An energetic thriller with a memorable protagonist and superb characterization.
A small-town Texas lawyer unexpectedly becomes a negotiator when terrorists kidnap the U.S. president in this fifth installment of a series.
Donnie Ray Cuinn has no desire to attend President Salmon Roe’s upcoming speech at the Evergreen Plant in Velda, Texas. After all, the Texas attorney didn’t vote for the man he deems “the World’s Biggest Hypocrite.” Joseph Jones, however, is on high alert; he’s leading the Islamic State in the Americas, a terrorist faction, in a plot to abduct Roe. The president will be announcing the Extreme Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or X-Bomb, which will begin production at Evergreen. Meanwhile, the first lady tries pushing her husband toward more peaceful goals: renounce the bomb and, instead, fight to end hunger with the intent of achieving peace in the Middle East. But her plans go sideways when the ISA takes control of the plant and holds President Roe hostage. That’s when Donnie suddenly finds himself involved; Joseph informs the FBI that he’ll only talk to Donnie. The Secret Service already had eyes on Donnie, as apparently Joseph, whose ISA affiliation is well known, had scoured the internet for information on him. Though Donnie has no idea who this man is, he heads into Evergreen to begin an impromptu negotiation with Joseph. As the ISA’s purpose becomes clearer, Donnie learns of a startling link between the lead terrorist and himself. He can only hope that negotiations end without anyone dying.
As in preceding installments of Taylor’s series, Donnie shares the spotlight with a motley cast. For example, Roe, an insufferable buffoon and homophobe, adds humor; when he’s not immediately certain the abduction is legit, he simply continues eating his lunch. Other characters are much more likable and often come with their own engrossing subplots. These include Ethan Gahli, an unlucky Secret Service agent kidnapped alongside Roe, as well as Donnie’s friend Eugene Pervoy, who has a potential windfall when POTUS seems keen on buying his ranch. Such an extensive cast helps the story maintain momentum, though it’s quite some time before the terrorists’ plot finally unfolds. Donnie is a well-developed protagonist whose hang-up on a lost love causes a rift in his current marriage. It’s also gratifying to see how Donnie handles himself when out of his element. Taylor excels at establishing scenes, particularly once the chaos starts: “In the large departure lounge, tables had been pushed together. Men, some in uniform, some in dress shirts, some wearing Homeland Security vests, sat around the table. Behind each were their aides, balancing laptop computers on their knees. Several phone conversations were going on at once.” The eventual reveal of Donnie and Joseph’s connection, though an effective turn, opens up a host of possible avenues that the narrative doesn’t fully explore. Nevertheless, other surprises crop up in the final act while the ending offers resolution across the board, accommodating each of the story’s myriad characters and subplots.
An energetic thriller with a memorable protagonist and superb characterization. (dedication, author's notes, acknowledgements, author bio)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63299-329-8
Page Count: 248
Publisher: River Grove Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”
Idyllic Catalina Island turns out to be just as crime infested as the rest of Los Angeles County in the latest series launch by the creator of Harry Bosch, Renée Ballard, and the Lincoln Lawyer.
Det. Sgt. Stilwell has been bounced off the county homicide squad and rusticized to Catalina, where the exclusive Black Marlin Club won’t admit even four-term Avalon Mayor Doug Allen to full membership and the most serious infraction seems to be the killing and cutting up of a buffalo, presumably by Henry Gaston, who operates Island Mystery Tours when he’s not threatening endangered species. All that changes with the discovery of a body sunk in the surrounding waters. The corpse, most recognizable by its streak of purple hair, is that of Leigh-Anne Moss, a Black Marlin server recently fired for fraternizing with members and guests she sees as potential sugar daddies. Stilwell is sufficiently invested in her murder to compete vigorously over jurisdiction with Rex Ahearn, the LA County homicide detective who kept his job when Stilwell lost his. Their rivalry, fueled by mutual contempt, is only the first hint that Stilwell will end up fighting his counterparts in law enforcement and local government at least as hard as he fights crooks like hit man Merris Spivak and Oscar “Baby Head” Terranova, Henry’s boss, who comes under sharper scrutiny when Henry disappears and ends up dead himself. Connelly handles his hero’s obligatory romance with assistant harbormaster Tash Dano and his increasingly wary alliance with assistant D.A. Monika Juarez with equal professionalism, and if the wrap-up leaves some loose ends dangling, well, that’s what franchises are for.
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780316588485
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
More like a con than a truly satisfying psychological mystery.
What should be a rare horror—a woman gone missing—becomes a pattern in Kubica's latest thriller.
One night, a young mother goes for a run. She never comes home. A few weeks later, the body of Meredith, another missing woman, is found with a self-inflicted knife wound; the only clue about the fate of her still-missing 6-year-old daughter, Delilah, is a note that reads, "You’ll never find her. Don’t even try." Eleven years later, a girl escapes from a basement where she’s been held captive and severely abused; she reports that she is Delilah. Kubica alternates between chapters in the present narrated by Delilah’s younger brother, Leo, now 15 and resentful of the hold Delilah’s disappearance and Meredith’s death have had on his father, and chapters from 11 years earlier, narrated by Meredith and her neighbor Kate. Meredith begins receiving texts that threaten to expose her and tear her life apart; she struggles to keep them, and her anxiety, from her family as she goes through the motions of teaching yoga and working as a doula. One client in particular worries her; Meredith fears her husband might be abusing her, and she's also unhappy with the way the woman’s obstetrician treats her. So this novel is both a mystery about what led to Meredith’s death and Delilah’s imprisonment and the story of what Delilah's return might mean to her family and all their well-meaning neighbors. Someone is not who they seem; someone has been keeping secrets for 11 long years. The chapters complement one another like a patchwork quilt, slowly revealing the rotten heart of a murderer amid a number of misdirections. The main problem: As it becomes clear whodunit, there’s no true groundwork laid for us to believe that this person would behave at all the way they do.
More like a con than a truly satisfying psychological mystery.Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-778-38944-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Park Row Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
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