An intriguing conspiracy tale that finds fresh energy in familiar power struggles.
A law student stumbles on a conspiracy to hide climate change in Burcat’s thriller.
In 1988, 21-year-old Rutgers University law student Anna Freeman goes to the Institute for Energy Independence in Washington, D.C., to pick up an informational video, which she plans to show to the school’s Ecology and Law Society. While in D.C., she inadvertently stumbles upon a gathering of powerful energy lobbyists coordinating an effort to undermine scientific findings on climate change. When a handsome young IEI executive from Texas named Coy Young who’s at the meeting takes an interest in her, Anna improvises, claiming to be with a lobbying firm. Later, back in New Jersey, her Rutgers professor connects her with the Jersey Devils, a fringe environmentalist group who host clandestine meetings with reporters in dive bars. They urge Anna to go undercover to find out more about the propaganda plan—but they also warn her that the IEI’s intimidating and “deadly dangerous” head of security, Rolf Heftig, was involved in the recent disappearance of a climate scientist. Anna grows closer to Coy and impresses IEI leaders such as the formidable lobbyist Jane Chevalier, who appreciates Anna’s gumption among “a lot of gray, balding male heads.” Soon, Anna’s caught between her moral responsibilities, her feelings for Coy, and the seductive pull of influence and power. A violent prologue promises a thriller that’s closer in spirit to Tom Clancy’s work, but the novel eventually aligns with the institutional suspense novels of writers such as John Grisham. Burcat leans into the familiar beats of double-agent stories—as when Anna smuggles out information by writing it in Hebrew, leading to a wonderful payoff—but the author’s sharp execution offers plenty of surprises. He renders the protagonist’s uneasy position in a male-dominated, power-hungry world with care. Coy and Jane are much more complex than the average egocentric villains, which only serves to deepen Anna’s predicament. By the end, the overt action-driven sequences will feel unnecessary, since Burcat’s timely boardroom intrigue already offers plenty of thrills.
An intriguing conspiracy tale that finds fresh energy in familiar power struggles.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.
What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism.
When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780385550543
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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