Just the thing for readers hungry for a banquet of epicurean pleasures, ancient history, international terrorism, and holy...
The good life in the Périgord countryside is menaced by pedophiles, terrorists, torturers, and a visiting magistrate from Paris.
Does he need to buy a new suit for the wedding of his 60-something friends, museum curator Dr. Clothilde Daumier and archaeological consultant professor Horst Vogelstern? St. Denis Police Chief Bruno Courrèges (Fatal Pursuit, 2016, etc.) only wishes that were his biggest problem. But the newspapers are full of reports alleging sex abuse at the Mussidan orphanage 30 years ago, based on testimony obtained under hypnosis by psychologist Marie-France Duteiller, though the evidence has been questioned by Chief Detective Jean-Jacques Jalipeau. A more urgent report comes from the Château Commarque, a magnificent but half-ruined structure on the road to Sarlat. The body of an unidentified woman has been found beneath a wall she seems to have fallen from in the course of painting the letters I, F, T, I. The discovery that the dead woman is Leah Ben-Ari, an Israeli born in France as Leah Wolinsky, and the theory that her graffiti refers to the Testament of Iftikhar, a centuries-old document that purports to expose Muslim claims to Jerusalem as fraudulent, only deepens the mystery. Why had Leah come to this out-of-the-way place to make her statement? How to parse her long relationship with Palestinian Saïd al-Husayni, and how is she connected to the terrorists who tortured noted Templar scholar Auguste Dumesnil to the point of death? What effect will the suicide of an elderly nun who pressed the police to investigate at the orphanage have on the Mussidan case? And how will Bruno ever find time in the midst of this swirling intrigue to wine and dine lovely Guadeloupe-born magistrate Amélie Plessis, who, sent by the Ministry of Justice to look over his shoulder, recommends that he set up a Facebook account?
Just the thing for readers hungry for a banquet of epicurean pleasures, ancient history, international terrorism, and holy matrimony. More timid souls who crave a less incongruous mix may want to wait till next year.Pub Date: June 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-94680-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
O'Brien proves to be the Oliver Stone of literature, reiterating the same Vietnam stories endlessly without adding any insight. Politician John Wade has just lost an election, and he and his wife, Kathy, have retired to a lakeside cabin to plan their future when she suddenly disappears. O'Brien manages to stretch out this simple premise by sticking in chapters consisting of quotes from various sources (both actual and fictional) that relate to John and Kathy. An unnamed author — an irritating device that recalls the better-handled but still imperfect "Tim O'Brien" narrator of The Things They Carried (1990) — also includes lengthy footnotes about his own experiences in Vietnam. While the sections covering John in the third person are dry, these first-person footnotes are unbearable. O'Brien uses a coy tone (it's as though he's constantly whispering "Ooooh, spooky!"), but there is no suspense: The reader is acquainted with Kathy for only a few pages before her disappearance, so it's impossible to work up any interest in her fate. The same could be said of John, even though he is the focus of the book. Flashbacks and quotes reveal that John was present at the infamous Thuan Yen massacre (for those too thick-headed to understand the connection to My Lai, O'Brien includes numerous real-life references). The symbolism here is beyond cloying. As a child John liked to perform magic tricks, and he was subsequently nicknamed "Sorcerer" by his fellow soldiers — he could make things disappear, get it? John has been troubled for some time. He used to spy on Kathy when they were in college, and his father's habit of calling the chubby boy "Jiggling John" apparently wounded him. All of this is awkwardly uncovered through a pretentious structure that cannot disguise the fact that there is no story here. Sinks like a stone.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 061870986X
Page Count: 320
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
A mind-bending mystery, an insightful exploration of parent-child relationships, and a cautionary tale about bitterness and...
A young man seeking catharsis probes old wounds and unleashes fresh pain in this expertly crafted stand-alone from Edgar finalist Gaylin (If I Die Tonight, 2018, etc.).
Quentin Garrison is an accomplished true-crime podcaster, but it’s not until his troubled mother, Kate, fatally overdoses that he tackles the case that destroyed his family. In 1976, teenagers Gabriel LeRoy and April Cooper murdered 12 people in Southern California—Kate’s little sister included—before dying in a fire. Kate’s mother committed suicide, and her father withdrew, neglecting Kate, who in turn neglected Quentin. Quentin intends for Closure to examine the killings’ ripple effects, but after an interview with his estranged grandfather ends in a fight, he resolves to find a different angle. When a source alleges that April is alive and living in New York as Renee Bloom, Quentin is dubious, but efforts to debunk the claim only uncover more supporting evidence, so he flies east to investigate. Renee’s daughter, online film columnist Robin Diamond, is preoccupied with Twitter trolls and marital strife when Quentin calls to inquire about her mom’s connection to April Cooper. Robin initially dismisses Quentin but, upon reflection, realizes she knows nothing of Renee’s past. Before she can ask, a violent home invasion hospitalizes her parents and leaves Robin wondering whom she can trust. Artfully strewn red herrings and a kaleidoscopic narrative heighten tension while sowing seeds of distrust concerning the characters’ honesty and intentions. Letters from April to her future daughter written mid–crime spree punctuate chapters from Quentin's and Robin’s perspectives, humanizing her and Gabriel in contrast with sensationalized accounts from Hollywood and the media.
A mind-bending mystery, an insightful exploration of parent-child relationships, and a cautionary tale about bitterness and blame.Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-284454-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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