A myriad of codes and riddles provide a solid amount of enjoyment for fans of mysteries or espionage thrillers.
In Gratsias’ debut historical thriller, an anthropologist learns that his family may be linked to a decadeslong war between good and evil.
Dr. Matthias Adkins, head of the University of Colorado’s sociocultural anthropology research department, makes a shocking discovery in his grandmother’s attic. A hidden box that belonged to his late grandfather Thomas contains a photo of an unknown German naval officer, an Iron Cross, and a leather notebook with codes and symbols. He and his live-in girlfriend, Linda, identify the officer as Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, who was executed in 1945 for working against the Nazi regime, while Thomas’ codes and riddles take Matthias to Boston, Argentina and France. It seems that Matthias is destined to join the Phoenix Order—a secret group created by Canaris—to protect the order’s sacred relics. Matthias needs to find the hidden relics, but he must first elude the Sanctum, an evil society tied to the Nazi Party. In Gratsias’ historically rich mystery/thriller, watching Matthias and Linda decrypt Thomas’ coded messages is both enjoyable and intriguing (the codes certainly aren’t easy to solve), while the Sanctum’s Albert Moreno, a killer who targets Matthias, is an unsettling character made even creepier by the mystery obscuring him (Albert isn’t even his real name). The story’s pliable timeline—moving from the end of World War II to the late 1980s to 2008—complements Matthias’ global trek, as the Sanctum tracks down key members of the Phoenix Order. The narrative does unfortunately become a bit confusing when names and dates are muddled: Matthias’ birthday is initially in May but later given as January; his surname alternates between Adkins and Atkins; his grandmother’s name changes from Carolyn to Caroline and then to Cynthia, which is also his mother’s name; and Thomas’ year of death is noted as both 1988 and 1978. Gratsias clarifies a number of historical references via footnotes, while the abundance of newspaper articles, websites and Wikipedia entries that characters, particularly Matthias and Linda, peruse are properly cited, also in footnotes. The ending offers a resolution, but the Phoenix Order’s expansive background is a literary hotbed for sequels.
A myriad of codes and riddles provide a solid amount of enjoyment for fans of mysteries or espionage thrillers.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499625608
Page Count: 312
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.
Hunter’s debut novel tracks the experiences of her family members during the Holocaust.
Sol and Nechuma Kurc, wealthy, cultured Jews in Radom, Poland, are successful shop owners; they and their grown children live a comfortable lifestyle. But that lifestyle is no protection against the onslaught of the Holocaust, which eventually scatters the members of the Kurc family among several continents. Genek, the oldest son, is exiled with his wife to a Siberian gulag. Halina, youngest of all the children, works to protect her family alongside her resistance-fighter husband. Addy, middle child, a composer and engineer before the war breaks out, leaves Europe on one of the last passenger ships, ending up thousands of miles away. Then, too, there are Mila and Felicia, Jakob and Bella, each with their own share of struggles—pain endured, horrors witnessed. Hunter conducted extensive research after learning that her grandfather (Addy in the book) survived the Holocaust. The research shows: her novel is thorough and precise in its details. It’s less precise in its language, however, which frequently relies on cliché. “You’ll get only one shot at this,” Halina thinks, enacting a plan to save her husband. “Don’t botch it.” Later, Genek, confronting a routine bit of paperwork, must decide whether or not to hide his Jewishness. “That form is a deal breaker,” he tells himself. “It’s life and death.” And: “They are low, it seems, on good fortune. And something tells him they’ll need it.” Worse than these stale phrases, though, are the moments when Hunter’s writing is entirely inadequate for the subject matter at hand. Genek, describing the gulag, calls the nearest town “a total shitscape.” This is a low point for Hunter’s writing; elsewhere in the novel, it’s stronger. Still, the characters remain flat and unknowable, while the novel itself is predictable. At this point, more than half a century’s worth of fiction and film has been inspired by the Holocaust—a weighty and imposing tradition. Hunter, it seems, hasn’t been able to break free from her dependence on it.
Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-56308-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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