A cerebral, fast-paced thriller.
Fewston (co-author: Vanity of Vanities, 2011, etc.) delivers an atmospheric and evocative thriller in which an American government secret agent must navigate fluid allegiances and murky principles in 1970s Tehran.
Levi Fiske’s job is to “get a handle” on Iranian Farrokh Bakr. Bakr’s export business selling military weapons and priceless artifacts doesn’t raise much of an eyebrow, but the same can’t be said for his fiery writing directed against the shah. Unfortunately for Fiske, Bakr is slippery. Worse, the assignment comes with two lovely distractions—Leila and Dorri Bakr—Bakr’s glamorous daughters. Besotted by Leila and batting away at teenager Dorri’s unexpected, if not entirely unwelcome, advances, Fiske becomes a little too invested in the Bakr family’s fortunes. This is an uncomfortable turn of events for a hero who is as enigmatic and tortured as Fiske. Haunted by his past in Vietnam, where he had another persona as John Lockwood, the secret agent blames himself for a fellow soldier’s death in the Mekong Delta, and his survivor’s guilt looms large as he once again negotiates life and death under different circumstances. Equally problematic is the terrain: “This is the Middle East,” Fiske’s CIA mentor reminds him, “If you cannot comprehend that when someone says up they mean down, or they direct you left when you’re supposed to go right, you are already lost.” Quite. The question then becomes whether Fiske will find terra firma when he eventually stands on his own. Even if key plot details are sometimes cloaked under too many layers of subterfuge, the reader becomes invested in Fiske’s survival. The evocative prose, narrated in the first person by Fiske, animates Tehran and the countryside. Regarding the Shahyad Aryamehr Monument, he says: “The Iranian monument loomed above us as we emerged, as if from a short intense dream, from the heated snugness of the vibrant taxi and out into the cold air.” The novel is bookended by a few engaging short stories.
A cerebral, fast-paced thriller.Pub Date: March 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61296-500-0
Page Count: 284
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
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