A captivating war novel that immerses readers in the craft of killing and its somber results.
A Royal Air Force pilot battles the Luftwaffe during World War II in Forsyth’s historical novel.
This third installment of the adventures of Allan Chadwick follows the RAF squadron leader into war, which will challenge his skills as a pilot and position him as a catalyst in the innovation of aviation technology. He’s soon commanding a front-line squadron of Spitfire fighter planes in the Battle of Britain and gets shot down several times—once parachuting into the English Channel—in the course of ferocious dogfights with Germany’s fearsome Messerschmitt 109s. Chadwick then goes to work in the obscure but vital area of electronic navigation aids intended to improve the woeful accuracy of British bomber aircraft. He’s in the thick of designing equipment that uses radio beams to guide warplanes precisely to their targets and then testing it on bombing runs over German-occupied Europe. On one raid he gets shot down over France and embarks on a picaresque journey in which he beds a farmer’s two daughters, falls in with the Resistance, and, finally, hijacks a Messerschmitt 110 back to Britain. Put in charge of a precision-bombing unit, he stages a raid on Berlin that interrupts a speech by Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering, who vows to take personal vengeance for the humiliation. The author, a former RAF pilot, paints a vivid panorama of the air war, including the daily grind of fighter combat that left veterans haggard and twitchy with stress; the hours-long, freezing-cold bombing runs punctuated by storms of anti-aircraft fire; the hair-raising crash landings; and the numbing drumbeat of deaths. His writing mixes fascinating deep dives into the gadgetry and tactics of aerial combat with gripping action scenes conveyed in brutally evocative prose (“Ramsey was prostrate besides his seat, his body lacerated by dozens of shrapnel fragments. His head sagged, and Chadwick could see he was practically decapitated”). Chadwick is an appealing hero—stoic and resourceful, but quietly marked by the horrors unfolding around him.
A captivating war novel that immerses readers in the craft of killing and its somber results.Pub Date: May 1, 2023
ISBN: 9798985322071
Page Count: 388
Publisher: Yacht Fiona
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.
Lt. Eve Dallas’ 63rd futuristic case is less a whodunit than a manhunt for an unusually sympathetic killer.
Thirteen years ago, way back in 2048, scientific genius Steve Redman—father of the Banner-Wyst corporation’s Rainmaker Project—narrowly escaped death in a gas explosion that killed his pregnant wife and infant son and 200 other residents of their New York City apartment building the night before he planned to report his suspicions about the company to the FBI. Now the bill is coming due for Banner-Wyst. The first death to be discovered is that of Lawrence Chu, Redman’s colleague and trusted friend, whose tenure as director of bioengineering science ends when he’s beaten to death. For quite a while, Dallas and her partner, Det. Delia Peabody, know less about this mystery than their readers do. But when Ezra Dent, a consultant to Banner-Wyst who worked with Redman and Chu back in the day, is murdered in exactly the same ferocious way, Dallas and Peabody, with help from Roarke, Dallas’ tech-billionaire husband, promptly put the pieces together and determine who they’re looking for. The search for Redman, who went AWOL from his hospital bed without a trace six years ago, has its own challenges. So does Dallas’ attempt to get cooperation from partners Calvin Banner and Jacob Wyst, who are clearly in the crosshairs of a killer who seems a lot less monstrous than they are. If the breaks in the case are suspiciously convenient in arriving, readers can pride themselves on taking sides against a mega-corporation whose self-avowed ecological saintliness is undermined by its leaders’ underhanded dealing.
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414564
Page Count: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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