An exhilarating third installment of a consistently unpredictable and entertaining thriller series.
A seemingly rudimentary business deal in Ukraine turns into a fight for survival for a New Orleans attorney in this novel.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Jonathan Brooks’ law firm is all but destroyed, and his two partners are “nowhere to be found.” But he has at least one remaining client, Cramer Banks, who has a job offer for Jonathan. It’s a software-related deal in Kyiv, Ukraine; as Jonathan doesn’t know the tech, Cramer also sends his chief technology officer, Kevin Wyatt. Surprisingly, Kevin is a no-show at the meeting in Kyiv. Jonathan soon finds evidence that Kevin made it to the airport, where someone likely kidnapped him. Accordingly, Cramer asks the lawyer to track down his esteemed CTO (and keeps Jonathan on the payroll). The reason for Kevin’s abduction isn’t initially evident, but it may be his past association with a government agency. Luckily, Jonathan has help, including someone from the Romanian Embassy. But his search for Kevin ultimately puts him in the cross hairs of menacing individuals. Meanwhile, Jonathan’s beloved ex-wife, Linda Fabre, on a journalism assignment in North Korea, is in potential danger as well, and he believes those targeting him will take her for leverage. In this third volume of a series, Frieden’s (The Serpent’s Game, 2013, etc.) protagonist remains a fresh, convincing character. For example, his involvement in international espionage is believable, and his enduring love for Linda is admirable, even if she doesn’t reciprocate. The plot sometimes feels convoluted, as Jonathan tries to identify villains and motivations (though readers learn a bit more information than the attorney). But it precipitates a few memorable set pieces, particularly Jonathan and his allies in the abandoned town of Pripyat, site of the Chernobyl disaster. The author aptly describes Pripyat’s desolation, from an empty bus-stop bench to “uncut yellow-green fields.” The often intense story is rife with characters in captivity, shocking deaths, and an ending that’s sure to linger in readers’ minds.
An exhilarating third installment of a consistently unpredictable and entertaining thriller series.Pub Date: March 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9747934-8-1
Page Count: 468
Publisher: Avendia Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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