by Robert Pobi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 4, 2020
Nonstop thrills, especially for readers who want one last glimpse of New York’s landmarks before they’re incinerated.
A series of stunningly high-casualty bombings in and around New York City drives the FBI once more to consult pattern-sensitive astrophysicist Lucas Page, whose people skills may need work but are still far better than the bomber’s.
The first explosion, at a Guggenheim Museum gala for eco-friendly Horizon Dynamics, destroys a billion dollars’ worth of art and 702 human beings without bringing down the iconic structure. That’s one smart bomb, observes Lucas, who quickly realizes that the weapon was a thermobaric explosion and enlightens Special Agent in Charge Brett Kehoe before the FBI's crack team of investigators armed with endless computing power can do so. A delayed warning letter to a CNN anchor and a rapid succession of later bombings raise urgent questions about whodunit and why. A disconcerting number of the targets seem to be connected to William and Seth Hockney’s fraternal and financial partnership, which had recently purchased Horizon Dynamics. But as far as Lucas and Angela Whitaker, the intuitive FBI agent who worked with him in City of Windows (2019), can tell, the Machine Bomber, as the media dub the perp, seems intent on hurting Hockney Worldwide Enterprises instead of helping it. A violent confrontation that doesn’t happen to include a bomb kills Kehoe’s leading suspect, but Lucas, seriously injured but skeptical as ever, is eager to get back in the hunt even after Kehoe pulls him off it, and his uncanny concentration and tenacity pay off in a gripping denouement.
Nonstop thrills, especially for readers who want one last glimpse of New York’s landmarks before they’re incinerated.Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-25-029396-1
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More by Robert Pobi
BOOK REVIEW
by Robert Pobi
by J.D. Robb ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2026
The heroine’s 62nd appearance is a hit-or-miss mystery best suited for readers already invested in her complicated life.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
16
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
Lt. Eve Dallas is sucked into a murder that may well be overshadowed by another crime—and by the news that Roarke, her billionaire husband, is implicated in both felonies in an unexpected and troubling way.
Disturbed from her sleep, Aileen Carville arises to discover her wealthy husband, Nathan Barrister, coshed to death by a heavy amethyst from the collection of his late father, Zip Global founder Henry J. Barrister. His corpse is lying outside an open vault that everyone in the family insists they hadn’t known about until a couple of months ago, and it’s filled with priceless paintings and sculptures and jewels taken years ago from an A-list of museums, one of which—the Royal Suite, a legendary emerald setting—has evidently been stolen once again. The bombshell revelation that Henry must have commissioned the thefts himself leads to two questions—how did the thief who killed Nathan know about the vault and its contents, and what possessed Nathan’s wealthy father to steal and hide all these goodies in the first place?—that are much more interesting than whodunit, though only one of them will be satisfactorily answered. Another bombshell revelation follows: Roarke’s confession to Dallas that he stole the Royal Suite from London’s Tate Gallery when he was still a teenager, years before he turned away from a life of crime himself. Since Interpol is much more interested in the theft than the murder, there’s a real danger that they’ll decide Roarke was once again the thief. So, Dallas faces the double challenge of solving the crimes and keeping her beloved husband out of the frame.
The heroine’s 62nd appearance is a hit-or-miss mystery best suited for readers already invested in her complicated life.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414526
Page Count: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Share your opinion of this book
More by J.D. Robb
BOOK REVIEW
by J.D. Robb
BOOK REVIEW
by J.D. Robb
BOOK REVIEW
by J.D. Robb
by Alice Feeney ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2020
Feeney improves on her debut with a taut suspense plot, many gleeful twists and turns, and suspects galore.
A news presenter and a police detective are brought together by murders in the British village where they both grew up.
There is precious little that can be revealed about the plot of Feeney’s third novel without spoilers, as the author has woven surprises and plot twists and suspicious linkages into nearly every one of her brief, first-person chapters, written in three alternating narrative voices. “Hers” is Anna Andrews, a wannabe anchor on a BBC news program whose lucky break comes when the body of one of her school friends is found brutally murdered in their hometown, a woodsy little spot called Blackdown. “His” is DCI Jack Harper, head of the Major Crime Team in Blackdown, where major crimes were rather few until now. The third is unnamed but clearly the killer’s. Happily, none of the three is an unreliable narrator—good thing because plenty of people are sick of that—but none is exactly 100% forthcoming either. Which only makes sense, because you can't have reveals without secrets. In a small town like Blackdown, everybody knows everybody, so it’s not too surprising that Anna and Jack have a tragic past or that each has connections to all the victims and suspects while not being totally free from suspicion themselves. Who is that sneaky third narrator? On the way to figuring that out, expect high school mean girls, teen lesbian action, mutilated corpses, nasty things happening to kittens, and—as seems de rigueur in British thrillers—plenty of drinking and wisecracks, sometimes in tandem. “Sadly, my sister has the same taste in wine as she does in men; too cheap, too young, and headache-inducing.”
Feeney improves on her debut with a taut suspense plot, many gleeful twists and turns, and suspects galore.Pub Date: July 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26608-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More by Alice Feeney
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Feeney
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Feeney
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Feeney
More About This Book
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.