A brisk, entertaining story of feuding youngsters and adults alike.
A string of crimes and accusations turns residents of a small Virginia town against one another in this sequel.
Twelve-year-old Billy Gunn has had more than enough adventure during his 1955 summer vacation. After braving an abduction and a sniper stalking the town of Highland, he and bestie Kent Clark just want to enjoy their freedom before seventh grade starts. But bullies won’t let that happen; they knock the friends around and take off on their bikes. Of course, the bullies deny stealing anything, sparking back-and-forth finger pointing, intimidation, and revenge-fueled attacks. Even Billy’s dad, who runs a garage and towing business, calls in his Army pals to help out. Meanwhile, Matt Cubley, Billy and Kent’s boss at Cubley’s Coze Hotel and Resort (where the boys wash guests’ cars), takes over the unexpectedly vacant office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney. He’s been a lawyer before, but now he’s facing numerous criminal cases, including murder, bootleggers, multiple shootings, and the racist beating of a local Black pastor. Much of the mess revolves around Big John McCulloch, who owns most of Highland and has the town cops in his pocket; his son is the much despised recently appointed chief of police, and his grandson is one of the bullies. Ultimately, the working-class townsfolk find themselves pitted against Big John and his loyal cronies, with a “class war” seemingly on the horizon. As Matt tries to solve the recent crimes, he, Billy, and Kent hope they can somehow ease the tension threatening to tear Highland apart.
Armstrong’s follow-up picks up right after A Serving of Revenge (2020) during the same mid-’50s summer. It has a surfeit of allusions to the preceding installment, such as Billy’s listing the bullies’ vicious assaults across both novels. These references are sometimes overwhelming, though readers new to the series certainly won’t be lost. Despite its length, this sequel keeps things popping; scenes bounce among the tweens and bullies, Matt in the courtroom, and locals engaging in gunfights. Immensely likable Billy and Kent will easily charm readers and win sympathy. Kent, for example, is awful at lying, as in his hilarious claim that he hasn’t seen someone: “I never saw him, not one time, and that’s the truth.” Other characters, however, are a mixed bag. Billy’s kindhearted mother dotes on both her son and Kent, constantly correcting Billy when he says “ain’t” or a double negative. Contrarily, his father is frighteningly violent; his arguments quickly turn physical, and he’s disciplined Billy with a much-feared belt against the back. No one, at least in this novel, really calls out this man on how he treats his young son. Armstrong zeroes in on the town in disarray; it’s more about the culmination of crimes than solving individual ones, such as unmasking a killer. There’s nevertheless some mystery, involving issues from a couple of missing people to the identity of the sniper who shot a child. The book ends with plenty of avenues for another sequel, which could very well see Billy and Kent in a classroom.
A brisk, entertaining story of feuding youngsters and adults alike.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 364
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship.
An artwork’s value grows if you understand the stories of the people who inspired it.
Never in her wildest dreams would foster kid Louisa dream of meeting C. Jat, the famous painter of The One of the Sea, which depicts a group of young teens on a pier on a hot summer’s day. But in Backman’s latest, that’s just what happens—an unexpected (but not unbelievable) set of circumstances causes their paths to collide right before the dying 39-year-old artist’s departure from the world. One of his final acts is to bequeath that painting to Louisa, who has endured a string of violent foster homes since her mother abandoned her as a child. Selling the painting will change her life—but can she do it? Before deciding, she accompanies Ted, one of the artist’s close friends and one of the young teens captured in that celebrated painting, on a train journey to take the artist’s ashes to his hometown. She wants to know all about the painting, which launched Jat’s career at age 14, and the circle of beloved friends who inspired it. The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (2014) and other novels, Backman gives us a heartwarming story about how these friends, set adrift by the violence and unhappiness of their homes, found each other and created a new definition of family. “You think you’re alone,” one character explains, “but there are others like you, people who stand in front of white walls and blank paper and only see magical things. One day one of them will recognize you and call out: ‘You’re one of us!’” As Ted tells stories about his friends—how Jat doubted his talents but found a champion in fiery Joar, who took on every bully to defend him; how Ali brought an excitement to their circle that was “like a blinding light, like a heart attack”—Louisa recognizes herself as a kindred soul and feels a calling to realize her own artistic gifts. What she decides to do with the painting is part of a caper worthy of the stories that Ted tells her. The novel is humorous, poignant, and always life-affirming, even when describing the bleakness of the teens’ early lives. “Art is a fragile magic, just like love,” as someone tells Louisa, “and that’s humanity’s only defense against death.”
A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781982112820
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A fresh and clever whodunit with an engaging twist.
A 16-year-old savant uses his Groundhog Day gift to solve his grandfather’s murder.
Nishizawa’s compulsively readable puzzle opens with the discovery of the victim, patriarch Reijiro Fuchigami, sprawled on a futon in the attic of his elegant mansion, where his family has gathered for a consequential announcement about his estate. The weapon seems to be a copper vase lying nearby. Given this setup, the novel might have proceeded as a traditional whodunit but for two delightful features. The first is the ebullient narration of Fuchigami’s youngest grandson, Hisataro, thrust into the role of an investigator with more dedication than finesse. The second is Nishizawa’s clever premise: The 16-year-old Hisataro has lived ever since birth with a condition that occasionally has him falling into a time loop that he calls "the Trap," replaying the same 24 hours of his life exactly nine times before moving on. And, of course, the murder takes place on the first day of one of these loops. Can he solve the murder before the cycle is played out? His initial strategies—never leaving his grandfather’s side, focusing on specific suspects, hiding in order to observe them all—fall frustratingly short. Hisataro’s comical anxiety rises with every failed attempt to identify the culprit. It’s only when he steps back and examines all the evidence that he discovers the solution. First published in 1995, this is the first of Nishizawa’s novels to be translated into English. As for Hisataro, he ultimately concludes that his condition is not a burden but a gift: “Time’s spiral never ends.”
A fresh and clever whodunit with an engaging twist.Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781805335436
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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