Pithy writing, an unswerving plot and witty characters give this thriller a notable gleam.
In this debut thriller, two singles vacationing in paradise find love and sunken treasure, but the treasure belongs to a drug cartel that wants it back.
Luck seems to be on the side of Bill and Vicky. After meeting on Isla La Madre, the blossoming of their romance is followed by the discovery, while snorkeling, of a cigarette boat and close to $60 million—not to mention bullet holes and skeletal remains. The two take the money and try their best to hide evidence of the shipwreck, but that doesn’t stop the Miami Mafia from realizing that a rather sizable payment is now missing. They send their man to recover the funds and take care of any related problems. Howell sets up his story remarkably well, wasting no time in getting Bill and Vicky together and proficiently establishing their new relationship without dawdling. They snorkel, make love and even have an awkward moment when Vicky breaks the ice by implying that Bill’s an alcoholic—all within the first 50 pages. But it’s their shrewd response to finding bundles of cash at the bottom of the sea that makes them appealing. They consider every option—destroying the money or turning it in to the police, for instance—and they’re cautious even without knowing if they’re in danger. It’s clear to readers, however, that a menace is lurking: Mob man Rizzo enlists Eddy, who’s not above murdering someone to cover his own tracks. The baddies get close enough to the lovers to ramp up suspense, which leads to a rousing car chase and the introduction of a police presence, mostly in the form of Officer Tony Sanchez. His scenes are less engaging, since readers are a few steps ahead of his investigation, but his refusal to let a murder case go cold is laudable. Numerous ships and scenes at sea lead to amusing nautical metaphors—Vicky notes that she and Bill, both with the money, are “on the same boat”—and even water-laden threats, like Rizzo suggesting that Eddy “plug some dike” with an unlucky man.
Pithy writing, an unswerving plot and witty characters give this thriller a notable gleam.Pub Date: March 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-1468186826
Page Count: 332
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
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