by Matt Hilton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 3, 2021
Not up to much, this.
Relocated Cajun Nicolas "Po" Villere and his more respectable partner, Tess Grey, are tossed into a mission to rescue Po’s ex-lover and her son from a brutally misogynistic commune in Portland, Maine.
Time was when Po and Elspeth Fuchs were closer than close. But in the 10 years since Elspeth broke it off with him, Po hasn’t seen her—until their unexpected reunion is witnessed by Tess, who’s not pleased by what looks like billing and cooing to her. Realizing that his former lover is in some kind of trouble, Po manages to slip her a business card identifying Tess as a licensed private eye. Unfortunately, a meeting in which Elspeth says her abusive husband, Caleb Moorcock, has been following her ends abruptly when Tess’ pointed question about which of her beaux might have fathered Elspeth’s 10-year-old son, Jacob, leads Elspeth to take the boy, stalk out, and head on down the road, from which the two are promptly grabbed by Caleb and his pal Jeremy Decker and spirited out of Portland to the cultish commune presided over by Caleb’s father, Eldon Moorcock. Po’s initial reconnaissance of the place turns into a rescue attempt that not only fails to free Elspeth, but plunges her into even hotter water with the Moorcocks. So Po, Tess, and their buddy Pinky Leclerc mount a more determined effort to free Elspeth. There are complications this time, too, but nothing that will upset or surprise fans of the franchise.
Not up to much, this.Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7278-9096-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More by Matt Hilton
BOOK REVIEW
by Matt Hilton
BOOK REVIEW
by Matt Hilton
BOOK REVIEW
by Matt Hilton
by Max Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
148
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More by Max Brooks
BOOK REVIEW
by Max Brooks
More About This Book
BOOK TO SCREEN
by Jeneva Rose ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 2024
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.
Three siblings on very different paths learn that their family home may be haunted by secrets.
Eldest daughter Beth is alone with her fading mother as she takes her final breath and says something about Beth’s long-departed brother and sister, who may not have disappeared forever. Beth is still reeling from the loss of her mother when her estranged siblings show up. Michael, the youngest, hasn’t been home since their father’s disappearance seven years ago. In the meantime, he’s outgrown his siblings, trading his share of the family troubles for a high-paying job in San Jose. Nicole, the middle child, has been overpowered by addiction and prioritized tuning out reality over any sense of responsibility, much to Beth’s disgust. Though their mother’s death marks an ending for the family, it’s also a beginning, as the three siblings realize when they find a disturbing videotape among their parents’ belongings. The video, from 1999, sheds suspicion on their father’s disappearance, linking it to a long-unsolved neighborhood mystery. Was it just a series of unfortunate circumstances that broke the family apart, or does something more sinister underlie the sadness they’ve all found in life? In chapters that rotate among the family’s first-person narratives, the siblings take turns digging up stories and secrets in their search for solace.
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798212182843
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jeneva Rose
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeneva Rose
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeneva Rose
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.