A knockout that’s just what the doctor ordered for thriller enthusiasts.
In this novel, a medical resident is determined to go the distance to get the truth about a physician she suspects of consciously doing harm.
“What brings you to Titus McCall?” trauma surgeon Dr. Samuel Donovan asks new resident Liza Larkin. He does not suspect that it is he who brought her to the Massachusetts medical center. Months before, she spotted a stranger lurking in the background of photographs taken at the funeral of her father, who died of a heart attack. He popped up again in a previous photo taken when her father, who was near fatally shot at a political rally a few years ago, received an award for his legal service to Boston residents in need. When Larkin shows her institutionalized schizophrenic mother the photos to see if she recognizes the mystery man, she becomes extremely agitated. Descending into a Joan of Arc persona, she screams to Larkin: “He’ll burn me at the stake.” The resourceful Larkin is able to utilize online tools to identify him and at the deadline switches her residency preference from Massachusetts General in Boston to Titus McCall.Is Donovan a stalker or perhaps something more dangerous? Larkin herself has a schizoid personality. She has trouble in social situations and little desire to form relationships. It’s psychopath versus psychopath in a battle of wills and wits that Larkin compares to a boxing match (hence the witty, punning title). Physician-turned-author Rubin knows her way around a hospital and a literary thriller, setting up a bout that unfolds with scalpel-like precision, featuring seemingly mismatched opponents and escalating stakes (along with a high body count). The novel is not quite a whodunit; Donovan is clearly the perpetrator. It’s more of a whydunit; what drives him. Larkin is a sympathetic protagonist who struggles to control her anti-social personality disorder. Readers may wonder if a woman with this condition is the most reliable of narrators. But Larkin is exceedingly clever, setting in motion a “Rube Goldberg machine” that she hopes will lead to Donovan’s downfall.
A knockout that’s just what the doctor ordered for thriller enthusiasts.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-958160-00-8
Page Count: 290
Publisher: Indigo Dot Press
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2022
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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