A multifaceted and lively hero gives this offbeat LA caper a unique flair.
In Ramon’s novel, a troubled man undertakes a quest to find a missing child.
Los Angeles resident Cole Reeves is 21 years old. After being expelled from university and fired from his job at a coffee shop, Cole’s days tend to be relatively aimless. He goes on long walks through Koreatown, meets his friend Ray for lunch, and plays ping-pong with his other friend Jamal. He “lives for” electronic dance music and has an extensive collection of t-shirts. The t-shirts are more than just clothing—his selection process is something of a ceremony, as he finds that the shirts guide him “through existence each day.” Cole’s existence can be tumultuous: He takes prescription medicine for his mental health, and Jamal has playfully nicknamed him “51-50,” a nod to the police code for a crazy person. Still, people like Cole; women flirt with him, random children speak with him, and when a local boy is kidnapped, Cole feels a compulsion to help. As Cole goes about his search, struggling with his own mental well-being, people often mistake him for someone else—it seems they may even be mistaking him for the kidnapper. The police certainly have their suspicions. Is Cole experiencing some kind of psychotic break? Is he connected to the kidnapper in a way that he doesn’t fully understand? Perhaps his t-shirts will provide some kind of guidance; maybe a local news personality will understand that Cole is only trying to help. Or could it be that he is just another crazy person in a sprawling city teeming with them?
Cole is a likeable, memorable, and unpredictable main character. At any given moment, he may vividly recall a traumatic moment he thought he had forgotten or decide that the time has come to go out dancing at an illegal rave. (On the benefits of the latter, he explains, “getting lost in a sea of people makes me feel more alive than anything else.”) Part of Cole’s appeal is the ease with which he shares his feelings. He also reflects on the mundane, such as how a restaurant has “fantastic meat that is not prepared like Korean barbecue even though it’s a Korean restaurant”; it all adds to the catalog of the many joys he manages to find in the world. The idea that Cole could be the same person who is involved in the disappearance of a child keeps the reader on their toes. Some of this intrigue is blunted by his interactions with supporting characters: For instance, he has a friendly relationship with a blind Korean woman named Mrs. Kim. She is a shaman who deals in traditional Korean medicine and is capable of amazing things—like determining which t-shirt Cole is wearing despite the fact that she is blind. When Cole seeks her council about his desire to help with the kidnapping case, she warns him bluntly that this “will be a difficult task” albeit a “noble one”; Cole probably could have figured that much out himself. Still, it’s compelling to see how the whole complicated situation plays out, especially with this unemployed, t-shirt-crazed, ping-pong-playing protagonist at the center.
A multifaceted and lively hero gives this offbeat LA caper a unique flair.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9798350934281
Page Count: 250
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 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
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.
A widowed and disgraced plastic surgeon is drawn into a Russian oligarch’s evil schemes.
Witherspoon’s adult fiction debut, co-authored with thrillermeister Coben, opens as heart surgery performed by Dr. Marc Adams in a North African refugee camp is interrupted by the explosive invasion of armed militants. It's the last we will see of Marc in this dimension. The next chapter jumps ahead one year to a ceremony at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where his widow, Maggie McCabe, is supposed to be presenting an award in honor of her mother. Miserable and anxious about appearing in public after having lost her medical license, she consults with her late husband on her phone—not via supernatural means, but using a "griefbot," an amazingly lifelike and functional AI app created by her genius sister, Sharon. Once the griefbot coaxes her to brave the sneering masses, she learns she’s been replaced on the podium anyway. But she runs into a former professor, a celebrity plastic surgeon, who requests a meeting with her at his office in New York and won’t take no for an answer. Next thing she knows, there’s $10 million in her bank account and she’s on a private plane heading to a palace outside Moscow where she’s been engaged to perform off-the-record surgery on billionaire Oleg Ragoravich (new face) and his girlfriend, Nadia (new boobs). And…we’re off. A whirl of surgeries, chases, and escapes ensues as Maggie gradually comes to understand who these people are and what they have in mind for her, and how it connects to Marc and their missing friend and business partner, Trace Packer. She is aided by her delightful father-in-law, Porkchop, owner of a biker bar in New York City and a very handy guy to have on your team if you've run afoul of an international criminal organization. From the palace in Rublevka the action moves to Dubai and then Bordeaux, climaxing in a high-stakes illegal heart transplant. But wait—is Marc really dead? What happened to Trace? Who is Nadia really? Though these smoldering questions don’t quite catch fire, it's a good first try for Witherspoon.
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781538774700
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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