A memorable cast of mortals and ghosts complements this spooky thriller.
This fourth installment of Walters’ fantasy series pits a Des Moines detective and his spectral partner against a diabolical, supernaturally powerful woman.
Detective Brett O’Shea’s impressive track record includes taking down serial killers and monsters. But he can’t accept all the credit; he gets a lot of help from his late great-grandfather Michael—a natty, fedora-sporting ghost. When Chief Terry Anders sends him to check on a noise complaint, Brett tells local fortuneteller Simone Moreau to tone down her late-night drum music. Simone, who claims to be a descendant of famed Louisiana Voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau, becomes obsessed with the detective. She believes that Brett, like her, possesses magic, as she senses the invisible partner who often accompanies him. She vows to uncover his secrets and get him into her bed—whether he’s willing or not. Meanwhile, Brett believes that Shawn Carter, the new chief of detectives, has it out for him. Carter seemingly takes his aggression out on him, demoting him to patrol duty. This makes it all the more taxing for Brett to look into the inexplicable things happening in the city, especially the strange phenomenon of people (including Anders) wandering around as if lost. Simone is powerful enough to threaten Brett’s fellow cops as well as his girlfriend, Lisa Winslow, without being anywhere near them. But her magic could destroy all of Des Moines, and if Brett can’t stop her, he, his loved ones, and thousands of others will be in serious trouble.
There’s no investigation or murder mystery in Walters’ fourth outing with Brett O’Shea. It’s a supernatural thriller featuring villains who don’t bother hiding themselves. Carter makes his animosity for Brett obvious, and Simone blatantly tells him she’s coming for him. It certainly makes for a tense narrative—there’s perpetual menace ready to strike Brett, Lisa, Anders, and even Michael. They face evil that they can’t always see (such as a mysterious illness) as well as more tangible threats: Hordes of zombies rear their ugly heads, roaming the city, swarming buildings, and banging on doors. One mystery does unfold—the nature of Brett’s own supernatural ability, which may help in fighting Simone. The novel’s easygoing tone incorporates an understated religious theme, with Michael casually addressing God almost as if the two regularly converse: “You're the Big Guy, after all. You can do anything. Right?” This Judeo-Christian thread somewhat demonizes Voodooism, as Simone, an apparent priestess, is the antagonistic, evil “she-witch” who wields the dark arts. However, Walters smartly shrouds Simone and most of what she does in ambiguity without specifying the source of her malevolence. Overall, it’s a grim story occasionally alleviated by likable characters and humor. Brett and Lisa make an endearingly devoted couple, but the highlight is Brett’s relationship with his phantom relative. Michael tends to make his presence known without warning, suddenly speaking into Brett’s ear to ensure his great-grandson jumps in shock. Despite a solid resolution to this tale, the ending more than hints that another sequel will follow.
A memorable cast of mortals and ghosts complements this spooky thriller.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 260
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.
A widowed and disgraced plastic surgeon is drawn into a Russian oligarch’s evil schemes.
Witherspoon’s adult fiction debut, co-authored with thrillermeister Coben, opens as heart surgery performed by Dr. Marc Adams in a North African refugee camp is interrupted by the explosive invasion of armed militants. It's the last we will see of Marc in this dimension. The next chapter jumps ahead one year to a ceremony at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where his widow, Maggie McCabe, is supposed to be presenting an award in honor of her mother. Miserable and anxious about appearing in public after having lost her medical license, she consults with her late husband on her phone—not via supernatural means, but using a "griefbot," an amazingly lifelike and functional AI app created by her genius sister, Sharon. Once the griefbot coaxes her to brave the sneering masses, she learns she’s been replaced on the podium anyway. But she runs into a former professor, a celebrity plastic surgeon, who requests a meeting with her at his office in New York and won’t take no for an answer. Next thing she knows, there’s $10 million in her bank account and she’s on a private plane heading to a palace outside Moscow where she’s been engaged to perform off-the-record surgery on billionaire Oleg Ragoravich (new face) and his girlfriend, Nadia (new boobs). And…we’re off. A whirl of surgeries, chases, and escapes ensues as Maggie gradually comes to understand who these people are and what they have in mind for her, and how it connects to Marc and their missing friend and business partner, Trace Packer. She is aided by her delightful father-in-law, Porkchop, owner of a biker bar in New York City and a very handy guy to have on your team if you've run afoul of an international criminal organization. From the palace in Rublevka the action moves to Dubai and then Bordeaux, climaxing in a high-stakes illegal heart transplant. But wait—is Marc really dead? What happened to Trace? Who is Nadia really? Though these smoldering questions don’t quite catch fire, it's a good first try for Witherspoon.
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781538774700
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Fast-moving and disturbingly plausible.
Robots may be the future of warfare in this final father-son DeMille collaboration.
In Camp Hayden, Army Maj. Roger Ames is found dead, his skull crushed. Chief Warrant Officers Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, special agents of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division, are sent to the Mojave Desert, “a.k.a. in the middle of nowhere,” to investigate. In this fictional military installation, Army Rangers conduct field training exercises with lethal autonomous weapons. These “dangerous new toys,” nicknamed “tin men,” may become the future of warfare if they can be programmed to distinguish between friend and foe. Anyway, the Rangers’ job is to train the tin men, not the other way around. They are AI-driven robotic prototypes called D-17s, but even prototypes can kill. Did a bot kill the major? And was there criminal liability or intent, or was it a tragic accident? Brodie and Taylor discover that not everyone loves these beasts, and they must find out if humans are programming them for mischief or even trying to set up the program for failure. Meanwhile, the bots have nicknames. Bot number 20 is Bucky, seen on a video as a “seven-foot-tall titanium machine with hands covered in blood and brain matter” that has “a face but no eyes, with hands but no skin, with a body but no soul.” As scary as these beasties are, Brodie and Taylor must also look at the humans at Camp Hayden, because they learn that the “machines don’t have motives….They have inputs and outputs,” which naturally come from human programmers. They have neither brains nor courage nor honor; they do have brute force, speed, and agility. Obviously, plenty goes haywire in this enjoyable yarn. It feels a bit too believable for comfort, and that’s to the DeMilles’ credit as storytellers. Nelson DeMille had begun this project with his son Alex, who had to finish it alone after his father’s death.
Fast-moving and disturbingly plausible.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781501101878
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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