A taut and exhilarating techno-thriller.
In Hancock’s thriller, a covert, military-trained American team fights to shut down an AI-related project brewing in Central Asia.
War veteran and widower “Voodoo” leads a group of hackers and “wrench-turners” for the United States Naval Special Warfareunit at the Directorate in San Diego. His skills earned him a spot in a rescue operation the previous year in Japan; now, the CIA station chief in Japan wants the same team for a mission in Central Asia, which, like the previous op, has ties to an escalating artificial intelligence Cold War. That’s not the only connection—the God Algorithm, a powerful AI that Voodoo and the others learned about last year, may still be trouble. For their newest assignment, the team must first recover an asset named Kobra Siddik, who, after escaping a reeducation camp in China, rushes to make it across the border to Kazakhstan. She has intel Voodoo’s team needs, but she will only supply it if the team helps her get someone else out of the camp. Do the Chinese have the God Algorithm? And for what diabolical purpose will they use the AI? In any case, soldiers (courtesy of China’s Ministry of State Security) are gunning for Kobra as well as Voodoo, and such team members as the burly, taciturn Stu Slater and Voodoo’s redheaded directorate co-worker Sparks. The team’s ultimate goal is thwarting “this AI network” that seems to be gathering force. But that’s easier planned than done, as protests devolve into riots that upset the Kazakh city of Almaty, surprising villains crop up, and double-crossings throw everything into disarray.
Hancock packs this brisk thriller with rousing action scenes and intriguing ideas (a scientist makes a specific type of diamond whose value isn’t monetary; China uses a “predictive algorithm” that warns officials of the enigmatic “Sentinel” that will trigger insurgency). The narrative’s complex concepts are made abundantly clear via the action or characters’ discourse. That’s also true for the military and tech terminology, in addition to a veritable alphabet soup of acronyms for various organizations and shorthand communications (RTB: Return To Base). The novel delivers action in an entertaining fashion as the team skydives, goes undercover, and finds itself engaged in frenzied gunfights and pursuits. They also employ impressive technology, the highlight being four-legged, heavily-armed robotic machines that the team can access remotely. Best of all, the author meticulously develops the cast: Voodoo shares a tension with team member Mason Gallegos that harkens back to their tour in Afghanistan, and there are memorable individuals throughout, including the resilient Kobra, who comes with a tragic backstory; the ever-inquisitive Inspector Chen Wei; and the highly-skilled CIA operative Sasha Zhakupova. This sophomore series installment seamlessly connects to the preceding book—new readers will easily follow along, but may want to check out the series opener to avoid spoilers.
A taut and exhilarating techno-thriller.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781640621718
Page Count: -
Publisher: Braveship Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.
Dead bodies turn up in the first sentence of the prologue in McFadden’s latest domestic thriller.
The mystery of who died is at the pulsating heart of this propulsive tale. As Chapter 1 begins, Naomi arrives home to find the locks changed on the front door of the gorgeous home she shares with her husband, Jeremy, and their 5-year-old son, Teddy. Jeremy steps out the front door and convinces Naomi to move out while he has their home renovated, a plan Naomi knows nothing about. It’s all a ruse, though, as the next day Jeremy tells her he wants a divorce. Naomi is shellshocked and soon discovers that Jeremy is having an affair with Veronica, a beautiful younger woman. What seems at first like a stereotypical story about a man who leaves his wife turns into something else when Naomi decides she’ll do anything to get Veronica away from Jeremy and Teddy, and Veronica decides to fight for what she thinks she deserves. Fans of stalker novels will cringe with delight as creepy things start to happen. Teddy’s stuffed elephant, a gift from Veronica, is found impaled on a kitchen knife; Naomi suspects Jeremy is gaslighting her and that Veronica tried to poison her. A weird confrontation among Jeremy, Veronica, and Naomi at Teddy’s birthday party, to which Naomi shows up uninvited, is priceless. There are three main characters, and any or all of them may be unreliable narrators. Packing the plot with dark, gasp-inducing twists, McFadden outdoes herself in a story about how highly emotional people engage in risky behavior to get what they want—but in this novel, for better or worse, not everyone will survive.
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249631
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK TO SCREEN
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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