An intriguing, family-oriented take on the political thriller.
In Carr’s sequel, a woman struggles to keep her family safe in the middle of a centuries-old battle between two secret societies.
Carr (The List, 2013) continues the story of Wallis Jones, who’s still in the crosshairs of two secret societies that have been fighting for power for hundreds of years: Management and the Circle. The early part of the story centers on the search for the legendary Keeper, a person of mysterious significance for both organizations. The Keeper may be Wallis, or her son, Ned; either way, Wallis and her family aren’t safe. Wallis’ brother-in-law, released from a basement prison, abducts Ned and brings him to a Circle meeting, where he’s introduced as a savior and hailed by many Circle members as their best hope. Soon, an attempt on Wallis’ life leads to tragedy, and tensions increase as various parties try to keep themselves safe and hidden, and also find the Keeper once and for all. There are many characters at play here, all with dubious allegiances, which adds to the book’s thrilling pace. However, this fact can make it hard for readers to keep track of who everyone is, and who is loyal to whom. Also, this is the second book in a series; as such, the first several chapters make reference to events from the first book, and this repetition bogs the story down instead of placing readers back in the action. Overall, it’s not recommended for those who haven’t read The List. As a part of an ongoing series, however, it works both as a political thriller and as a story about a mother trying to do her best for her son.
An intriguing, family-oriented take on the political thriller.Pub Date: April 16, 2014
ISBN: 1620309904
Page Count: 320
Publisher: MRC Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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