Filled with beach material but written with the excitement and flair of an economics text.
In a lifeless thriller from the pseudonymous Diamond (The Babysitter, 2001, etc.), two rich sisters fall for an Irish movie star who just might be trying to kill one or both of them.
Jennifer and Catherine would seem to have it all: ownership of one of the world’s most powerful communications companies, a devoted and brilliant executive, Peter, to run everything for them, and a dead father who can’t get in their way. But even the rich and powerful have trouble connecting with people, it seems, and that’s partly why there’s such venomous hatred between the sisters. Jennifer is the mousy one who handles all the boring tech-y details; Catherine is the dazzling beauty who hobnobs with Hollywood types and presents a TV-friendly front for the world. Wouldn’t you know it’s Jennifer who gets swept off her feet by the famous and roguishly charming actor Padraig, whom she marries in record speed? Of course, such a seductive package has its price, and even though Jennifer is thoroughly enjoying all the international romantic romping, Catherine and Peter can’t help but wonder if anything’s amiss after the car Jennifer is driving takes an almost deadly plunge off a road in Italy. Padraig, who is trying to secure funding for his own production company and whose star seems to be on the wane, is their favorite suspect. Blinded by her hormones, Jennifer suspects not a thing, and even though Catherine thinks Padraig’s a killer, it doesn’t prevent her from bedding him behind Jennifer’s back. If all this sounds juicy, flashy, and fun, be assured, it’s not. Diamond has a way of leaching even the most pregnant setup of drama by means of monotonous writing and artless composition. Stale and forced, the whole affair evokes the 1980s and second-rate Danielle Steel.
Filled with beach material but written with the excitement and flair of an economics text.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-312-29165-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Mystery, danger, and sexual tension abound in an action-packed thriller that breaks plenty of heads but no new ground.
Sparks fly as a woman with extraordinary abilities fights her attraction to a dangerous freelance consultant.
Dr. Kendra Michaels has worked with former FBI Agent Adam Lynch before (Double Blind, 2018), but she’s furious with him for getting her tossed out of Afghanistan after she sustained a minor wound while trying to root out corruption. Kendra, who was blind until an experimental operation restored her sight at 20, has highly developed senses of smell, hearing, and spatial awareness that she’s used to help the FBI and CIA in many difficult cases. Now, as she returns to the U.S., they have another one she can’t resist investigating. Elaine Wessler and Ronald Kim, both staff members at her old school, the Woodward Academy for the Physically Disabled in Oceanside, California, have been found murdered for no apparent reason, and FBI Special Agent Michael Griffin is anxious to use her skills and inside knowledge. Elaine had been fostering an unusual guide dog, Harley, who's had problems adjusting since the child he was working with was killed in a gas-main explosion. Now that Elaine is gone, his unearthly howls are upsetting the students. Kendra talks her best friend, Olivia, who’s blind, into sharing custody of Harley until they can find him the right home. Meanwhile, she turns up clues the FBI team missed and is rewarded for her efforts with a bomb planted in her car. It turns out to be fake, but it’s still a potent warning to walk away. Returning from Afghanistan to help Kendra, Lynch finds her still angry with him and intent on resisting his charms. Her friend Jessie Mercado, a private eye, turns up to help extricate her from a dangerous situation and sticks around to join the hunt for the killers. It will take all of them, including Harley, to solve the violent, complex case and get the school Kendra loves back on track.
Mystery, danger, and sexual tension abound in an action-packed thriller that breaks plenty of heads but no new ground.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5387-6292-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
As usual, Coben piles on the plot twists, false leads, violent set pieces and climactic surprises with the unfocused...
After six years of spinning jaw-dropping stand-alone thrillers, Coben brings back his sports agent—make that everything agent—Myron Bolitar (Darkest Fear, 2000, etc.) for an encore.
Overhearing high-school senior Erin Wilder, his current ladylove’s daughter, sharing confidences with her friend Aimee Biel about getting driven by wasted friends, Myron Bolitar promises both girls that if they ever need a ride, they can call him and he’ll pick them up, no questions asked. All too soon he gets a chance to deliver. Aimee phones him from midtown Manhattan, where he just happens to be staying, and asks him to drive her to suburban New Jersey. Myron obliges but pushes a bit too hard with the questions, and Aimee vanishes into a strange house. The next day she’s still missing, and in jig time the police, armed with Myron’s credit-card slips and EZ-Pass records, come calling. It turns out that Myron’s not a credible suspect. But because everybody connects Aimee’s disappearance to that of fellow student Katie Rochester three months ago, Myron’s on the hook with some serious people, from Aimee’s parents, who beg him to bring her home, to Katie’s mobbed-up dad, who’s too proud to beg but has other ways of getting him to cooperate.
As usual, Coben piles on the plot twists, false leads, violent set pieces and climactic surprises with the unfocused intensity that have made his thrillers (The Innocent, 2005, etc.) such a hot ticket.Pub Date: April 25, 2006
ISBN: 0-525-94949-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
BOOK TO SCREEN
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