A warm, relatable, and unforgettable family headlines this diverting paranormal political thriller.
In Hamilton’s novel, people harboring psychic abilities intercede when their Caribbean islandhome is in peril.
Eleven-year-old Sean Matthews’ family celebrates when he passes his high school entrance exam. The boy, who lives on the island of Acia Maj, has proven himself skilled at math and chess. But he has another talent that’s perhaps not so obvious: Sean is able to sense something is wrong before learning that his maternal grandfather David Kennington has gone missing. When he hears David’s voice in his dream, he guides authorities to where his grandfather is. It turns out that David, a renowned investigative journalist, also has a psychic ability—or, as Sean’s Uncle Tony puts it, “mumbo-jumbo.” David suspects that someone is bringing guns onto Acia Maj, causing the murder rate to surge on the relatively small island. The culprits may be the CIA, or possibly the political opposition, as an election is coming up. In any case, an unexpected violent act indicates that someone is either threatening David or trying to take him out. As the local police aren’t very accommodating, David looks into identifying the villains himself. He’s not alone: David’s investigation soon involves his lifelong friend, Deputy Prime Minister JP Cade, as well as Slender-man, a mysterious figure for whom David’s wife, Magaret, barely hides her distrust. Sean’s in the mix, too, even if it takes him away from studying (“I don’t mind missing some school,” he assures everyone). David will need all the help he can get to stop whoever is planning to “destabilise” Acia Maj.
Hamilton’s story, which seems to take place in the 1970s, initially centers around Sean as the boy saves a friend from a potentially fatal accident and easily outwits a “three-card-man” at the bus stop. The narrative suddenly but smoothly pivots to focus on David, who comes with an engaging backstory, including his meet-cute with Margaret and scoring a well-paying job when he and his growing family needed it most. Sean essentially becomes a supporting character; as such, there’s no development of or adjustment to his newfound paranormal skill, which he simply realizes he has and willingly accepts. The author’s straightforward prose delivers scenes with dialogue that pops and keeps the story moving. These scenes often involve Sean’s extended family, with aunts, uncles, and beaucoup cousins; they’re easy to like, especially with 6-year-old triplets on hand. Hamilton’s descriptions are sparse, with the cast and settings getting the barest of details (or sometimes none at all). Nevertheless, several visuals make an impression, including the “pandemonium” of 10 grandchildren rushing to get to school in the morning and the Slender-man keeping tabs on certain individuals while perched on an apartment rooftop. There’s a good deal of suspense, too, with attacks that are very clearly meant to kill.
A warm, relatable, and unforgettable family headlines this diverting paranormal political thriller.Pub Date: March 28, 2024
ISBN: 9781528931380
Page Count: 335
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
This mystery’s promising premise bogs down in an overloaded cast.
When one woman takes on another’s identity to uncover a crime, they both become suspects in a murder.
Aubrey Price and Camille Bayliss come from different worlds, only crossing paths because of the discovery that Camille’s husband, powerful lawyer Ben Bayliss, is hiding something terrible that affects them both. As the novel opens, Aubrey is driving Camille’s Range Rover, then teetering into a bar on Camille’s high heels, with Camille’s dress and credit cards and a wig that mimics Camille’s hair, pretending to be her because Ben tracks his wife’s every move and expenditure, and Camille wants to create a smokescreen while she sneaks into his office in search of evidence of that unnamed secret. But the scheme goes awry, and the women become each other’s alibis after Camille finds Ben murdered in their home. The first part of the book builds suspense and misdirection well, with Aubrey and Ben’s straight-arrow partner, Hank Landry, serving as first-person observers in some chapters while others track Camille. She’s a wealthy and privileged woman but not a happy one, stuck under the thumbs of her husband and her tyrannical father, Randall Everett, who pretty much runs their small Louisiana town. Aubrey was orphaned as a teen when her parents died in a car crash and has proudly fended for herself ever since, coming to depend on her four roommates, who have become friends. But as the cast of characters grows, it seems as if almost everyone in town has a motive for killing Ben, and the piling up of suspects and movements among different timelines can sometimes be confusing. And it all comes to a frustrating end when, after a whole school of red herrings, the solution to Ben’s murder arrives out of far left field.
This mystery’s promising premise bogs down in an overloaded cast.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9780593834459
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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