A crime novel with compelling historical details that gets bogged down by over-the-top characters and dialogue.
In Bareford’s thriller, a haunted World War I veteran embarks on a dangerous journey involving crime and passion in Cuba and the Florida Keys.
The year is 1935, and ex-U.S. Army soldier Fred Dunn is scraping out a living cutting keystone in Florida with a 20-man crew as part of the Veterans Work Program. His life abruptly changes course when he meets an attractive young woman named Cindy Rattigan and her best friend, Ella Kaufmann, at a train platform; Cindy quickly seduces Fred, and the two women recruit him for a bank heist in Cuba, led by suave Emilio Ruiz. Things go sideways when a bomb destroys the bank immediately after the theft, as part of a suspected Communist terrorist attack, and Fred is questioned by the Havana police. As he navigates his new role in a criminal underworld, he grapples with lingering PTSD and a shocking discovery about one of his female companions. Meanwhile, an approaching hurricane may destroy everything—and everyone—that Fred cares about. In an author’s note, Bareford tells of how his main characters were largely based on real-life historical figures, but they’re also clearly inspired by noir. However, the dialogue—which often runs for pages at time with only a sentence or two of narration to break things up—comes across as excessively mannered: “My friend Cindy took me along on this overnighter to Havana, so she and her sugar daddy could casino hop and rumba till the cows come home at the Tropicana.” As a result, several characters, such as femme fatale Cindy, come across as little more than caricatures, resulting in a lack of emotional depth. That said, Bareford skillfully weaves in real history about such things as veterans’ camps and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, and he expounds upon them in engaging notes at the end that give the eventful plot a pleasing sense of real-world consequence.
A crime novel with compelling historical details that gets bogged down by over-the-top characters and dialogue.Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 387
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 22, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.
What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism.
When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780385550543
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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