A snappy, smart thriller that delivers genuine surprises and engaging characters in equal measure.
A former reporter heads to Ireland on vacation only to become embroiled in a murder investigation in LeValley’s novel.
The seventh entry in the Tony Harrington series finds the namesake protagonist arriving in Ireland hoping to unwind after a rough couple of months—his beloved great aunt has died, and Tony has officially stepped away from working as a reporter for Iowa’s The Orney Town Crier. But rest is not in the offing; he instead stumbles upon the gruesome double murder of two local university students who had their throats cut while in a suspended cable car. Tony makes it his mission to help solve the case, but his plans are complicated when he gets caught up in the violent conflict of rival Irish and Russian gangs—and Tony discovers that he has become a target. With the help of Moira, a local waitress who may know more than she is letting on, Tony uncovers a drug-smuggling operation that may be at the heart of everything. When Moira is kidnapped, the former reporter must work with some very strange bedfellows—including a Russian spy—to get her back and bring the criminals to justice. Coming in at under 300 pages, this taut thriller never lets up on the action: “At the sight of a dark shape lying in the grass, Tony froze. It hadn’t occurred to him that the killer might still be in place. He backpedaled as quietly as possible, then turned to flee. His haste proved his downfall.” Harrington is an endearing protagonist, brave but foolhardy in equal measure with a strong moral compass. Violence, torture, and sexual assault occur in the narrative, but these elements never become overly graphic. And despite one of the character’s names being spelled inconsistently (Niamh versus Naimh), the text glides along with a smooth narrative voice and natural-sounding dialogue. Mixing organized crime, murder, and a compelling love triangle, LeValley has crafted a brisk and satisfying novel.
A snappy, smart thriller that delivers genuine surprises and engaging characters in equal measure.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781960259417
Page Count: 288
Publisher: BookPress Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Don’t feel that your current news feed is disturbing enough? Penny has just what you need.
A sequel to The Grey Wolf (2024) that begins with the earlier novel’s last line: “We have a problem.” And what a problem it is.
Now that Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his allies in and out of the Sûreté du Québec have saved Canada’s water supply from poisoning on a grand scale, you might think they were entitled to some rest and relaxation in Three Pines. No such luck. Don Joseph Moretti, the Sixth Family head who ordered the hit-and-run on biologist Charles Langlois that nearly killed Gamache as well, is plotting still more criminal enterprises, and Gamache can’t be sure that Chief Inspector Evelyn Tardiff, who’s been cozying up to Moretti in order to get the goods on him, hasn’t gone over to the dark side herself. In fact, Gamache’s uncertainty about Evelyn sets the pattern for much of what follows, for another review of one of Langlois’ notebooks reveals a plot so monstrous that it’s impossible to be sure who’s not in on it. Is it really true, as paranoid online rumors have it, that “Canada is about to attack the U.S.”? Or is it really the other way around, as the discovery of War Plan Red would have it? As the threats loom larger and larger, they raise questions as to whether the Black Wolf, the evil power behind them, is Moretti, disgraced former Deputy Prime Minister Marcus Lauzon, whom Gamache has arranged to have released from prison, or someone even more highly placed. A brief introductory note dating Penny’s delivery of the uncannily prophetic manuscript to September 2024 will do little to assuage the anxieties of concerned readers.
Don’t feel that your current news feed is disturbing enough? Penny has just what you need.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328175
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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
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