Citizens staunchly defend their rights in an often-engrossing dystopian tale that occasionally stumbles.
American survivors of nuclear devastation fight to regain their freedom from tyrannical leaders in this postapocalyptic standalone sequel to Path of Affliction (2021).
In March 2017, nuclear explosions rock major American cities. The president retaliates by launching missiles at the countries suspected of the attack, and millions die worldwide. Minnesota native Frankie Buccetti gathers his friends and family, who now must survive in a country under martial law and rife with criminals and looters. The loved ones he doesn’t immediately reconnect with still manage to take care of themselves; they hunt and fish for food and eliminate any threats (which are mostly human). As the dust of World War III settles, many Americans hope to re-energize their wounded nation. But although some disagree with the president’s nuclear retribution, there’s a greater enemy to fight when a secret regime that had been consolidating power for years seizes control of the nation—and may be seeking to take over the rest of the world. Frankie knows that these new leaders will slowly erase their civil liberties, so he and his pals plan to fight back—and not quietly. Campanella squeezes a lot of story into this book, which isn’t just about staying alive in a dystopia; Frankie’s group also plays the postapocalyptic stock market, and the group’s members run into trouble in their individual love lives. Many in the large cast return from the earlier book, although readers just joining the series will easily catch up. Certain subplots this time around have little impact, such as those involving a revenge murder and chip implants. The text also suffers from numerous misspellings that prove distracting (“Secrete Service,” “picknick table,” “up their sleave,” and many more). The author, however, wisely narrows his scope by focusing primarily on action in the United States. The heroes are portrayed as politically conservative and will likely appeal most to readers who share their beliefs, and they’re up against unforgettably over-the-top villains.
Citizens staunchly defend their rights in an often-engrossing dystopian tale that occasionally stumbles.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 286
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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
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