An entertaining mystery with a vibrant setting.
A diplomat barely has time to unpack in a beautiful Mexican city when she finds herself involved in what looks like a high-profile kidnapping in this novel.
Amanda Pennyworth has arrived in Puerto Vallarta to take charge of the American Consular Service, her fourth posting. She is already becoming disenchanted with her career, but Puerto Vallarta should be a safe and pleasant place to spend a few years. There is a large American expatriate community with a literary bent, an attraction because Amanda has been working desultorily on a novel over the years. The star of that community is Joshua Talbot, whose first novel, many years ago, rocked the literary establishment on its heels, but—old story—he has not produced much since. That debut novel was a lodestar in Amanda’s childhood, and now Talbot has shown an interest in her, befriended her. Then, when he is supposed to meet her for dinner, he doesn’t show up. Hours turn into days, and the fear grows that he is hurt somewhere in the mountains backing the town or, worse, has been kidnapped. Sure enough, ransom notes show up on Amanda’s doorstep. Her best ally is Romero Morelos of the Tourist Police, a very solid guy (and single and sort of hunky). Will Amanda and Romero be able to save Talbot? Gilbert is an experienced and capable writer, and Amanda is a well-drawn and intriguing character. Readers will get a keen sense of the daily (and nightly) life in the Zona Romantica (a real area in Puerto Vallarta) and of the undercurrents of Mexican politics, especially the uneasy and unequal relationship between the local police and the arrogant federales. While not in Hammett’s or Chandler’s league, this enjoyable tale delivers the requisite red herrings while following the trail of the crime. But in the end, one of those herrings turns out not to be red at all. Who knew? Well, some readers will probably figure that out and even guess a key angle. The final plot twist has in fact appeared more than once in real life.
An entertaining mystery with a vibrant setting.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68114-521-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Anaphora Literary Press
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
American honor, high-tech power, and on-the-ground bravery highlight this exciting yarn.
Deadly drones threaten chaos, and Ryans are in the thick of the fight.
A U.S. Air Force C-32A crashes near Bodrum, Turkey, killing all aboard, including the secretary of commerce. American investigators suspect sabotage, which elevates the issue up to the White House. Strangely, only 15 passengers had been aboard while 16 were listed on the manifest. Gunther Klaus, a Swiss moneyman for the Russians, was supposed to be on that plane. Code-named Fulcrum, he wants to get to the West to expose Russian chicanery. On the book’s dark side, Andrei Malenkov has a “little squadron” of drones he plans to load with radioactive cesium chloride that would change the world and make him rich. Given his intended target in northern Africa, the plan sounds plausible. Unfortunately for him, he must face Americans like series regulars Ding Chavez, John “I’m too old to die young” Clark, and Lieutenant Commander Katie “What the hell are we getting into now?” Ryan. The story is rich in weapons technology and balanced by Americans, to a one, displaying courage and solid character. At the top, President Jack Ryan tries to contain a simmering geopolitical mess by talking to an unfriendly President Nikita Yermilov. The tactical level is what readers live for—the gunfights, the explosions, the drones that hunt and kill—and always, always, another threat from a deadly adversary. The demise of the Cold War certainly didn’t end the supply of material for this Clancy-created series. In a world of constant turmoil, the Clancy crew will always be busy. There’s a sameness to the novels—the U.S., with its noble leader (alas, fictional) “trying to hold together a world that’s blowing apart,” and its noble warriors, like Katie, who “seemed to find action like a moth found light.” With this novel, thriller writer Larsen makes his first entry in the Clancy series. His style fits perfectly.
American honor, high-tech power, and on-the-ground bravery highlight this exciting yarn.Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9780593718094
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s just as exhausting as it sounds, but it may be the most ambitious spy novel you’ve ever read.
What happens when an eminent mystery novelist collaborates with an award-winning journalist on a spy thriller? Pretty much everything you can imagine.
While food blogger Alice Li is in retreat from her overbearing mother, famous Chinese dissident Vivien Li, in a restaurant bathroom, the alarm goes off. And not just the fire alarm, but every alarm in the city, the country, and around the world. Their triggering is clearly an act of terrorism, and the silencing of all those alarms, which comes as suddenly and inexplicably as their screeching, is anything but reassuring. Vivien spirits her daughter off to the White House, where Grant McAllister, the director of National Intelligence, informs Alice that her friend and fellow blogger Liam Palmer has just been fished from the Hong Kong harbor. McAllister and Alan Zhou, head of the China Mission Center, are convinced Liam knew something about those alarms, and President Fraser Pardington is determined to do whatever he can to prevent a sequel. He fails, of course, and the second act of global terrorism is even more disastrous than the first. All the president’s men and women initially believe the threat comes from the Chinese government, and Chinese President Chen Jiayang thinks the Americans might be behind it. Alice and Vivien race around the globe to track down the culprit, and what they find will knit together the fates of Alice’s family, the U.S. and China, and the history of the world as we know it.
It’s just as exhausting as it sounds, but it may be the most ambitious spy novel you’ve ever read.Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9781250412522
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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