A sound mystery fronted by an immensely likable detective primed for a sequel.
A retired Massachusetts cop-turned-private eye aids police in tracking down a killer intent on taking out greedy, specifically targeted corporate executives in this debut thriller.
The Valentine’s Day murder of Amalgamated Worldwide Enterprises’ CFO Sam Johnston is shocking by itself. But Johnston’s boss is AWE Chairman and CEO Bradford Baxton III, the notorious “king of downsizing,” whose purchase and systematic decimation of companies have left thousands unemployed. Baxton’s tie to the murder is undisputed later when a message from the killer, in the style of a press release, says AWE will be experiencing its own downsizing and lists future terminations, including the CEO. After the culprit follows through on at least one of those executions, Baxton seeks help from former cop Bill Coine, whom the company’s chief of security recommended. Coine’s enjoying retirement with his wife, Jeanie, but reluctantly takes the case—though first he has to file for a private investigator license. Countless people whose lives Baxton ruined have motives, but Coine quickly zeros in on public relations officer Lt. Kimberly Hale. Her father’s suicide years ago was likely the result of an AWE acquisition. Evidence against Kimberly, however, is circumstantial, and cops hunt for something more concrete. Baxton, meanwhile, lives up to the sour reputation he’s gradually earned. He’s undoubtedly worried about Johnston’s computer, making a motion for authorities to return it and claiming he doesn’t know the password for accessing it. Whether or not he’s hiding something sinister may come out at someone’s criminal trial, with cops hoping to put a murderer behind bars. Hanrahan’s novel is dense with characters, all of which the author skillfully manages. Individuals are progressively introduced, for example, and not all at once, while many, like First Assistant District Attorney and Chief of Homicide Sandra Jones, ease into the plot among a handful of already established characters. Likewise, Kimberly’s perspective puts an early spotlight on her, and though she’s the most viable suspect, it’s not abundantly clear that she’s guilty of the murders. This makes for an intriguing contrast to the characters’ unusually candid dialogue. Most say what they’re thinking, as in Baxton discussing Coine’s potential employment: “But let’s be blunt. I want to stay alive. That’s the real reason I’m willing to give you this retainer and an unlimited expense account.” Mystery, in spite of this, remains, with the killer’s identity in question and uncertainty surrounding Johnston’s “special projects,” presumably somewhere on his computer. Unfortunately, some of the dialogue is repetitive, especially different characters referring to Kimberly in similar colloquial terms: “gal,” “lady,” or “little miss blue eyes.” But Coine is an exceptional protagonist, joining the story as an outsider: he’s sleeping in while everyone else has been engaged in the narrative’s action. Conversations between Coine and Jeanie are diverting, especially when she initially urges her husband not to get involved with Johnston’s murder. It’s therefore disappointing when Jeanie drops out of the story, and even Coine is scarce during the final act (though it’s reasonable that his part in a trial would be minute).
A sound mystery fronted by an immensely likable detective primed for a sequel.Pub Date: March 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5410-0469-6
Page Count: 436
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
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
BOOK REVIEW
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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