An exciting crime drama with well-developed characters.
King weaves a tangled web of aspiration and avarice in this crime novel.
After an 18-wheeler strikes a utility pole in Louisiana, dispersing five kilos of hidden cocaine into the air, FBI agents Pete Cortez and Teri Barnhart find themselves enmeshed in the investigation of a lifetime. As they pursue the case in the quietly charming East Texas town of Madisonville, they come face to face with unlikely crime kingpins Ralph LeBlanc and Randi Tormohlen—two siblings who effectively sit atop a mountain of laundered money and drugs, fueling the regional economy through ill-gotten gains. Their criminal enterprise is empowered by a dangerous relationship with a Mexican drug cartel. But although this international influence plays a role in their power, King makes clear that all-American avarice is central to their success. Among their accomplices in crime are the president and athletic director of the local college, whose students die from using the very substance whose sale fuels their scholarship programs; and another FBI agent who enables the very criminals he’s sworn to apprehend. But just when the trail grows cold for Cortez and Barnhart, the walls around the LeBlanc/Tormohlen empire begin to crumble as people turn against one another for personal gain. Over the course of King’s novel, not all the bad guys are brought to justice, but the author effectively makes clear that the criminal kingdom is a castle built on sand that’s fated to fall. It’s a must-read for fans of true crime as well as crime fiction, as King offers a cast of characters that’s thoroughly believable. Although the work has scenes of violence, the author deftly avoids graphic descriptions of it, presenting a work that’s gritty but not gratuitous. The result is a novel that’s very appealing, with a perfect blend of suspense and realism to keep readers engaged.
An exciting crime drama with well-developed characters.Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2021
ISBN: 979-8759122340
Page Count: 367
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.
Lt. Eve Dallas’ 63rd futuristic case is less a whodunit than a manhunt for an unusually sympathetic killer.
Thirteen years ago, way back in 2048, scientific genius Steve Redman—father of the Banner-Wyst corporation’s Rainmaker Project—narrowly escaped death in a gas explosion that killed his pregnant wife and infant son and 200 other residents of their New York City apartment building the night before he planned to report his suspicions about the company to the FBI. Now the bill is coming due for Banner-Wyst. The first death to be discovered is that of Lawrence Chu, Redman’s colleague and trusted friend, whose tenure as director of bioengineering science ends when he’s beaten to death. For quite a while, Dallas and her partner, Det. Delia Peabody, know less about this mystery than their readers do. But when Ezra Dent, a consultant to Banner-Wyst who worked with Redman and Chu back in the day, is murdered in exactly the same ferocious way, Dallas and Peabody, with help from Roarke, Dallas’ tech-billionaire husband, promptly put the pieces together and determine who they’re looking for. The search for Redman, who went AWOL from his hospital bed without a trace six years ago, has its own challenges. So does Dallas’ attempt to get cooperation from partners Calvin Banner and Jacob Wyst, who are clearly in the crosshairs of a killer who seems a lot less monstrous than they are. If the breaks in the case are suspiciously convenient in arriving, readers can pride themselves on taking sides against a mega-corporation whose self-avowed ecological saintliness is undermined by its leaders’ underhanded dealing.
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414564
Page Count: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 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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