Imagine David Lynch’s bizarre masterpiece Blue Velvet scripted by Edna Buchanan and Carl Hiaasen. It’s a blast.
The brainy young author of three critically praised historical mysteries (including the Edgar-winning A Conspiracy of Paper, 2000) moves on to a murderously funny thriller set in contemporary Florida.
Recent high-school grad Lemuel Altick, who narrates, is selling encyclopedias door-to-door to finance his future college education—unfortunately, in a rundown trailer park where he pitches his goods to down-at-heels couple Karen and “Bastard.” Enter the eponymous assassin, who blows the pair away, then cheerfully informs the nearly catatonic “Lem” that their deaths were necessary. Then things get weird, as Liss weaves together multiple plot strands. The primary one involves homicidal redneck police chief Jim Doe, who’s also mayor of the “municipality” the trailer park has been legally declared—making it a lucrative speed trap that helps fund Doe’s secret Cayman Islands bank account. But that’s only the tip of a malodorous iceberg that also includes the crooked encyclopedia operation, a hog farm where animals are brutally mistreated and the “waste lagoon” containing their by-products, which doubles as a dumping lot for the rising body count. Handling his dippy plot with ease, Liss simultaneously keeps the wisecracks coming. Lem is tutored in the possibilities of sex, the ethics of animal rights activism as explained by the imperturbably genial assassin (self-identified as Melford Kean) and the collusive misdeeds of “The Gambler” (yes, his name is Kenny Rogers). Among those we meet are hog-farm heir William “B.B.” Gunn (whose creepy compulsion to “mentor” preadolescent boys actually isn’t sexually oriented) and lissome moll Desiree, a Siamese twin separated from her late sister Aphrodite (whose channeled “advice” keeps Desiree somewhere in the vicinity of the straight and narrow). It all ends, to nobody’s surprise, at the waste lagoon.
Imagine David Lynch’s bizarre masterpiece Blue Velvet scripted by Edna Buchanan and Carl Hiaasen. It’s a blast.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-4000-6421-X
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2005
Blingy, swingy fun plus a well-crafted, socially conscious suspense plot: Anchors aweigh!
Gal pals invited on a luxury cruise face rigid supervision, surveillance cameras, drugged drinks, and worse at the hands of a controlling, gold-digging birthday beeyotch.
Aspiring Hollywood actress/cocktail waitress Belle is among the gaggle of friends invited on a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate the birthday of their ultraglamorous pal Summer—all expenses paid by her new boyfriend, John (“not a day over sixty-three to her twenty-six”). But as soon as they start the trip on John’s private jet in Los Angeles, the girls learn that his generosity comes with many extremely irritating strings attached. Belle and Summer’s friendship goes back to high school, but Summer’s self-centered, freeloading, man-eating ways have been a problem all along. Now, it seems, the two are barely on speaking terms—yet, for some reason, Belle grits her teeth and gets onboard with a group that includes Summer’s trashy mother, loudmouth sister, Brittani, Brittani’s sexpot bff, Amythest [sic], and a couple of other thought leaders of the professional eye-candy set. The daily schedule on the ship is rigid and boring, and it is enforced by a pair of scary goons who make the girls go to spin class and lock them in their rooms at night. On top of everything else, there’s no Wi-Fi. Talk about a supposedly fun thing they’ll never do again! As Belle eavesdrops on John’s conversations with various dinner guests, she begins to get a sense of just how dirty his money may be. Meanwhile, a series of flashbacks investigate the fate of a dead ex-boyfriend of Summer’s who could not possibly have committed suicide because she dumped him. St. John’s sizzling debut sparkles with yacht and fashion porn, and smart, decent Belle is easy to root for as the panic reaches its peak.
Blingy, swingy fun plus a well-crafted, socially conscious suspense plot: Anchors aweigh!Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5387-3363-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A well-written and well-researched page-turner.
An elite American soldier who is out for vengeance uncovers a menacing terrorist plot.
Retired U.S. Army captain and combat veteran Parnell (Man of War, 2018) delivers the second installment of the adventures of special operative Eric Steele. On the mend from a showdown with a rogue agent, Steele is preparing for a quiet dinner at home with his mother. The wine is quickly forgotten and the steaks start burning when Russian assailants bring the war to his doorstep. Using RPGs, C-4 explosives, and a SAW machine gun, the Russians are after a mysterious package sent from someone deeply connected to Steele’s past. Steele narrowly escapes the attack with his life, but his mother ends up in intensive care. Shoulders heavy with guilt, Steele must use his connections and skills as an Alpha—an elite operator who answers only to the president—to find those responsible for the attack. Pumped up with prescription steroids and with his “keeper” and close friend, Demo, at his side, he takes off for Europe to follow the only clue offered by a former president, who cryptically refers to some off-the-books operation called Cold Storage. The mission becomes increasingly complex, dangerous, and engaging once Steele learns that the attack on his home is tied to assassination plans for some of the world’s most prominent leaders.
A well-written and well-researched page-turner.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-266881-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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