A formulaic but entertaining thriller.
An auditor finds herself in over her head when she accepts a dangerous assignment in Colombia in Lane’s debut novel.
Nikki Garcia’s job involves investigating and outing large-scale corporate fraud. An assignment in faraway Colombia seems like the perfect way for her to throw herself into her work, as she’s still recovering from the death of her son and the end of her marriage. Once in Medellin, however, she realizes that misappropriation of funds at Amazonia Steel is just the tip of the iceberg. Its CEO, Manuel Del Campo, alternates between being dismissive of Nikki and threatening her if she doesn’t drop the case. The few employees who do speak to her and try to get her inside information start to meet mysterious, “accidental” deaths. At the center of it all is Del Campo’s dashing, handsome friend Eduardo Duarte, who sweeps Nikki off her feet even though she’s not entirely sure that he’s innocent of wrongdoing. She must keep her head clear and her heart strong as her investigation draws her closer to serious danger and more people around her wind up dead. Lane shows a vivid sense of place as she describes the “densely populated and disorganized” Medellin city streets and the “thick stone and brick walls” suffering from “more than three centuries of neglect” in a castle in the ancient city of Cartagena, as seen through the eyes of her heroine. A former certified public accountant herself, she also does well at conveying enough business jargon to move the story along without overloading readers. The plot is fairly predictable, although there are moments of genuine suspense and uncertainty. Nikki is a strong heroine but still thinly drawn; she’s capable, beautiful, and emotionally wounded but otherwise not a fully fleshed-out character. The romance with Eduardo also feels a bit thin, with a few too many hackneyed lines such as, “You must have known I was falling in love with you. I haven’t taken my eyes off you since I met you.” Yet, in the end, this is an enjoyable read even if there aren’t many surprises in store.
A formulaic but entertaining thriller.Pub Date: March 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68313-014-7
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Pen-L Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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