A gripping tale about a devastated mother trying to find justice for her daughter.
In this novel, a woman struggles to rebuild her life after a violent tragedy exposes her family’s deep dysfunction.
On the surface, Jana Spencer lives an unremarkable small-town life. She works as a grant writer at a health clinic and worries about her teenage children: sullen, game-addicted Kyle, 18, a high school senior, and his vivacious sister, LaRissa, a 15-year-old freshman. Jana and her husband, Don, a handsome mechanic, were high school sweethearts, and her best friend, Sarah, lives next door. The cracks start to show when Jana gets a call alerting her that her daughter was absent from school that day. LaRissa isn’t at home or with any of her friends, and doesn’t answer her phone—in fact, no one has seen her since she attended a church social the night before. Kyle denies knowing anything, but seems to be acting strangely. After a sleepless night with no sign of LaRissa, Don calls the police to report her missing. The family members’ fear and anxiety only escalate the tensions between them. Jana starts sleeping in the guest room while Don and Kyle nearly come to blows. The police suspect Kyle isn’t telling them the truth. Then they find LaRissa’s abandoned purse and phone and figure “something must have happened” to her (“Teen girls don’t leave their phones behind voluntarily”). When they discover her body, it seems as if things can’t get much worse—but this is just the beginning. Most of the story is told from Jana’s point of view, with a few scenes focused on the case’s lead detective, Alphonse Simmons. As she comes to the realization that her life is a lie, Jana is sometimes tiresome and sometimes brave, ringing true to American motherhood: doing laundry, fixing dinner, putting up with her own hypercritical mother, arranging LaRissa’s funeral instead of her 16th birthday celebration. Jana’s journey—from collapsing in shock and drowning her guilt in wine to determining to learn the truth no matter what, doggedly pursuing retribution for LaRissa’s torment, and finding the courage to create a new life of purpose—is ultimately moving. With characters that are mostly well drawn, lifelike dialogue, and brisk pacing, Kovar’s novel is a compelling read that’s hard to put down.
A gripping tale about a devastated mother trying to find justice for her daughter.Pub Date: May 21, 2023
ISBN: 979-8393676186
Page Count: 268
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Despite the stakes, the heroine’s second adventure is a generally lighthearted anti-caper.
Gabriela Rose, the recovery agent famed for being able to find almost anything, goes looking for the Rosetta Stone. And that’s only the beginning.
You didn’t know the Rosetta Stone was missing? That’s because the British Museum, wanting to keep its theft hush-hush, has been displaying a copy in its place. And Gabriela’s involvement is equally secretive. Her ex-husband, Rafer Jones, has pressed her to find it because his idiot cousin, Harley Patch, who improbably became president of the Searl and Junkett bank, has taken it upon himself to insure a slew of priceless artifacts—many of which have now gone missing. The stone, as it turns out, is surprisingly easy to find. Following the trail of Leon Blake, a new operations officer at the museum who quit two days after the theft, and John Mackey, a museum security guard who was shot to death that same day, Gabriela successfully beats out rival recovery agent Ahmed Ed Ghaly, who’s been tasked with bringing the stone back to Egypt, in the hunt. An altogether more elusive prize is the golden inner coffin of Tutankhamen’s half brother, unofficially dubbed “Brendan.” This search is more dangerous, too, because Ahmed kidnaps Harley to make sure that Gabriela turns the coffin over to him. Jim, the Cairo cabbie Gabriela hires to drive her around, takes to calling himself Jim Bond once he sees her in action; and he’s on to something—not because the fate of the free world hangs in the balance, but because “the heist to end all heists” gradually dissolves into an amusing, episodic travelogue whose climax feels like just one more picturesque tableau.
Despite the stakes, the heroine’s second adventure is a generally lighthearted anti-caper.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781668027479
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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