Under the pretense of writing his dissertation, fearless graduate student Ian Lawrence finds himself at the center of Germany’s most savage organized crime syndicate in Devore’s debut thriller.
Lawrence, a Kansas native who once spent his time chasing after tornados, is fighting to help Germany eradicate mafias and senseless criminal brutalities with the help of legendary activist group the White Rose. On the other side of the world, his older, tax-accountant brother, James, reminisces on their childhood together. Though they have grown distant since the tragic death of their 10-year-old sister, James immediately hops a red eye to Germany upon hearing of his brother’s disappearance. Oblivious to the mess Ian has created, James barely survives the gun-slinging mobster Vlastos, who mistakes him for his brother. Instead of creating generic characters that fulfill traditional mafia roles, Devore gives each character a unique personality. A far cry from dim-witted mafia figures, Vlastos has a cold-blooded intelligence that drives his every action and comes to life with timely Shakespearean dialogues such as, “Not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more.” Despite the pure evil inherent in his character, part of the reader will undoubtedly distinguish the potential for good. On the other hand, the do-good Lawrence brothers, in their quest to dismantle organized crime, are on the cusp of engaging in criminal activities. The paradox of good and bad in all of Devore’s characters will be endearing to readers; humans are a flawed species. Moreover, the narrative boasts a distinctly cinematic impression: two daredevil brothers rekindling their relationship as they infiltrate the depths of organized crime in a foreign country. From chaos in a casino to James’ crafty escape as he stares down the barrel of a rifle, every scene is made memorable by chilling descriptions and dialogue. As the Lawrence brothers are relentlessly hunted, they shatter the barrier of morality and do what they must to survive and bring about sweeping change. An enticing plotline, lifelike characters, high octane prose and penetrating visualizations combine to create a compelling, hair-raising story that may not be as far from reality as readers may think.
Pub Date: April 15, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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