A violent and well-told tale of corruption.
In Manolakas’ third legal thriller in a series, a Russian mob boss and property developer tries to threaten and murder his way into owning a historic part of Los Angeles.
Corporate lawyer George Rand has a successful career, a family, and an estate in LA’s Hancock Park neighborhood. However, he’s also a secret gambler and has convinced his friends, family members, and clients to allow him to control their finances. Unfortunately for him, one of his clients is Jaska Yermakov, a major player in the Russian mob who wants his money—and Rand doesn’t have it. Yermakov is a property developer who’s muscled his way into convincing LA politicians and a judge to decide an eminent domain case in his favor. He wants to take over Brentwood Glen, a valuable parcel of land, and the residents are suing the city in a class action, represented by Sophia Christopoulos, a successful lawyer “dedicated to helping…the hurt and the helpless.” The judge rules for the city, and then he promptly commits suicide. Enter Mary Keefe, a law clerk at the appellate court. She’s miserable after a decade of “ghostwriting for political appointees,” so she jumps at the chance when Sophia hires herto work on the appeal. Meanwhile, Yermakov threatens Rand and makes clear that the lawyer must become a judge—one who always decides cases in the mobster’s favor. As the stakes rise, Mary finds herself fleeing the wrath of a ruthless killer. Manolakas’ thriller is part of a series that focuses on Sophia’s lawyering adventures, but this complex novel also pays close attention to a variety of other principal characters, which keeps the action moving quickly. The mob-related crimes are chilling, but just as compelling are the legal issues at hand as the eminent domain fight plays out. Aside from Yermakov, who’s a rather standard-issue villain, the characterizations are three-dimensional, and the legal and political issues are similarly complex. In Manolakas’ LA, every judicial decision is the result of a cynical personal or political maneuver, which makes the heroes work harder to achieve something like justice.
A violent and well-told tale of corruption.Pub Date: Dec. 22, 2021
ISBN: 9781628050295
Page Count: 300
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Nail-biting and pressure-packed.
Jack Ryan Jr. and company race to stop a killer wave in this Tom Clancy thriller.
The ship Meridian Star departs eastern Russia unknowingly carrying a pair of containers with radioactive cesium chloride. The vessel is hijacked and scuttled in Micronesia near the Mariana Trench, and the crew is murdered. A huge insurance claim results, and Jack, an accomplished deep-sea diver who works for Hendley Associates, is there to investigate. The hostile Chinese learn it’s there and want that illicit cargo. Meanwhile, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center discovers a huge, mysterious object in 600 feet of water. At that depth, the pressure is unsurvivable without complex special equipment, which is vintage Tom Clancy. Whatever the strange object is, it’s “not a ship…not a submarine…not an aircraft.” On the side is a faded hammer and sickle and Cyrillic letters that spell Siren. Ryan teams up with Navy divers, and they look for a way to safely enter and explore the object. They discover that the underwater contraption has thermonuclear warheads attached, left and long forgotten by the USSR. If the warheads explode, they could still achieve their apparent purpose—to trigger a tsunami and destroy Guam, which is strategically important to the U.S. The Chinese know it too, and the race is on to take control. The result is plenty of high-stakes undersea action, where death can come from a bullet, a knife, or a sliced air hose. But there’s action on land, too. Navy master diver Carla Bennett and Jack take on a surprise assault in a hotel where Carla shows off stellar fighting skills—better than Jack’s. These two aren’t the only heroes here, as there’s a well-balanced cast of characters, all brave and likable. And of course—of course—where there’s a bomb, there’s a ticking clock.
Nail-biting and pressure-packed.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798217183166
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
