A sensational conclusion to a dark, captivating series.
A powerful vampire leader struggling with continuous loss must stop the menace that’s threatening her bloodline in this final part of Tomoguchi’s horror trilogy.
It’s been just over a year since Orly Solodnikova became empress of the Cobălcescu bloodline. Having consumed the bloodline’s most potent blood, she’s the strongest among the vampires she reigns over. But the 23-year-old, who’s forever stuck in a 12-year-old body, is wracked with loneliness. She dearly misses those in her life who have died, and she’s so depressed that she sends away the only two people she loves: vampire Berthold and her “fledgling,” Kristy, whom Orly made immortal; they’re in a relationship with each other and contemplating a future without Orly. The empress wallows in self-isolation at her Los Angeles home until she gets news of her old enemy Trajan. He’s been rallying other covens against Orly and may be behind the recent spate of murders of Cobălcescu in Europe. It gets worse when Berthold and Kristy suddenly go missing, most likely in Trajan’s hands. Orly’s bloodline needs her now more than ever, and she vows to protect the Cobălcescu and take out Trajan and any of his cohorts. This necessitates staunch leadership and politicking, as she meets with such mighty vampire groups as the Eternal (with each member clocking in at 2,000-plus years old) and the Azunu, the world’s oldest coven, based in Rwanda. Orly fights to prevent a war and eliminate Trajan, while hoping that she finds Berthold and Kristy alive.
This cohesive three-novel series is a vampire story with heart. Tomoguchi’s protagonist has always been sympathetic; she began as an orphan and, in her latest outing, suffers great emotional turmoil. She also faces numerous obstacles that mere mortals will find relatable. Some of the vampire leaders, for example, don’t take her seriously because of her age, as she’s thousands of years younger than many other immortals. She’s also still learning her powers, having acquired untold abilities from a vampire she drained. Seemingly endless pressures weigh her down, but Orly, time and again, proves formidable. She wields the unique art of “scribbling” black-crayon drawings that reveal others’ evil, or their “darkest desire.” This doesn’t just expose villainous secrets, but allows Orly to see what she may be keeping from herself as well. As a vampire, she can also access the Oblivion—a personal dreamlike place and the setting for the novel’s most heartfelt moments, as Orly seeks advice and solace from her late mother, Yelena. Orly sits down with a handful of commanding vampires; she aims for peaceful discussions and occasionally engages in fanged conflict. There’s some intriguing globetrotting, too, that takes her to various lands, from the western United States and Romania to the Netherlands and Argentina. Tomoguchi’s taut prose fuels the narrative, but his dialogue, which includes telepathic conversation, is a highlight: “I suppose title characters in an opera should always expect to die,” Berthold observes at one point. The compact plot more than earns its gratifying denouement.
A sensational conclusion to a dark, captivating series.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2022
ISBN: 9798218074432
Page Count: 449
Publisher: Ink Bleeds Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Nail-biting and pressure-packed.
Jack Ryan Jr. and company race to stop a killer wave in this Tom Clancy thriller.
The ship Meridian Star departs eastern Russia unknowingly carrying a pair of containers with radioactive cesium chloride. The vessel is hijacked and scuttled in Micronesia near the Mariana Trench, and the crew is murdered. A huge insurance claim results, and Jack, an accomplished deep-sea diver who works for Hendley Associates, is there to investigate. The hostile Chinese learn it’s there and want that illicit cargo. Meanwhile, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center discovers a huge, mysterious object in 600 feet of water. At that depth, the pressure is unsurvivable without complex special equipment, which is vintage Tom Clancy. Whatever the strange object is, it’s “not a ship…not a submarine…not an aircraft.” On the side is a faded hammer and sickle and Cyrillic letters that spell Siren. Ryan teams up with Navy divers, and they look for a way to safely enter and explore the object. They discover that the underwater contraption has thermonuclear warheads attached, left and long forgotten by the USSR. If the warheads explode, they could still achieve their apparent purpose—to trigger a tsunami and destroy Guam, which is strategically important to the U.S. The Chinese know it too, and the race is on to take control. The result is plenty of high-stakes undersea action, where death can come from a bullet, a knife, or a sliced air hose. But there’s action on land, too. Navy master diver Carla Bennett and Jack take on a surprise assault in a hotel where Carla shows off stellar fighting skills—better than Jack’s. These two aren’t the only heroes here, as there’s a well-balanced cast of characters, all brave and likable. And of course—of course—where there’s a bomb, there’s a ticking clock.
Nail-biting and pressure-packed.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798217183166
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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