The spy business doesn’t need the Cold War for excitement, and this nicely spun yarn proves it.
Trusted public servants plan to betray America.
A Russian informant dies by suicide before she can warn the U.S. of a plot about “something big” about to happen. Then a Russian spy named Mikhail Bortnik approaches the Justice Department offering to reveal “information of great interest” in exchange for guarantees of his safety and freedom. “Russian agents have infiltrated your storied FBI at a high level,” he tells Robert Cooper, who works for the DOJ’s National Security Division. Can a network of traitors truly be embedded in our government, undercover for years? Even the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives might be a Russian agent. In a closely divided House, what if someone happens to die, and the minority becomes the majority? The issue turns urgent when a militant fascist general executes a lightning-fast coup d’etat in Moscow. General Obraztsov will make Putin look like a wimp as he gathers forces to invade Finland and perhaps use tactical nukes to win its ultimate prize, all of Eastern Europe. As Cooper learns, this is part of Operation Viper, a Russian plot involving at least five traitors to the U.S. With the success of that plot, a weakened American government will let the Russkies do their nefarious deeds. Russia has code-named its moles Bear, Alligator, Penguin, Walrus, and Lion, and Cooper and his team had better stop them before it’s too late. Coop, as President Clayton calls him, is a widower whose love life doesn’t extend to more than a kiss on the cheek from his friend Catherine. High-level murders using the Novichok poison are central to this well-constructed plot, with a political back-stabbing thread that deserves dishonorable mention. Characters are believable if not memorable, and the tension culminates in a solid, satisfying finish. Author McCaw is known for his Koa Kāne Hawaiian mysteries, and this is his first geopolitical spy thriller.
The spy business doesn’t need the Cold War for excitement, and this nicely spun yarn proves it.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781324123996
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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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