An absorbing jihadist thriller bolstered by complex villains and a winsome, levelheaded protagonist.
A retired epidemiologist becomes convinced that recent cases of cholera are the first signs of a bioterrorist attack in this sequel.
Santa Fe resident Dr. Winston Sage doesn’t know why New Mexico’s reigning epidemiologist would ask him to join the new State Advisory Committee on Bioterrorism. Win’s field, after all, was cancer, not infectious diseases. But his retirement has sparked bouts of boredom so he agrees. While meetings largely consist of the members developing subcommittees (on topics like probable animal infections), Win seems to stumble on a real crisis. He deems two cases of cholera an epidemic, as there are only 8 to 10 each year in the U.S. More cases later crop up as well as other diseases, including E. coli, leading Win to suspect terrorist activity. He seeks assistance from the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, Dan Tilikso, with whom Win had worked while helping to search for his neighbor’s missing wife. Indeed, a group in Pakistan has initiated a plot against America. Although details are not immediately revealed, a key element involves U.S.-born Muslim teens getting jobs as grocery store bag boys around the country. Win speculates the infected citizens he has discovered are a mere trial run for a more widespread assault. As in Grufferman’s (The Warring States Conundrum, 2017) preceding novel, Win is a likable protagonist. He has strong opinions but is open to others’ suggestions; consequently, people listen to him, even if his early declaration of an epidemic sounds far-fetched. The author astutely shows the intricacies of the terrorists’ plan, especially the multitude of participants. Some are devout while others are horrified upon realizing the leaders consider certain individuals expendable. Intelligent dialogue makes discussions about various strains of disease perfectly comprehensible, aided by a steady momentum via brief chapters. Humor comes primarily from Win’s wife, Julia, whose sardonic comments are endearing. Once Win is entangled in the potential terrorist plot, she simply says: “I told you not to get involved with this dumb project.”
An absorbing jihadist thriller bolstered by complex villains and a winsome, levelheaded protagonist.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
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