by David Benson ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A
Several wealthy middle-aged Manhattanites—the baby boomers of the title—have been gruesomely murdered, and Detective Carina...
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Best Books Of 2012
Benson’s tightly plotted crime thriller is sure to please fans of police procedurals.
Several wealthy middle-aged Manhattanites—the baby boomers of the title—have been gruesomely murdered, and Detective Carina Quintana senses a connection. But how can she prove it? The killer, if he exists, varies his methods and targets and leaves no tangible evidence. Age and wealth are all that the victims have in common. Recently transferred from Miami after her partner was convicted of drug trafficking, Quintana struggles to adjust to New York City and deal with the aftermath of testifying against her former co-workers. Now partnered with the sarcastic Pete Simpson, Quintana attempts to catch the killer without creating panic among the city’s elites. Complications from her personal life—a Cayman bank account, an old lover and a connection from Miami—add to her troubles. Benson’s characters are well-drawn, and Quintana is a noteworthy heroine. The author handles her past and sexuality with a light hand, not overplaying the character. Instead, he keeps her guarded and subtle, without verging into clichéd stereotypes about damaged cops. While her decision-making is sometimes clouded, she is believable as a police officer. Secondary characters—the caffeine-addicted Simpson, a particularly droll FBI crime profiler, and New York City itself—are realistically portrayed, adding interest. Chapters narrated from the point of view of the killer contrast interestingly with Quintana’s chapters; comparison reveals both characters are relatively isolated and self-protective. The novel’s pacing is energetic and engaging, and the story flows almost too quickly. Happily, Benson’s epilogue suggests that Quintana may return in a future novel set in Miami Beach. A compelling police procedural with a contemporary setting and an intriguing heroine worthy of a series.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Susie Pi and Vincent Pi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 28, 2018
A simple ABC book whose vibrant photographs will grab kids’ attention.
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Debut authors Pi and Pi offer a debut picture-book alphabet of occupations, featuring photos of children playing dress-up.
Each of the 26 pages of this book features a photo, with illustrated details, of a child in the midst of a game of dress-up and imagination. The first shows a cheerful girl, costumed as a doctor, imagining, “What can I be today?” For “A,” a young artist paints on an easel; then, in a transition sentence, she decides to do ballet. The next page shows a ballerina who, when she gets hungry, visits a chef—and so on. Most transitions make sense, and the photos of children with occupation props, set against mostly white backgrounds, offer plenty of smiles. The simple sentences make this book easy to read aloud to its early childhood target audience. However, a few job titles may be a stretch for them to understand, such as “geologist,” “horticulturalist,” and “optician.” The jobs are varied and include artistic positions (illustrator, knitter, musician), service professions (firefighter, judge, librarian, soldier), and science jobs (engineer, X-ray technician). Surprisingly, the only sports-related position is an umpire, but a leading question at the end, about other jobs that one may discover, leaves room for young listeners to create their own.
A simple ABC book whose vibrant photographs will grab kids’ attention.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4808-5453-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Kate Lee Diehl illustrated by Kathryn Dimenichi John Powell ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2015
Poems and images that ask readers to appreciate a searching body for its beauty and grace.
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Diehl’s debut poetry collection showcases the arduous search for human connection and self-understanding.
In free verse poems that combine strong metaphors with prosaic passages, the poet wanders along a lifelong path of self-knowledge. She first describes it as a “pilgrimage…to accept what’s been deemed unworthy inside us,” and the trail leads to important insights. In a plainly stated yet necessary reminder, the author asserts that being human, despite the loneliness one may encounter, “is not a solitary pursuit.” Above all else, the book voices a desire for transparency in the self and in others. In “Clear Stream,” moving water illuminates objects within it, even as mystery waits at the bottom, and the water’s clarity corresponds to the speaker’s offering of his- or herself to view: “Here I am. // Come see me if you want.” Sometimes the tumble of words in these short stanzas suggests a pouring forth of injury: “It’s the show-stopping blow of loss upending a heart pain over pain till capacity for love regulates its beating.” Readers will understand a back story involving love and loss, difficulty in communication, sadness, and acceptance of children growing up. The poems gain strength from well-chosen accompanying images, including sketches and paintings by Dimenichi and colorful works by Jamaican-born painter Powell that enrich the verbal landscape. Several full-page images by each artist appear, suggesting a thematic connection or amplifying an emotion in a given poem. A richly textured, grand illustration of a tree by Dimenichi, for example, appears alongside a poem that celebrates the inspiration of such towering entities. A poem concerned with self-reflection joins a Powell painting of floating, twinned female forms. The figures seem to both depict and satisfy the speaker’s need to be seen, with their emphasis on mirror images, body doubles, and echoes of shapes. Even the windshield of a car can be a “two way mirror” behind which the driver is “invisible to life outside.” An explicitly female body is glimpsed in the sketches, and the warm, dreamlike compositions give it substance.
Poems and images that ask readers to appreciate a searching body for its beauty and grace.Pub Date: July 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-304-13091-4
Page Count: 58
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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