narrative is tightly plotted throughout, and even the ancillary characters come across vividly. Bridgeman addresses issues of personal identity and the bonds of familial love in a novel that also includes shootouts and evil cabals, which sets this apart from other political thrillers. Readers will come to care deeply about the players in this constantly shifting game, and that depth of feeling propels the reader forward to the story’s satisfying, shocking conclusion. Fans of both family dramas and high-octane thrillers are likely to find much to savor here.
An action-packed political thriller that delivers surprising plot turns and affecting characterization.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781961302549
Page Count: 338
Publisher: Mission Point Press
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.
Two killers are on the loose. Can they be stopped?
In this ambitious mystery, the prolific and popular King tells the story of a serial murderer who pledges, in a note to Buckeye City police, to kill “13 innocents and 1 guilty,” in order, we eventually learn, to avenge the death of a man who was framed and convicted for possession of child pornography and then killed in prison. At the same time, the author weaves in the efforts of another would-be murderer, a member of a violently abortion-opposing church who has been stalking a popular feminist author and women’s rights activist on a publicity tour. To tell these twin tales of murders done and intended, King summons some familiar characters, including private investigator Holly Gibney, whom readers may recall from previous novels. Gibney is enlisted to help Buckeye City police detective Izzy Jaynes try to identify and stop the serial killer, who has been murdering random unlucky citizens with chilling efficiency. She’s also been hired as a bodyguard for author and activist Kate McKay and her young assistant. The author succeeds in grabbing the reader’s interest and holding it throughout this page-turning tale of terror, which reads like a big-screen thriller. The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King’s choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic. King shines brightest when he gets to the heart of our darkest fears and desires, but here the dangers seem a bit cerebral. In his warning letter to the police, the serial killer wonders if his cryptic rationale to murder will make sense to others, concluding, “It does to me, and that is enough.” Is it enough? In another writer’s work, it might not be, but in King’s skilled hands, it probably is.
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781668089330
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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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