A gripping and well-crafted tale of prisoners and guards.
In this graphic novel, a group of prison guards attempts a heist against the backdrop of the March on Washington.
Baltimore’s Jessup Penitentiary, 1963. A former prison guard finds himself an inmate, and he has a story to tell. Kendrick Robinson was part of a family of prison guards, including his uncle Marcus and his cousin Francis—called Freckles for his light complexion. When one of their fellow guards is injured, Francis suggests they attempt to steal the score of mouthy former hit man Sid Scisiani, who is about to get paroled. Kendrick warms to the idea after learning he’s been drafted for the Vietnam War—he needs the cash to flee to Canada or buy a new identity. When Sid gets out, Kendrick and Francis follow him to his homecoming job—and learn that his first mission back is to assassinate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Now Kendrick and his comrades need to plan a heist and save the celebrated civil rights leader at the same time. Meanwhile, back at the prison, a group of prisoners has escaped, including one White supremacist who would like nothing more than to settle a score with his Black prison guards. With the help of artists Oliveira and Dunbar—whose work evokes the bleak superhero comics of the 1980s—Walker spins a cinematic story that propels readers from panel to panel. “People in prison love to talk,” begins Kendrick in a nonchalant opening monologue right out of a Martin Scorsese movie. The words drift incongruously over scenes of inmates fighting and rioting: “There’s nothing more popular...given the other options....Just ask for an opinion...and cons will come running.” The book blends issues of race, civil rights, and prison reform in a way that is cogent while still providing an entertaining, guns-blazing crime story. The tale questions what sorts of behavior count as ethical while driving at a larger, societal morality embodied by the words of the very man whose assassination Kendrick is trying to prevent. Despite the darkness, the story manages to find its way to an ending of hopefulness—though not quite in the way readers will expect.
A gripping and well-crafted tale of prisoners and guards.Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-71914-473-5
Page Count: 153
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.
A widowed and disgraced plastic surgeon is drawn into a Russian oligarch’s evil schemes.
Witherspoon’s adult fiction debut, co-authored with thrillermeister Coben, opens as heart surgery performed by Dr. Marc Adams in a North African refugee camp is interrupted by the explosive invasion of armed militants. It's the last we will see of Marc in this dimension. The next chapter jumps ahead one year to a ceremony at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where his widow, Maggie McCabe, is supposed to be presenting an award in honor of her mother. Miserable and anxious about appearing in public after having lost her medical license, she consults with her late husband on her phone—not via supernatural means, but using a "griefbot," an amazingly lifelike and functional AI app created by her genius sister, Sharon. Once the griefbot coaxes her to brave the sneering masses, she learns she’s been replaced on the podium anyway. But she runs into a former professor, a celebrity plastic surgeon, who requests a meeting with her at his office in New York and won’t take no for an answer. Next thing she knows, there’s $10 million in her bank account and she’s on a private plane heading to a palace outside Moscow where she’s been engaged to perform off-the-record surgery on billionaire Oleg Ragoravich (new face) and his girlfriend, Nadia (new boobs). And…we’re off. A whirl of surgeries, chases, and escapes ensues as Maggie gradually comes to understand who these people are and what they have in mind for her, and how it connects to Marc and their missing friend and business partner, Trace Packer. She is aided by her delightful father-in-law, Porkchop, owner of a biker bar in New York City and a very handy guy to have on your team if you've run afoul of an international criminal organization. From the palace in Rublevka the action moves to Dubai and then Bordeaux, climaxing in a high-stakes illegal heart transplant. But wait—is Marc really dead? What happened to Trace? Who is Nadia really? Though these smoldering questions don’t quite catch fire, it's a good first try for Witherspoon.
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781538774700
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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