Entertaining, romantic suspense with vivid characters and a fast-paced plot.
The president of the United States faces foreign and domestic threats while battling a devastating illness in Owen’s (Emergency Care, 2013, etc.) latest novel.
A routine flight to Andrews Air Force Base takes an ominous turn for President Stephanie Franklin when she learns that Bantu Sibaba, leader of the African nation of Wakembezi, intends to build a nuclear bomb. Despite her campaign promise not to lead the country into war, she knows the scope of the mercurial dictator’s ambition. The situation with Sibaba is complicated by a series of anonymous, threatening letters that Franklin receives at her office; these missives take on a sinister new dimension after she survives an assassination attempt. She seeks support from her husband, Tony, a charismatic actor, but she soon learns he’s having an affair. Devastated, she turns to her close confidant and press secretary, Adam Thorsten, a man who’s loved her since they first met in Africa years ago. As she and Adam investigate the threats, they discover her mentor and former ally, U.S. Sen. Philip Lowe, may have secrets of his own. The investigation and the need to stop Sibaba become even more urgent when the president discovers that she’s suffering from a life-threatening disease. Soon, she’s in a race against time to find a cure and save the nation. Owen’s narrative opens with a suspenseful series of chapters that effectively introduce the main characters, and she maintains that momentum through strong character development and unexpected plot twists. President Franklin is a woman of great compassion and integrity who’s faced numerous tragedies in the past, including the deaths of her ambassador father and her first husband. Owen skillfully shows how her Christian faith guides her decisions and provides her with the strength to face her personal and political crises. Her relationship with Adam, built on years of mutual trust and respect, provides a solid emotional counterpoint to the political intrigue that surrounds them. They’re surrounded by an effective supporting cast, including Franklin’s adulterous husband; Sen. Lowe, a wily villain who seeks to manipulate the president; and a mysterious woman who may be connected to the president’s past.
Entertaining, romantic suspense with vivid characters and a fast-paced plot.Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63192-291-6
Page Count: 316
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Agreeably credible lovers and a neat piece of home-restoration compensate some for the hokey hauntings on the bayou. Loyal...
A gumbo seasoned with ghosts, love, and murder on the bayou.
When 30-something Declan Fitzgerald of Boston, a successful lawyer and a member of a large and loving family, breaks off his engagement to very suitable Jessica, he knows he needs to change his life. Lawyering is not fun anymore, so, recalling Manet Hall, an old deserted plantation house he once visited with law school classmate and New Orleans native Remy, he buys the property and moves down south. Declan is also a gifted craftsman, a born decorator, and very, very rich. Soon, he meets beautiful Lena, who’s visiting her grandmother Odette, Declan’s friendly Cajun neighbor. Declan is as certain that Lena is destined to be his wife as he was that Manet Hall would become his home. But, surprise, Lena has a troubled past (like the house) and is determined to resist Declan’s courtship. While he suits Lena and works on the place, Declan experiences troubling dreams. It seems he’s actually reliving the novel’s parallel story, which took place in 1899. In that year, the maid, Abbey Manet (from whom Lena, coincidentally, is descended, and who married wealthy Lucian Manet), was raped and murdered by her brother-in-law Julian as she nursed her baby daughter. Her body was dumped into the bayou by her mother-in-law, who despised her. And grief-stricken husband Lucian, away at the time, being told that Abbey had run off, committed suicide. Now, in an unconvincing twist of gender and reincarnation, it’s Declan who hears a baby crying , experiences childbirth and rape as the reincarnation of Abbey, while Lena is Lucian. The two accept all this with equanimity, and, Manet Hall’s secrets revealed, it becomes the setting for predictable and much foreshadowed resolutions.
Agreeably credible lovers and a neat piece of home-restoration compensate some for the hokey hauntings on the bayou. Loyal fans will enjoy.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-14824-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
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