A bracing suspense tale with strong characters.
In this thriller set in California, a hunky hero and a lovely heroine deal with some bad guys—but things are truly not what they seem.
Christian Sterling—first in his class at Stanford Law—is already a legend and a celebrity, having never lost a case, first as a prosecutor and now as a defense attorney. He is known, in fact, as the “Svengali of the Courtroom.” But when young Kelly Wilde, accused of killing her billionaire parents, begs him to defend her, he takes the case with strict conditions. Kelly is a hot mess, deep into drugs and booze (and herself), so until the trial, she has to stay with him at his ranch in Big Sur and clean up her act. Christian is not only a Svengali, but also clearly a Pygmalion: After three months, Kelly is sober and vibrantly happy—and the two are falling in love. Kelly’s case looks hopeless, but this is the famous Christian Sterling. She is in fact cleared, although not by the jury. The trial, while dramatic enough, is hardly the end of the story. To say more will get readers into spoiler territory. Brandon is certainly experienced in this genre. He offers readers Christian’s romantic/tragic backstory and his beautiful ranch with the loyal Mexican retainers Miguel and Rosario Gomez. The transformation of Kelly from spoiled and angry rich kid to gorgeous, confident young woman is deftly handled. The audience will like both leads, Pygmalion and his Galatea, and the clever setup. As to whodunit, that reveal is also expertly presented as the clues fall into place and extra bodies are discovered. (Mike Bristol, a cynical San Francisco Police Department cop, figures prominently here.) The gripping story will keep readers guessing until the end. In fact, the very last sentence is a zinger. The audience will either cheer or boo the final twists. But that’s part of the fun.
A bracing suspense tale with strong characters.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-978245-52-5
Page Count: 254
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.
Two killers are on the loose. Can they be stopped?
In this ambitious mystery, the prolific and popular King tells the story of a serial murderer who pledges, in a note to Buckeye City police, to kill “13 innocents and 1 guilty,” in order, we eventually learn, to avenge the death of a man who was framed and convicted for possession of child pornography and then killed in prison. At the same time, the author weaves in the efforts of another would-be murderer, a member of a violently abortion-opposing church who has been stalking a popular feminist author and women’s rights activist on a publicity tour. To tell these twin tales of murders done and intended, King summons some familiar characters, including private investigator Holly Gibney, whom readers may recall from previous novels. Gibney is enlisted to help Buckeye City police detective Izzy Jaynes try to identify and stop the serial killer, who has been murdering random unlucky citizens with chilling efficiency. She’s also been hired as a bodyguard for author and activist Kate McKay and her young assistant. The author succeeds in grabbing the reader’s interest and holding it throughout this page-turning tale of terror, which reads like a big-screen thriller. The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King’s choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic. King shines brightest when he gets to the heart of our darkest fears and desires, but here the dangers seem a bit cerebral. In his warning letter to the police, the serial killer wonders if his cryptic rationale to murder will make sense to others, concluding, “It does to me, and that is enough.” Is it enough? In another writer’s work, it might not be, but in King’s skilled hands, it probably is.
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781668089330
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”
Idyllic Catalina Island turns out to be just as crime infested as the rest of Los Angeles County in the latest series launch by the creator of Harry Bosch, Renée Ballard, and the Lincoln Lawyer.
Det. Sgt. Stilwell has been bounced off the county homicide squad and rusticized to Catalina, where the exclusive Black Marlin Club won’t admit even four-term Avalon Mayor Doug Allen to full membership and the most serious infraction seems to be the killing and cutting up of a buffalo, presumably by Henry Gaston, who operates Island Mystery Tours when he’s not threatening endangered species. All that changes with the discovery of a body sunk in the surrounding waters. The corpse, most recognizable by its streak of purple hair, is that of Leigh-Anne Moss, a Black Marlin server recently fired for fraternizing with members and guests she sees as potential sugar daddies. Stilwell is sufficiently invested in her murder to compete vigorously over jurisdiction with Rex Ahearn, the LA County homicide detective who kept his job when Stilwell lost his. Their rivalry, fueled by mutual contempt, is only the first hint that Stilwell will end up fighting his counterparts in law enforcement and local government at least as hard as he fights crooks like hit man Merris Spivak and Oscar “Baby Head” Terranova, Henry’s boss, who comes under sharper scrutiny when Henry disappears and ends up dead himself. Connelly handles his hero’s obligatory romance with assistant harbormaster Tash Dano and his increasingly wary alliance with assistant D.A. Monika Juarez with equal professionalism, and if the wrap-up leaves some loose ends dangling, well, that’s what franchises are for.
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780316588485
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
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