An entertaining thriller with plenty of intrigue and fast-paced, collaborative action.
In this novel, two criminal masterminds play a long game of retribution against their enemies— and three spies are the only ones standing in their way.
Raymond Charles Brickman III and Kathy Ann Erickson, aka Viktoriya Ratimirovna Popova, have prepared all their lives to enact revenge against those who have wronged them. Brickman, a self-proclaimed proud Southerner and Confederate, has a bone of contention with the United States, specifically against the North and those who oppressed Southerners and destroyed their fortunes following the Civil War. Erickson plans to retaliate against the Russian government, which is responsible for the death of her beloved family years ago in Afghanistan. Coincidentally, their separate plans come to fruition at the same time in March 2018. Brickman sets up the catastrophic destruction of critical U.S. weather satellites, and Erickson hacks into the direct line of communication between Russian President Vladimir Putin and American President Donald Trump, starting a chain of events that she expects will lead to an all-out nuclear war. The two governments’ secret services scramble for a response. That’s when Russian spy Dmitri Smirnov’s serendipitous visit to the U.S. proves a bonus when he meets his two friends Linda Kipling and Victor Silverstein, two scientists with the Naval Research Laboratory who happen to be CIA agents. These allies may find the only way to prevent World War III. Tag’s spy thriller offers a swiftly paced, tautly plotted series of episodes that encompass topical U.S. and Russian politics (including America’s growing number of domestic terrorists), diplomatic entanglements, and the cooperative work behind the scenes to keep peace in the world. The dynamics among Smirnov, Kipling, and Silverstein are engaging, and each character brings different specialties to the fight to save the world. The plot-driven narrative features adequate prose that’s focused on telling rather than showing. But despite this flawed approach and an overly enthusiastic use of exclamation marks (“No amount of planning or foresight can take the place of pure dumb luck!”), the tale smoothly sails to its climax. Fans of spy novels will greatly enjoy this story.
An entertaining thriller with plenty of intrigue and fast-paced, collaborative action.Pub Date: June 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66322-254-1
Page Count: 398
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Nail-biting and pressure-packed.
Jack Ryan Jr. and company race to stop a killer wave in this Tom Clancy thriller.
The ship Meridian Star departs eastern Russia unknowingly carrying a pair of containers with radioactive cesium chloride. The vessel is hijacked and scuttled in Micronesia near the Mariana Trench, and the crew is murdered. A huge insurance claim results, and Jack, an accomplished deep-sea diver who works for Hendley Associates, is there to investigate. The hostile Chinese learn it’s there and want that illicit cargo. Meanwhile, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center discovers a huge, mysterious object in 600 feet of water. At that depth, the pressure is unsurvivable without complex special equipment, which is vintage Tom Clancy. Whatever the strange object is, it’s “not a ship…not a submarine…not an aircraft.” On the side is a faded hammer and sickle and Cyrillic letters that spell Siren. Ryan teams up with Navy divers, and they look for a way to safely enter and explore the object. They discover that the underwater contraption has thermonuclear warheads attached, left and long forgotten by the USSR. If the warheads explode, they could still achieve their apparent purpose—to trigger a tsunami and destroy Guam, which is strategically important to the U.S. The Chinese know it too, and the race is on to take control. The result is plenty of high-stakes undersea action, where death can come from a bullet, a knife, or a sliced air hose. But there’s action on land, too. Navy master diver Carla Bennett and Jack take on a surprise assault in a hotel where Carla shows off stellar fighting skills—better than Jack’s. These two aren’t the only heroes here, as there’s a well-balanced cast of characters, all brave and likable. And of course—of course—where there’s a bomb, there’s a ticking clock.
Nail-biting and pressure-packed.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798217183166
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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