This masterful detective tale launches what could be a transcendent hybrid series—a must-read.
Set in an art colony on the Southern California coast, this series opener blends elements of urban fantasies, amateur sleuth mysteries, and magical realism.
Although Skysill Beach may seem like just another tourist trap—featuring numerous parks, art galleries, and even a psychic district—there’s a shadowy side to the secluded community of artists. For generations, the talented painters who relocate to Skysill never seem to leave. And, even stranger, many artists utilize “Higher colors” in their works that are not only undetectable to the normal eye, but can also be used to manipulate various emotions. When former wunderkind artist Asher Gale—whose ability to see the spectrum of these colors may have driven him to a mental breakdown—is tasked with investigating the apparent suicide of the daughter of a wealthy patron, he quickly discovers the motives behind the young woman’s death are not only complicated, but dangerous as well. His inquiries give him insight into the obscure origins of Skysill, and also reveal details about the mysterious disappearance of his parents years earlier. Powered by consummate worldbuilding, superb character development, and nonstop action, Hincker’s wildly original storyline—which features ghosts, murders, psychics, and even an unlikely romance—is only the beginning of a much more grand-scale narrative. Also of note is the author’s witty—and effortlessly readable—writing style. Although there are countless examples of his unique use of imagery and analogy, a few examples follow: One character is described as having “snowy skin and white hair falling taut off one shoulder, the way starlets played nuns in the 50s,” and an older woman is “stooped like a question mark.” Another character squints through her bifocals and tight lips and makes “the sound horses do, thinking about hay.”
This masterful detective tale launches what could be a transcendent hybrid series—a must-read.Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9798987630167
Page Count: 264
Publisher: manuscript
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Enough clues, red herrings, and false endings to make readers feel that the Orient Express has put out to sea.
A luxury liner bound for New York in 1924 becomes the scene of a twisty golden age pastiche.
When an unnamed third-class passenger discovers the body of an elderly man at the bottom of an exterior flight of stairs aboard the Endeavour, Capt. McCrory insists it must be an accident. But James Temple, a Scotland Yard detective who just happens to be aboard, says that no one would have ventured to the outdoor steps in the rain without a coat, so the death should be treated as suspicious. Unable to stop Temple from investigating, McCrory assigns ship’s officer Timothy Birch to accompany him, and Birch promptly becomes the world’s most unwilling Dr. Watson, constantly battling Temple over theories and procedures. Anxious that they have only four days to find a potential killer before the ship docks and lets its 2,000 passengers roam free in New York, he’s especially infuriated at the leisurely pace marked by Temple’s bromide, “Facts before witnesses.” There’s reason to sympathize with Temple, because the suspects in first and second class (the only classes that matter in this ultra-class-conscious world) are cardboard cutouts—the successful banker, his trophy wife, the aspiring artists, the gallery owner—who are much less interesting than the secrets they’re hiding. In his most anachronistic development, author Hindle shows Birch, unlike the imperturbable sidekicks he echoes, sunk in grief over his vanished daughter, Amelia, and his estranged wife, Kate, who left him after Amelia disappeared during one of his ocean voyages. He’d do anything to get his daughter back, he tells Temple, and his determination leads to the biggest surprise of all.
Enough clues, red herrings, and false endings to make readers feel that the Orient Express has put out to sea.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9798217185740
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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