Still, it’s an amusing satire that, in its own way, manages to rebuke today’s political realities.
All hell breaks loose when a proposed highway bypass threatens a peaceful neighborhood and endangers a rare species of butterfly, prompting an unreconstructed ’60s radical to scrape together a bunch of misfits and take on the town’s establishment.
It’s easy to imagine that veteran author Nichols (Conjugal Bliss, 1994, etc.) patterned his protagonist and narrator, Charley McFarland, after a kind of politically correct Hunter S. Thompson. Page after page, Charley spices up this political farce with Thompsonian-like epithets (used to describe friend and foe alike) and fantasies that even the character admits may be a little over the top. The Butterfly Coalition that Charley assembles includes a 92-year-old radical Lydia Babcock, who had been involved in many of the last century’s left-wing fracases; a progressive if somewhat frustrated reporter, Susan Delgado; his dysfunctional son, Luther; and his extremely dysfunctional, alcoholic estranged wife (Luther’s stepmother), Kelly. (Another part of Charley’s plan is to use the coalition as a catalyst for reuniting his family.) Along with himself, these four, whom Charley repeatedly explains are not ecoterrorists or “monkey wrenchers,” take on the powers-that-be in aptly named Suicide City. As with any farce, you don’t need a scorecard to distinguish the bad guys from the good, especially with Charley narrating, but the Butterfly Coalition isn’t an average activist group either. Since just about every character here is either unlikably avaricious, obnoxious, or extreme, with Kelly by far the worst of the coalition, the broadness of the comedy—both the language and the action—is a bit unfortunate in that it distances and effectively numbs the reader. Indeed, so heavy is the farce laid on that when tragedy does strike the Butterfly Coalition it elicits confusion rather than sympathy.
Still, it’s an amusing satire that, in its own way, manages to rebuke today’s political realities.Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8118-3201-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Contains everything readers have come to expect from powerhouse Connelly. Bonus: Additional installments hold the intriguing...
Fresh from returning Harry Bosch to the LAPD with The Closers (2005), veteran crime novelist Connelly offers intrigue and bracing twists in his first legal thriller.
Criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller is known as a “Lincoln lawyer” because he does business while being driven from courthouse to courthouse in his Town Car. Scraping by by defending lowlifes, some of whom offer their chauffeur services to work off Haller’s fees, he stumbles across a dream client: a rich boy accused of viciously beating a woman. Most important for Haller, Louis Roulet loudly proclaims his innocence, and his family has the dough to pay top-dollar for representation. But Haller’s father, J. Michael Haller (making Bosch and Haller half-brothers, Connelly’s wink to longtime fans) said there was “no client as scary as an innocent man,” and soon Haller is confronted with the consequences that come from the system’s inevitable compromises. When Haller’s investigator and friend is murdered for getting too close to the truth, he’s forced to confront the cost of sacrificing ideals for pragmatism. To spill more plot detail would spoil a good deal of the considerable fun here; suffice to say the conflict sparks in Haller an epic case of cognitive dissonance. Connelly gets the legal details and maneuvers just right, and Haller is a great character—world-weary but funny and likable—he’s never met an angle he couldn’t play or a corner he couldn’t cut.
Contains everything readers have come to expect from powerhouse Connelly. Bonus: Additional installments hold the intriguing possibility of one day seeing Bosch and Haller together on the streets of L.A.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2005
ISBN: 0-316-73493-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2005
BOOK TO SCREEN
A smart, creative series start from a romance master who always entertains.
Two women who witnessed a murder in their hometown as teens are suddenly targets of an unknown enemy. As the danger rises, a mysterious investigator with ties to an organization devoted to the paranormal steps in to help.
Catalina Lark and Olivia LeClair were 16 when they were exploring the caves around the tiny Pacific Northwest town of Fogg Lake. Fifteen years before, an incident in the caves had led to a large percentage of the population’s showing paranormal abilities. Fogg Lake residents became extremely wary of strangers, and the town's children were “raised with a degree of caution that bordered on paranoia.” That watchfulness may have saved the girls' lives the night they witnessed a murder in the caves. Years later, Catalina and Olivia have left home to start a private investigation agency in Seattle, and while they don’t advertise their psychic talents, they do use them in their cases. Then Olivia mysteriously disappears. Catalina is just beginning to search for her when Slater Arganbright arrives in the city. Catalina once worked with Slater’s uncle, Victor, the head of an “enterprise dedicated to paranormal research,” but it ended badly, so she’s not thrilled to meet his nephew. However as the two gather information, it begins to look like Olivia’s disappearance is connected to the murder the women witnessed as teens and may be tied to a frightening plot to weaponize paranormal power. Saving Olivia will depend on Catalina's and Slater's talents, and working together makes them realize what great partners they are. Krentz (Untouchable, 2019, etc.) shows her wizardry for worldbuilding and once again incorporates paranormal elements, which will thrill fans.
A smart, creative series start from a romance master who always entertains.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0643-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
