An engaging, disturbing read with an imaginative, fictional hypothesis about a submerged aircraft.
The secrets of an Austrian World War II pilot are gradually revealed in this historical novel.
Max Wald (aka Maximillian Hans-Georg, Hereditary Baron von Waldberg) has spent more than three decades alone in a hidden rustic cabin in the Maine woods surrounding the village of Owl’s Head. Now, nearing the end of his life, he is ready to share his story. And he has chosen to tell it to local reporter Peggy Pederson, who has returned home after a stint with a prestigious Boston newspaper. During her time in Boston, Peggy published a book about wartime France. The heavily researched volume received critical praise but sold poorly. Plus, her feverish four-year immersion in the project resulted in the breakup of a long-term romantic relationship. Following the death of her father, Peggy has moved back to Owl’s Head to be with her mother. At the end of her first meeting with Max, the aging former Luftwaffe pilot asks Peggy to drive him to a lighthouse. Pointing to the ocean, Max says: “Out there, maybe a couple of miles from here, at the bottom of the sea, is an experimental German aircraft, a Junkers 390 six-engined airplane designed for long-range bombing, cargo carrying and ocean patrol.” Thus begins Max’s page-turning account of his experiences in the German air force, his increasing disillusionment, and his involvement in a secret project that could have cost the Allies the war. Ryan has seamlessly woven together a poignant, fictional love story and mystery with historically rich details so vivid that he brings readers directly into the cockpits of the German war planes and the freezing horrors on the ground during the disastrous campaign to take Stalingrad. Aeronautics fans should especially appreciate the minutiae of the constant redesigning of the German planes. The bulk of the captivating novel is in Max’s articulate, frequently emotional voice as he relates his remarkable story. Alternating with Max’s autobiographical tale is the intriguing, albeit more prosaically written, narrative of Peggy’s backstory and the relationship she develops with this enigmatic recluse.
An engaging, disturbing read with an imaginative, fictional hypothesis about a submerged aircraft.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-80016-186-3
Page Count: 370
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.
A woman fears she made a fatal mistake by taking in a blood-soaked tween during a storm.
High winds and torrential rain are forecast for “The Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire,” making Casey question the structural integrity of her ramshackle rental cabin. Still, she’s loath to seek shelter with her lecherous landlord or her paternalistic neighbor, so instead she just crosses her fingers, gathers some candles, and hopes for the best. Casey is cooking dinner when she notices a light in her shed. She grabs her gun and investigates, only to find a rail-thin girl hiding in the corner under a blanket. She’s clutching a knife with “Eleanor” written on the handle in black marker, and though her clothes are bloody, she appears uninjured. The weather is rapidly worsening, so before she can second-guess herself, former Boston-area teacher Casey invites the girl—whom she judges to be 12 or 13—inside to eat and get warm. A wary but starving Eleanor accepts in exchange for Casey promising not to call the police—a deal Casey comes to regret after the phones go down, the power goes out, and her hostile, sullen guest drops something that’s a big surprise. Meanwhile, in interspersed chapters labeled “Before,” middle-schooler Ella befriends fellow outcast Anton, who helps her endure life in Medford, Massachusetts, with her abusive, neglectful hoarder of a mother. As per her usual, McFadden lulls readers using a seemingly straightforward thriller setup before launching headlong into a series of progressively seismic (and increasingly bonkers) plot twists. The visceral first-person, present-tense narrative alternates perspectives, fostering tension and immediacy while establishing character and engendering empathy. Ella and Anton’s relationship particularly shines, its heartrending authenticity counterbalancing some of the story’s soapier turns.
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781464260919
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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
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