Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT

Next book

SINGULARITY

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT

This third mystery novel in a series continues the temporal and spiritual investigations of Detective Inspector Cecilia Cavaliere in Exeter, England.
In Siding Star (2012) and Peacekeeper (2013), Exeter-based DI Cecilia Cavaliere (her parents are Italian) looked into mysteries with supernatural elements, often receiving help from religious figures including Anglican priest Michael Aarons. Now married, Cecilia and Michael have a 3-year-old daughter, a dog and two cats, all comfortably ensconced in a sprawling Victorian rectory. In this third outing, Cecilia is called on to temporarily serve as detective chief inspector while police headquarters are being built for the huge, new United Nations Institute for Technological Experimentation and Development in Edgestow. (Similarities with C.S. Lewis and That Hideous Strength are intentional and acknowledged.) Though somewhat reluctant—the place gives her bad vibes, and she’ll be away for most of three months—Cecilia agrees. When the deaths of some illegal immigrants seem linked to U.N.I.T.E.D., Cecilia and DS Verity Jones head to ask questions at the enormous, heavily guarded steel-and-glass tower. They soon find themselves forced into playing a conscienceless egomaniac’s very dangerous and real computer game based on historical events in Cecilia’s family. As in his earlier volumes, Bryan (Listening to the Bible: The Art of Faithful Biblical Interpretation, 2013, etc.) confronts evil with good in an intelligent, satisfying way, even though the dice are somewhat loaded: For example, the supersmart villains haven’t considered GPS tracking; Cecilia has the advantage of historical knowledge in making her game choices; and supernatural in-game help arrives in the form of Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld, a Jesuit who died in 1635. As with his earlier work, Bryan offers a thoughtful view of faith in daily practice. Worrying about Cecilia, Michael realizes he must instead focus on his duties and commend her to God: “And wasn’t that, after all, the point of all the tough Ignatian spirituality that his guides…had been endeavoring to teach him over the years?” Indeed, tough spirituality is a hallmark of Bryan’s work.
Somewhat slight compared with earlier entries in the series, but another well-written, enjoyable mystery.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: The Diamond Press

Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2014

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 143


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller

Next book

DEVOLUTION

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 143


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller

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

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 385


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller


  • IndieBound Bestseller

Next book

IT ENDS WITH US

Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 385


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller


  • IndieBound Bestseller

Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.

At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.

Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.

Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016

Close Quickview