A surprising, exciting, but uneven psychological thriller.
In this novel, a psychiatrist is forced to question his life’s work.
Dr. Oliver Powers had the perfect life. He was a highly successful psychiatrist who specialized and wrote about religious delusions. He had a wonderful wife, Hannah, and a charming daughter, Emily. Emily seemed perfect until she was overcome by mental illness and turned to spirituality for an answer. Her suicide left Oliver reeling and mentally checked out from his marriage. He was left drowning in his own guilt and grief. That’s all that he can remember when he wakes up in a hospital, strapped to a bed (“I look down at my body. It’s clad in a hospital johnny—cowboy-boot patterned for no conceivable reason—and draped in a bedsheet. From the hall come the sounds of a medical device pinging, a loud phone ringing, a speaker paging Dr. Mukherjee”). Oliver is told his name is Cornelius T. Greenbird. What follows is a series of terrible events where he must face the sins of his past and transform into a different person if he hopes to survive. He’s left behind a trail of failed patients with varying severities of mental illnesses, and now they’ve come back for revenge. At the heart of the conspiracy is Harkins Hovarth III, a disturbed former patient with a tragic past who has the wealth to orchestrate the strange scheme. He doesn’t intend to let Oliver off easy and will do anything to force him to change. The journey Oliver embarks on and the treatment plan he undergoes will bring into question everything he thought was true. And in the end, he will find himself in a place beyond belief. Wolfendon’s ambitious novel offers unpredictable plot twists and unexpected disclosures. But while the plot is full of thrills, the story has a few problems. Many of Oliver’s decisions and much of his character development only happen because he is tortured. In addition, the ending includes a significant revelation that will mystify and dissatisfy some readers. There are also passages about mental disorders that are debatable. For example, the legitimacy of medication for the treatment of mental illness is questioned. That said, the tale is well written, and Oliver’s narrative voice is engaging, empathetic, and at times entertaining.
A surprising, exciting, but uneven psychological thriller.Pub Date: Dec. 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-68513-093-0
Page Count: 367
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.
What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism.
When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780385550543
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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