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
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.
What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism.
When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780385550543
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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