A comically free-wheeling espionage tale that delivers a barrage of goofy routines.
A deeply delusional man who imagines he’s an elite British spy is once again called on to save the world in this sequel.
In Orkin’s previous novel, You Only Live Once (2018), James Flynn believed, against all evidence and reason, that he was an agent in the British secret service with a “Double-0 designation.” He managed to foil a plot by the ruthless gangster Francisco Goolardo to kidnap the 10 richest men in the world, but the media attention that ensued hobbled James psychologically. Now, he’s a 37-year-old man reduced to living in a “halfway house for the mentally ill,” taking heavy medication, and working at a hot dog shop while routinely being humiliated by teenagers. But when Goolardo and his henchman Mendoza escape from prison and attempt to murder James for the sake of revenge, he snaps back into “the old Flynn, the masterful one, with the deep voice and the British accent with just a touch of Scottish burr.” He’s recruited by Sergei Belenki, the “high-tech billionaire” who founded Blinky Social Network, to help stop damaging information leaks likely coordinated by Russia. But in the process, James discovers that Belenki is the real danger to be thwarted. The author reprises not only James’ lead role, but also the preceding novel’s plot structure—the intrepid hero must save the world from yet another diabolical plan, assisted by his trusty sidekick, Sancho. Orkin can be hilariously inventive, and James is a memorable protagonist—simultaneously sane and bonkers, diffident and brave. But the frantic pace of the humor—the silliness is delivered relentlessly, one joke on the heels of another—can be a bit exhausting. For readers in search of ceaseless slapstick humor without a moment of reprieve, this book will fill the bill.
A comically free-wheeling espionage tale that delivers a barrage of goofy routines.Pub Date: March 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77223-399-5
Page Count: 389
Publisher: Imajin Books
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A touching portrait of courage and friendship.
A lifetime of friendship endures many upheavals.
Ellie and Homa, two young girls growing up in Tehran, meet at school in the early 1950s. Though their families are very different, they become close friends. After the death of Ellie’s father, she and her difficult mother must adapt to their reduced circumstances. Homa’s more warm and loving family lives a more financially constrained life, and her father, a communist, is politically active—to his own detriment and that of his family’s welfare. When Ellie’s mother remarries and she and Ellie relocate to a more exclusive part of the city, the girls become separated. They reunite years later when Homa is admitted to Ellie’s elite high school. Now a political firebrand with aspirations to become a judge and improve the rights of women in her factionalized homeland, Homa works toward scholastic success and begins practicing political activism. Ellie follows a course, plotted originally by her mother, toward marriage. The tortuous path of the girls’ adult friendship over the following decades is played out against regime change, political persecution, and devastating loss. Ellie’s well-intentioned but naïve approach stands in stark contrast to Homa’s commitment to human rights, particularly for women, and her willingness to risk personal safety to secure those rights. As narrated by Ellie, the girls’ story incorporates frequent references to Iranian food, customs, and beliefs common in the years of tumult and reforms accompanying the Iranian Revolution. Themes of jealousy—even in close friendships—and the role of the shir zan, the courageous “lion women” of Iran who effect change, recur through the narrative. The heartaches associated with emigration are explored along with issues of personal sacrifice for the sake of the greater good (no matter how remote it may seem).
A touching portrait of courage and friendship.Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781668036587
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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