A solidly suspenseful novel by an anti–death penalty activist that—despite some surprising detours—reads like a novel by an...
An acclaimed professor, memoirist, and activist delivers a debut novel that’s a page-turner with a message.
Rafael Zhettah doesn’t want or need much out of life. He likes to cook at his restaurant, he likes to be alone, and not a single part of him expected to marry a billionaire and then be sent to death row for killing her, a murder he didn’t commit. Dow (Law/University of Houston Law Center and History/Rice University; Things I've Learned from Dying, 2014, etc.) is the author of two memoirs detailing his experiences with the Texas Innocence Network, devoted to helping death row inmates with their appeals. His criminal justice work is a clear influence on this novel, and his passion bleeds through on every page. The claustrophobic nature of prisons, the routine cruelty, the anonymous suffering, the decrepit conditions—they all come through in straightforward, well-written prose. “Men do not go crazy from being locked in a cage. They do not go crazy from the outside pushing in. They crack from the inside pushing out. When you take away hope, madness fills its place, and madness is loud.” Dow knows his stuff. Authenticity is this novel’s strongest element, but the message can sometimes drown out the drama. Narrated by Zhettah in a quick, direct style, the novel feels like two books in one. The first half is about Zhettah’s time on death row. The second features his intricate and intriguing plan for revenge—two judges, a missile silo, two planes, a parachute, some light computer hacking, and lots of MREs feature in his plotting. In this novel, justice is not just blind, it’s hamstrung, but the reader knows from the start that the scales will be balanced by the end.
A solidly suspenseful novel by an anti–death penalty activist that—despite some surprising detours—reads like a novel by an anti–death penalty activist.Pub Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-4388-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While there’s little new ground broken, the missing child scenario, when done reasonably well, as it is here, is a reliable...
The search for a missing boy is seen through the split perspective of his frantic mother and the police detective determined to solve the case, despite its deleterious effect on his psychological health.
Newly divorced photographer mum Rachel Jenner thought she was giving her 8-year-old son, Ben Finch, a bit of freedom when she let him run ahead during a walk in a Bristol park. But when Ben vanishes, Rachel immediately blames herself, and the media is quick to paint her as a neglectful parent, too. Macmillan, in her debut, leans a bit hard on the “bad mother” trope, one that’s been well-trodden in recent fiction, but she creates a compellingly complex investigator in DI Jim Clemo. The narrative is split not only between Rachel's and Clemo’s perspectives, but also Clemo’s post-investigation sessions with a department-ordered shrink, indicating that however the Finch investigation turned out, it wasn’t pretty. As Rachel waits and frets at home, often in the company of her high-achieving older sister, Nicky, who clearly knows more than she lets on, Clemo and his fellow officers, including his secret girlfriend, DC Emma Zhang, whom he perhaps unwisely recommended as Family Liaison Officer for the case, try to piece together a case from a dearth of physical evidence. The requisite family secrets come to light, though Macmillan gets credit for some truly clever red herrings.
While there’s little new ground broken, the missing child scenario, when done reasonably well, as it is here, is a reliable hook, and with Macmillan’s taut pacing, this is an engaging debut.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-241386-4
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Solid, satisfying thriller from the prolific Brown (Ricochet, 2006 etc.).
Fallen gridiron great, fresh out of prison, reluctantly agrees to impregnate the wife of a disabled millionaire.
After doing five years for throwing a game to settle a gambling debt with a crime syndicate, former Dallas Cowboy Griff Burkett knows his employment options are limited. A social pariah, the one-time hero quarterback is despised by the very public that once worshipped him. Still, he understandably balks when wheelchair-bound airline mogul Foster Speakman taps the ex-con for a most indecent proposal: knock-up his wife Laura; keep the baby’s real paternity a secret; walk away with millions. The gig sounds too good to be true, and the fact that Speakman insists on a “natural” conception rather than artificial means that something is not quite right. For his part, Griff does need the money, and Mrs. Speakman, while not exactly his usual type, is certainly easy on the eyes. The two have several meetings, and devoted wife Laura immediately finds herself torn with guilt over the infidelity, but also stirred by the feelings hunky Griff brings out in her. Meanwhile, Griff is being tailed by Detective Rodarte, a twisted cop who will stop at nothing (rape, murder) to see Griff back in jail or dead. After an especially passionate interlude with Griff, Laura conceives, but her joy is short-lived as her husband meets a sudden grisly end, with Griff implicated in his death. Griff is then forced to go on the run to find a witness to clear his name—before Rodarte does. He abducts the only slightly unwilling Laura to aid him in his plan, and is amazed when he realizes that staying off death row doesn’t seem to matter as much as protecting her and their unborn child. He’s a changed man, and Griff and Laura’s psychologically complex grown-up relationship is a pleasant surprise that sets the stage for the bloody finish.
Solid, satisfying thriller from the prolific Brown (Ricochet, 2006 etc.).Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7432-8935-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007
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