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THE DISCIPLES

An engrossing thriller—and first novel—that displays a firm grasp of conspiracy theory and a light touch in making its wickedly outrageous premise at least plausible. The tale is set in 1989—when cold war exigencies still preoccupied intelligence operatives throughout the world—and is narrated by T.C. Steele, a sardonically detached analyst in the upper echelons of the National Security Agency and a Yale alum who knows his way around the establishment. At the heart of the matter is Rebecca Townsend, a gorgeous NSA recruiter who, unbeknownst to her employer, is part of a Rothschild-like clan (the ``Disciples'') that, in the wake of WW II, fanned out from Germany to the four corners of the earth. While making their way in many lands, the 12 branches of the family covertly collected the deepest military/industrial secrets of the US, Soviet Union, and a host of other nations. Four decades on, the self-anointed apostles of a genuinely new world order are preparing to release the amassed information in order to stalemate not only the superpowers but also such traditional foes as Israel and the Arab Bloc. The plot thickens when Rebecca, who's lulled her government masters into a false sense of security, falls in love with seemingly innocent young architect Tommy Wood. Co-opted by the NSA (whose eavesdropping yields bits and pieces of the unfolding story), Wood does constant battle for his ladylove's kin; he's also at her side for a slam-bang climax when she bests the hired guns of a duplicitous villain in a mid-ocean shootout to transmit data that explains, among other things, why Moscow stood by when the Berlin Wall fell. Steele offers an appropriately donnish wrap-up—with a satisfying twist that ties all loose ends into a very neat package. An impressive debut—and an elegantly executed conceit.

Pub Date: July 6, 1993

ISBN: 0-671-79599-6

Page Count: 464

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993

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THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

A strict report, worthy of sympathy.

A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.

"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….

A strict report, worthy of sympathy.

Pub Date: June 15, 1951

ISBN: 0316769177

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951

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MAGIC HOUR

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.

Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

Pub Date: March 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-345-46752-3

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005

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