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 rather flat entry in a generally excellent series.
The 25th novel featuring Silva’s legendary protagonist.
During his intersecting careers as art restorer and Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon has tangled with Russian gangsters and al-Qaida terrorists. He has become well-acquainted with operatives in multiple security agencies and befriended a paid assassin. He has busted art thieves and created passable forgeries by Renaissance masters and abstract Modernists. This latest installment centers around his relationship with the pope and a newly discovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci that has gone missing from the Vatican. Silva’s novels tend to fall into two categories: books that reflect the politics of the day and books that don’t. His latest is one of the latter, which could be a treat for readers looking for escape, but it falls flat for a variety of reasons. Luxury has always been part of Gabriel Allon’s universe. It used to be an aspect of tradecraft, though. Allon would be wearing a very expensive suit and driving a very expensive car because he was posing as a client at a Swiss bank. Here, his wife is hosting a catered lunch for 150 of their daughter’s classmates in their apartment overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice. What once felt like a scintillating peek into the world of the obscenely wealthy now just feels…kind of obscene. Similarly, Allon goes chasing after a missing painting as a civilian—he retired from Mossad in Portrait of an Unknown Woman (2022)—the same way another man his age might buy a speedboat or get hair plugs. As the story progresses, the stakes are raised, but it’s hard to forget that Allon is now a middle-aged man pursuing a dangerous hobby, rather than a spymaster leading his intrepid team to prevent a disaster that will disrupt the global order.
A rather flat entry in a generally excellent series.Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9780063384217
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.
Two killers are on the loose. Can they be stopped?
In this ambitious mystery, the prolific and popular King tells the story of a serial murderer who pledges, in a note to Buckeye City police, to kill “13 innocents and 1 guilty,” in order, we eventually learn, to avenge the death of a man who was framed and convicted for possession of child pornography and then killed in prison. At the same time, the author weaves in the efforts of another would-be murderer, a member of a violently abortion-opposing church who has been stalking a popular feminist author and women’s rights activist on a publicity tour. To tell these twin tales of murders done and intended, King summons some familiar characters, including private investigator Holly Gibney, whom readers may recall from previous novels. Gibney is enlisted to help Buckeye City police detective Izzy Jaynes try to identify and stop the serial killer, who has been murdering random unlucky citizens with chilling efficiency. She’s also been hired as a bodyguard for author and activist Kate McKay and her young assistant. The author succeeds in grabbing the reader’s interest and holding it throughout this page-turning tale of terror, which reads like a big-screen thriller. The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King’s choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic. King shines brightest when he gets to the heart of our darkest fears and desires, but here the dangers seem a bit cerebral. In his warning letter to the police, the serial killer wonders if his cryptic rationale to murder will make sense to others, concluding, “It does to me, and that is enough.” Is it enough? In another writer’s work, it might not be, but in King’s skilled hands, it probably is.
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781668089330
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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