Dizzyingly sophisticated debut spy thriller, character-driven with big splashy action sequences, all earning Lira, a 28-year-old recent Dartmouth graduate born in Chile, a million-dollar advance. Red-headed, fiery-tempered FBI agent Margaret Chisholm does dirty work for her boss, often moving outside the law to wrap up big messes. Divorced, with a 12-year-old son to care for, she finds herself lifted out of her current probe into a tangle of financial misdealings, an investigation that's called Archangel, and thrust into the search for mass-murderer Sepsis, who has just blown up a chapel and 25 nuns at a New Hampshire convent. Also on the case is Nicholas Denton, a charming, highly-placed CIA bureaucrat who seems to run the whole outfit, knows where every body is buried, and has a personal, privately staffed CIA building in Alexandria that's chock-full of secrets and that not even his boss knows about. Chisholm and Denton must work together as counterparts to track down and take out Sepsis. Why did he blow up the convent chapel? Because Sister Marianne, a specialist in architecture, had been chosen to direct reinforcement of structurally unsound levels of the Vatican, from the catacombs under St. Peter's dome to the Sistine Chapel. For some reason Sepsis didn't want her to do this, and he blew up the convent either to kill or warn her—and when Sister Marianne leaves for Rome, Chisholm and Denton go along to protect her. Meanwhile, we learn much about Sepsis, a handsome 25-year-old German, who, when he sets about his bloodwork—which includes blowing up the Vatican—causes both civilians (called mushrooms) and cops drop like flies. So how did young Lira got so casually knowledgeable about the office politics, byways, and sneaky methods of the FBI and CIA without being a retired veteran, privy to a universe of clandestine secrets? We dunno. Cannonball action and word-of-mouth may carry this to the moon.
Pub Date: Jan. 5, 1998
ISBN: 0-399-14312-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
A budding romance and an age-old motive combine in a heartwarming cozy.
A small-town businesswoman’s sleuthing marks her for death.
Winona Mae Montgomery saved her Granny Smythe’s apple orchard from ruin by building a thriving cider and event business in Blossom Valley, West Virginia. She’s receiving praise, and a hefty check, for throwing together a fabulous wedding reception for Elsie Sawyer and Jack Warren when the party's happy mood turns sour. The bride seems angry, the groom tipsy, and Winnie’s heartbreaking ex-boyfriend Hank Donovan’s interested in making out with a bridesmaid. But these minor glitches pale when the groom is found dead under the truck with "Just Married" on the window after having had words with Hank. Winnie developed a relationship with Sheriff Colton Wise in her last brush with murder (Apple Cider Slaying, 2019). Although he’s willing to listen to her ideas, he warns her off the case, a warning she ignores since Hank is a prime suspect. The best man, Aaron, had the key to the truck, but even after it turns up in the visor, Winnie keeps him on her list of suspects, along with the bride and the bridesmaid, who’s made herself scarce. After Hank’s sister, Gina, begs Winnie for help, they discover a bunch of flirty emails from Sarah Bear Twenty-two, who turns out to be the elusive bridesmaid. When Colton tells Winnie that mud found in her house contains mushrooms, she realizes that it may have been left by Hank, who has an old cabin in the woods, and she enlists her best friend, park ranger Dot, to help her find it. Soon after they find camping gear inside the cabin that Hank probably took from Winnie’s house, someone starts shooting at them, and they must run for their lives. Winnie realizes that she must find out a lot more about the bride and groom before she can possibly understand who murdered Jack and is willing to kill again to keep a secret.
A budding romance and an age-old motive combine in a heartwarming cozy.Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2349-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Rabbit-obsessed readers (hands, please? anyone?) will love the dedication to all things bunny. Others may find themselves...
A bunny-loving farmer hopes that her telepathic connection to her pet rabbit can help her solve another murder.
Jules Bridge has dedicated her life to the care of rabbits. Not only does she own and operate Fur Bridge Farm, a venue dedicated to bunnies, but she has a number of rescue rabbits, an onsite vet, rabbit fur spinning classes, and even a few pet rabbits of her own. Sharing her love of the species is Jules’ calling, and it’s all in a day’s work when she celebrates young Adrian Richland’s birthday party with some rabbit show and tell. Jules is so focused on all things rabbit that it’s a shock to the system when the party erupts in human drama. Not only does Jules hear Adrian’s mother, Carina, arguing with guest Evelyn Montgomery, but later in the party, Evelyn is murdered, leaving Carina as the prime suspect. Carina approaches Jules about looking into who offed Evelyn, not only to save her own hide, but also because Jules has dipped her toe into investigating in the past (Left Fur Dead, 2019) and struck up a friendship with Sheriff Jack Carver to boot. Carina doesn’t know that Jules has a furry assistant who’s sure to make her investigation a success. Bun, the black-and-white rabbit who’s Jules’ favorite pet, communicates with her telepathically, and he quickly lets Jules know that he’s eager to help her dig into Evelyn’s murder. The investigation the duo launch into Evelyn’s dealings with a local rabbit show reveal that the dead woman was a mean, nasty person with too many enemies to count. Which candidates finally summoned the gall to end Evelyn’s life?
Rabbit-obsessed readers (hands, please? anyone?) will love the dedication to all things bunny. Others may find themselves out in the cold.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2058-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
