Like a ragged old ghost, 007 returns for his annual haunt in this seventh Gardner/ Bond incarnation; but this time—unlike in last year's tepid No Deals, Mr. Bond—the spook shows some spunk as he tackles Gardner's niftiest villain to date. Bond's nemesis here is Vladimir Scorpius, ex-kingpin of outlaw arms-dealers, now known—after plastic surgery—as Father Valentine, guru to the The Meek Ones, a Moonie-like sect. No ordinary villain, Scorpius "was all that had ever been cruel, uncaring, revolting and unjust through history, from Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun to Himmler and Klaus Barbie." This welcome throwback to the moral gigantism of Ian Fleming's Bond tales first comes to 007's notice when a Meek One turns up drowned in the Thames, and Bond's number is in her phone book. Called back from an SAS fitness course, Bond pursues a crooked trail that leads to: offices of a high-tech credit card that allows Meek Ones to manipulate world bank accounts; the bedside of a drugged, noble-blooded Meek One; partnership with a sexy IRS agent on Scorpius' trail, and with an SAS man whose daughter has embraced Meek-dom; assorted bodies. Stalwarts Qu'te (female successor to Fleming's Q), M, Miss Moneypenny, and housekeeper May make proper appearances; but this busyness is only prelude to the unveiling of Scorpius' master plant—to dispatch (at a hefty price, for unnamed clients) his Meek Ones as human bombs to blow up world leaders—and to Bond's showdown with the fiend at his North Carolina compound. There, echoing old Fleming books, Bond combats insects and snakes (Dr. No), marries the IRS agent only to have her die (On her Majesty's Secret Service), and at last kills Scorpius in a display of 007-sadism unequalled since Scan Connery was lean and young. A swift climax sees Bond racing to nab a traitor in his ranks, and to stop a last Meek One from blowing up the P.M. and the US President. As in Gardner's others, there's little here of the gadgetry, sex, and humor that made Fleming's tales such fun; but this unusually grim Bond morality play offers plenty of fast comic-book action, some vivid characters, and enough references to the 007 canon to please most Bondphiles.
Pub Date: May 23, 1988
ISBN: 1605983845
Page Count: -
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1988
Chavez delivers a fraught if flawed page-turner that attempts too many twists.
A good Samaritan incurs a psychopath’s wrath in this debut thriller.
Veterinarian Cassie Larkin is heading home after a 12-hour shift when someone darts in front of her car, causing her to dump her energy drink. As she pulls over to mop up the mess, her headlights illuminate a couple having a physical altercation. Cassie calls 911, but before help arrives, the man tosses the woman down an embankment. Ignoring the dispatcher’s instructions, Cassie exits the vehicle and intervenes, preventing the now-unconscious woman’s murder. With sirens wailing in the distance, the man warns Cassie: “Let her die, and I’ll let you live.” He then scrambles back to the road and flees in Cassie’s van. Using mug shots, Cassie identifies the thief and would-be killer as Carver Sweet, who is wanted for poisoning his wife. The Santa Rosa police assure Cassie of her safety, but the next evening, her husband, Sam, vanishes while trick-or-treating with their 6-year-old daughter, Audrey. Hours later, he sends texts apologizing and confessing to an affair, but although it’s true that Sam and Cassie have been fighting, she suspects foul play—particularly given the previous night’s events. Cassie files a report with the cops, but they dismiss her concerns, leaving Cassie to investigate on her own. After a convoluted start, Chavez embarks on a paranoia-fueled thrill ride, escalating the stakes while exploiting readers’ darkest domestic fears. The far-fetched plot lacks cohesion and relies too heavily on coincidence to be fully satisfying, but the reader will be invested in learning the Larkin family’s fate through to the too-pat conclusion.
Chavez delivers a fraught if flawed page-turner that attempts too many twists.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-293617-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
This thriller is taut and fast-paced but lacks compelling protagonists.
Three siblings who have been out of touch for more than 20 years grapple with their unsettling childhoods, but when the youngest inherits the family home, all are drawn back together.
At the age of 25, Libby Jones learns she has inherited a large London house that was held in a trust left to her by her birthparents. When she visits the lawyer, she is shocked to find out that she was put up for adoption when she was 10 months old after her parents died in the house in an apparent suicide pact with an unidentified man and that she has an older brother and sister who were teenagers at the time of their parents' deaths and haven't been seen since. Meanwhile, in alternating narratives, we're introduced to Libby's sister, Lucy Lamb, who's on the verge of homelessness with her two children in the south of France, and her brother, Henry Lamb, who's attempting to recall the last few disturbing years with his parents during which they lost their wealth and were manipulated into letting friends move into their home. These friends included the controlling but charismatic David Thomsen, who moved his own wife and two children into the rooms upstairs. Henry also remembers his painful adolescent confusion as he became wildly infatuated with Phineas, David’s teenage son. Meanwhile, Libby connects with Miller Roe, the journalist who covered the story about her family, and the pair work together to find her brother and sister, determine what happened when she was an infant, and uncover who has recently been staying in the vacant house waiting for Libby to return. As Jewell (Watching You, 2018, etc.) moves back and forth from the past to the present, the narratives move swiftly toward convergence in her signature style, yet with the exception of Lucy’s story, little suspense is built up and the twists can’t quite make up for the lack of deep characters and emotionally weighty moments.
This thriller is taut and fast-paced but lacks compelling protagonists.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-9010-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
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