A top-notch thriller with colorful characters and enough plot twists to satisfy without making readers’ heads spin.
In this Australian crime novel, two strangers brought together by a man’s murder must expose the illegal artifact-exporting business behind his death before they too fall victim to a ruthless killer.
One night, former Olympic fencer Luke Montgomery finds a man dying of a stab wound in the street in front of his house. The man is Simon Blayne, a respected history professor; his last vague request is for Luke to warn Cassandra Linden, a flight attendant whose card is pinned under his lapel. Simon had met Cassie only once, when he gave her an ancient ring. When Luke and Cassie meet and begin to investigate the murder, they discover that Simon was on the verge of exposing a criminal enterprise that forged documents in order to legitimize the theft of artifacts from museums for personal collections. One such artifact is the ring Simon gave Cassie. Now that she possesses it, Simon’s murderers are on her tail. Things get more complicated when Luke discovers that his father has involved the family’s respected exporting business in the crimes; the criminals tell Luke to join the company or he’ll be killed, too. Caught between the cops and a hardened killer named Tolley, Luke and Cassie must race around Australia uncovering evidence before the body count rises even higher. Once readers get caught up in De Michiel’s (Orchestrated Fate, 2013) novel, they’ll find it to be one of the more unique thrillers in recent memory. The Australian setting and historical aspects of the plot add intrigue, while the chemistry between the two complex lead characters will make readers all the more invested in their relationship and fates. The standout is Tolley, a perfectly drawn villain who sees murder as a ritualistic celebration of life and whose creepy interactions with Cassie will send shivers down readers’ spines.
A top-notch thriller with colorful characters and enough plot twists to satisfy without making readers’ heads spin.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-0987220004
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Lindenfels Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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