A fast-paced, riveting, if overly violent, mystery romp.
A has-been author goes on the lam to escape his angry publisher and greedy ex-wife in this thriller with supernatural elements.
Charlie McGinley has amassed a number of the trappings of a successful writer of detective novels in Los Angeles, including five bestsellers, a shabby apartment in a Polynesian-themed building, and a Corvette. He once had aspirations of becoming a serious writer, the evidence being Shaman Warrior, a manuscript about a Native American spiritual healer that has been rejected by dozens of publishers. On the other hand, his popular works, a series of hard-boiled novels featuring detective Johnny Dent, have come easily to Charlie until recently. Now, his life is falling apart. He is sick to death of Dent and can’t seem to produce the sixth installment of the series, even after two years of trying. His advance is spent; his publisher is bringing a lawsuit against him; and his ex-wife, Darlene Dawson, is ready to call the police to collect the back alimony he owes her. Besieged on all sides, Charlie jumps into his Corvette and flees. Along the way, he picks up Ben Fox, a Navajo who needs a lift to New Mexico. Ben seems both wise and enigmatic to Charlie as the two traverse the iconic Route 66 toward the Land of Enchantment. The sense of mystery deepens when Ben keels over dead, and Charlie finds a tag with instructions to take his body to a cryonics lab to be frozen. Charlie may have escaped his previous problems, but with Ben’s body strapped in the passenger seat, he drives right into the most mystifying and dangerous plot of his career. In this inventive tale, Ingraffia both captures and skewers the hard-edged vernacular of the detective thriller. Charlie’s swiftly paced adventures are both gripping and hilarious, although the satire is marred somewhat by scenes of horrific violence. The narrative skillfully presents a winning combination of droll cynicism, intriguing crime-solving, and wondrous magic. But important social issues, such as the disappearances and murders of Native Americans and the efforts of organized crime to take over tribal casinos, are less well developed.
A fast-paced, riveting, if overly violent, mystery romp.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 161
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Filled with action, violence, and more twists than a bag of pretzels.
Second of the Walter Nash thrillers—following Nash Falls (2025)—in which the remade hero seeks vengeance.
Due to urgent circumstances, Nash has bulked himself up to become the “muscled and tatted fighting machine” now known as Dillon Hope. His antagonist is Victoria Steers, a global drug dealer who wants him dead. Not realizing his new identity, she enlists Hope to free her mother, Masuyo, from a prison in Myanmar. As an incentive, she shoots one of her associates and threatens to frame Hope for the murder unless he complies. She also wants him to find Nash. He in turn wants to kill Victoria to avenge the death of his innocent daughter, Maggie. “If I go down,” he muses, “I’m taking others with me. Starting with Victoria Steers.” He learns that Victoria had killed all her siblings to eliminate business competition. But as heartless as Victoria is, her mother, Masuyo, is even worse. In league with the Chinese government in a perverse plan to kill as many Americans as possible through fentanyl overdose, she shows contempt for Victoria for her perceived weaknesses. Readers won’t find many happy family relationships here: mother-daughter, father-son, husband-wife—all fraught. Hope’s employer, who accompanies him to Myanmar, is a billionaire chief executive with a dodgy past (i.e., probably killed his father). And there’s a mega-billionaire with an astronomical IQ and ditch-deep morals who, putting it mildly, does not have America’s best interests at heart. As a teenager, he’d defeated two world chess champions; as an adult, he regards his dealings with the world in terms of master chess moves. Only one character seems truly decent and credible—Hiroko, Victoria’s former nanny and lifelong companion, who provides Hope with valuable insights into the Steers’ background, which is partly Chinese. Searing grudges, simple evil, and not-so-simple misunderstandings carry the cast through this complex, action-packed plot. This sequel ties out the loose ends dangling in Nash Falls, which would be helpful to read first. To get to the requisite ending, though, Baldacci takes pains to surprise the reader. It works but often feels forced.
Filled with action, violence, and more twists than a bag of pretzels.Pub Date: April 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781538758021
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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