A well-crafted thriller that manages to be both timely and timeless.
In the fourth book of the Cleary Case Files series, Clark (Third Breath, 2014, etc.) brings back FBI Special Agent Shawn Cleary in a gripping blend of terrorism, serial killers, and even a little romance.
Shawn’s life is in turmoil when this thriller opens. Mitchell Gant is about to go on trial for multiple murders, but his twin brother, Trevor, Shawn’s former partner, is still on the loose. He’s threatened everyone Shawn cares about, so she can’t relax yet: “Over the last six weeks, the feeling never abated, and she believed Trevor Gant lurked in the vicinity, ready to execute his next deadly assault.” Indeed, Trevor’s threat caused Shawn to separate from Nick, the man she loves, in order to keep him safe. To make matters worse, a terrorist cell has weaponized the Ebola virus and is planning to disperse it somewhere in a transportation system. Trevor manages to rig the trial and Mitchell gets off. Later, Shawn goes to arrest Mitchell for another set of murders and a firefight unexpectedly breaks out. This climactic incident leaves Trevor in an even worse frame of mind, but because he’s injured, he’s forced to flee. Shawn is badly hurt herself, but her pursuit of the terrorists brings her and Trevor together one more time. Clark’s greatest gift to readers is her breakneck pacing, which keeps the narrative flying along. Still, it zigs and zags along the way, taking unexpected turns, including the revelation of the terrorists’ ultimate choice of target. She doesn’t give short shrift to characterization, though, especially of Shawn, who cares deeply for those she loves while also being a tough agent near the top of her field. One quibble is that there isn’t much room for more than cameos of some people from previous volumes, including Sgt. Ed Pulaski and the vigilante group Patronus, but there’s still plenty of action and memorable characters to go around. The only real problem is that Clark ties up so many loose ends from earlier books that one wonders what’s left for Shawn to tackle next.
A well-crafted thriller that manages to be both timely and timeless.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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