A fascinating, fast-moving crime story that explores the dangerous power of hate.
A timely thriller set in the world of far-right religious fanaticism.
In this installment of the Peter O’Keefe series, the private detective finds himself on a perilous mission to infiltrate an extremist group called The New Ark. (“They call the period we’re in now the ‘Tribulation,’ prelude to the Apocalypse and the Final Armageddon Battle, which are imminent—if not tomorrow then the day after tomorrow.”) It all starts when media mogul Richard Maxwell and his family become threatened by the group. The New Ark, bound by an ideology that upholds the “few real and true Christians” as the chosen people for the inevitable End Times, target Richard for being part of a vast conspiracy that they believe controls the media. Initially hired to provide personal protection for Richard, Peter quickly finds his assignment expanded to a full-blown undercover mission in which the detective and his partner, Sara Slade, pose as a married couple who humbly want to join The New Ark movement. Once accepted into the fold, Peter endeavors to find out all he can about the group’s broader plans, while Sara’s computer skills bring her into regular contact with David, aka The Prophet, The New Ark’s enigmatic and magnetic leader. The two uncover a plot to foment a violent revolution and must race against the clock to stop it without being discovered as traitors. Though the story takes place in 1989, it wouldn’t take much to place this smartly assembled procedural believably in the present. The narrative moves along at a steadily increasing pace, capturing in equal measure the deluded ravings of a self-appointed savior, the rising tensions inside the compound, and the web of law enforcement operatives navigating a complex matrix to prevent a deadly outcome. Out of his element, Peter shows uncertainty that contrasts with Sara’s confidence, creating a compelling dynamic between the capable allies as they become more deeply bonded by a situation that could cost them their lives.
A fascinating, fast-moving crime story that explores the dangerous power of hate.Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9798991232531
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Arjuna Books
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.
Dead bodies turn up in the first sentence of the prologue in McFadden’s latest domestic thriller.
The mystery of who died is at the pulsating heart of this propulsive tale. As Chapter 1 begins, Naomi arrives home to find the locks changed on the front door of the gorgeous home she shares with her husband, Jeremy, and their 5-year-old son, Teddy. Jeremy steps out the front door and convinces Naomi to move out while he has their home renovated, a plan Naomi knows nothing about. It’s all a ruse, though, as the next day Jeremy tells her he wants a divorce. Naomi is shellshocked and soon discovers that Jeremy is having an affair with Veronica, a beautiful younger woman. What seems at first like a stereotypical story about a man who leaves his wife turns into something else when Naomi decides she’ll do anything to get Veronica away from Jeremy and Teddy, and Veronica decides to fight for what she thinks she deserves. Fans of stalker novels will cringe with delight as creepy things start to happen. Teddy’s stuffed elephant, a gift from Veronica, is found impaled on a kitchen knife; Naomi suspects Jeremy is gaslighting her and that Veronica tried to poison her. A weird confrontation among Jeremy, Veronica, and Naomi at Teddy’s birthday party, to which Naomi shows up uninvited, is priceless. There are three main characters, and any or all of them may be unreliable narrators. Packing the plot with dark, gasp-inducing twists, McFadden outdoes herself in a story about how highly emotional people engage in risky behavior to get what they want—but in this novel, for better or worse, not everyone will survive.
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249631
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK TO SCREEN
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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