A thoughtful and provocative thriller that’s delightfully quirky as well.
In this novel, a widow in North Dakota protests the purchase of a new missile system to be based near her home—and her life is threatened as a result.
Edna O’Hare is a 78-year-old widow haunted by dreams of nuclear apocalypse. Her home is less than a mile away from an ICBM missile base, with her land spangled with Minuteman missiles like so many “poison mushrooms.” When she discovers the government intends to replace those missiles with a newer crop to the tune of billions of dollars, she is motivated to stage a protest at the base, a quixotic mission that only succeeds in getting her arrested. Her urgency and clarity are impressive: “One side will launch their rockets if they receive a warning that the other side has attacked. And they’ll do this even if the warning is a mistake. And then billions of people will die. We need to get rid of them.” Despite her demoralizing failure, she presses on, and her efforts finally begin to earn an audience while drawing the attention of powerful political figures with a vested interest in the new missiles, including her distasteful brother-in-law, Earnest. Edna’s life becomes endangered, and as her protests gather fellow travelers, she doggedly persists. Meanwhile, she befriends Makenna Washington, a missile launch officer from the local base. Edna learns that some of the other officers—the very people responsible for the missiles— are cheating on their military exams and recklessly using drugs. In this intriguing tale, Manos artfully juxtaposes the lightsomely eccentric with the gravely serious. Edna is a charmingly peculiar woman—she often dons a witch’s hat—who becomes obsessed with an issue of infinite importance. That said, the plot becomes overly congested with subplots, and the cast of characters in turn prolifically multiplies, creating more distractions than additional dramatic interest for readers. But this is a gripping work of fiction, both morally challenging and politically astute.
A thoughtful and provocative thriller that’s delightfully quirky as well.Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-953735-98-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Melange Books, LLC
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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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