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
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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