A knockout mystery with twists aplenty.
A Kansas City lawyer tries to help identify a serial killer while prosecuting another one in this seventh installment of a legal thriller series.
Senior Litigation Counsel Jeff Trask’s latest case involves WaShaun “Gloomy” Stewart Jr., who supposedly killed five people. But as only the most recent murder occurred when Gloomy was 18 years old, Trask struggles to link them all to try him as an adult. But the attorney’s biggest obstacle is the new criminal division chief, Ray Marsh. He blames Trask for stunting his career advancement when they were both in Washington, D.C. That’s the likely reason Marsh attempts to sabotage Trask’s homicide case. At the same time, a serial killer terrorizes Kansas City; he abducts and mutilates prostitutes, leaving body parts for others to find. Trask may be able to assist investigating detectives with the murders; all he needs is a “federal connection.” But Marsh once again stands in Trask’s way, as he somehow gets his hands on the investigation. Trask must fight to put Gloomy behind bars and stop a proficient killer’s horrifying spree. When these two cases suddenly clash, everyone’s workload gets even more complicated. The latest volume in Rainer’s series comes with a bevy of unexpected turns. Most of these unfold in the final act, igniting the narrative’s latter half and its explosive ending. Trask is, as always, a consummate professional whose home life—with his wife, a former undercover agent, and two charming canines—lightens the story’s serious tone. His fusion of lawyer and sleuth, which has become a series staple, works especially well with the dual-cases plotline. The author masterfully handles a populous cast, including Trask’s Department of Justice friend Cam Turner, who dishes out the bulk of the tale’s wry humor. Cam even has a recurring joke; he mocks despised Judge Richard Horney by exaggerating the man’s faux French pronunciation: “Reeshard HorNAY.”
A knockout mystery with twists aplenty.Pub Date: May 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-57-891185-4
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Rukia Publishing US
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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