An enjoyable thriller that should make readers wonder what other parts of Italy the author could creatively mine.
A debut novel examines how a determined individual can use religious tenets to disguise political ambitions.
In this story set in Rome in the near future, the man who must uncover and unravel the Mithras conspiracy is Commissario Marco Leone “of the Polizia di Stato,” one of Italy’s national police forces. Leone must solve the gruesome murder of his childhood friend, a priest attached to the Vatican Library. The priest’s sister, Leone’s former lover, hints that his murder may have something to do with a recently discovered parchment that Cardinal Gustavo Furbone wants buried. Little does Leone realize that this quarrel over a document is but one small part of a plot by wealthy Lucio Piso to resurrect the ancient Mithras religion, which Christianity had overtaken, and install himself as ruler of Italy in a coup. Piso hopes to accomplish this by recruiting converts throughout the government and the Vatican, including Leone’s former right-hand man, a highly placed cardinal, and more officials than anyone would expect. Leone, who doesn’t play well with others, slowly pieces together Piso’s scheme on his own as multiple murders and bombings occur, and he becomes the target of several assassination attempts. The action crescendos in a final showdown with Piso. Polelle has put his passion for Italy to good use in this volume. His numerous trips to the country help inform his colorful descriptions of many landmarks. And his intensive research enables him to ably bring the forgotten religion of Mithras to life. The author also deserves credit for populating his work with many flawed characters. Leone may be anti-social and cynical, but at least he’s honest about his motivation: protecting the country he loves from the conspiracy he unearths. Most of the other players, whether religious or secular, have much less admirable goals, seeking to benefit from a Piso regime in some way. Polelle rewards readers with uncertainty in every chapter. Leone’s Rome is a dangerous place, with a masked attacker around virtually every corner. And that’s what makes it fun to visit.
An enjoyable thriller that should make readers wonder what other parts of Italy the author could creatively mine.Pub Date: March 29, 2019
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 313
Publisher: Lido Press
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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