A well-paced and timely novel.
An international political thriller that successfully weaves together multiple storylines.
After leaving her position as a former special assistant to the White House chief of staff, Maggie Raster hopes to use her political experience as a consultant—a career that’s more in line with her deep ambitions. Then a celebratory night out ends in a sexual assault, and Maggie finds herself navigating an unexpected trauma. After an attempt to promote her new consulting career during a TV interview goes awry, she finds herself the focus of cable-news reports. Debut novelist Schorr deftly juggles multiple plotlines while anchoring the work in a fictional country known as the Kingdom, led by an ambitious crown prince who claims to be a progressive reformer. An acclaimed American journalist is murdered in the country, with all indications pointing to the prince’s involvement. The thinly veiled portrait of the real-life murder of Jamal Khashoggi may turn off some readers, but Schorr works hard to provide realistic stakes, and his depictions of social media and the cable news cycle add strong verisimilitude. The plot hinges on a controversial $20 million poker tournament that the crown prince is hosting in the hope of establishing international goodwill. The main character of the poker-related sections is former World Series of Poker champion Kyler Dawson, who, in spite of his success at the poker table, is mired in debt and divorce; in the tournament, he’s at odds with player Priya Varma, a courageous, beloved activist. Eventually, Kyler seeks out Maggie, seeing her as the only person with the skill to protect his reputation. Meanwhile, Maggie continues to handle the fallout of her assault. Much of the narrative centers on Kyler’s poker exploits, including lengthy flashbacks that will seem overlong for those not well versed in the game. Also, Kyler’s self-destructive tendencies aren’t contrasted with a deeper interiority; even when readers may wish to root for him, Kyler falls into self-pity. Nevertheless, the high stakes of a potential standoff between the United States and the Kingdom provide electrifying energy as the novel reaches its climax.
A well-paced and timely novel.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68-463107-0
Page Count: 344
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: July 22, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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