An astute exploration of the dark side of cryptocurrency.
A Secret Service agent attempts to unravel a complex criminal conspiracy fueled by cryptocurrency in this novel.
A major earthquake strikes Bellingham, Washington, resulting in the collapse of a small building, which exposes an apartment filled with bundles of cash, two computers, and reams of banking records, a suspicious assemblage. The apartment’s occupant, George Kennedy, vanishes. Secret Service agent Luke Bitterman, a member of a joint task force that probes financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies, is charged with investigating the scene. He teams up with Sara Donovan of the Drug Enforcement Administration, an “IT savant.” They quickly determine that George is likely involved in money laundering and drug trafficking schemes. When George—his actual name is Roger Simpson— is finally apprehended by the authorities, Luke and Sara discover that he’s a mere cog in a much bigger criminal machine. The culprit is a “low-level dupe” who leads them to Arturo Cruz, a major heroin dealer, and a father-and-son collaboration, Harold and Samuel Parker, the former a judge close to retirement and the latter a lawyer. King delivers a believable plot driven by an artfully slow dispensation of information—layer after layer of the criminal conspiracy is gradually revealed. In addition, the author’s expertise regarding cryptocurrency and the various ways in which it services the clandestine operations of shady organizations is impressive. But King’s prose, while unfailingly lucid, is just as reliably sterile, absent any punch or verve and often weighed down by clichés. Furthermore, for a novel that revolves around the ghastly criminal underworld, the general tone of the book is incongruently earnest. Consider this line following a conversation between Luke and his boss, Neal Hanson: “Each hung up knowing that they really liked the other guy.” The plot also suffers from its longueurs, especially the long-winded depictions—often hypertechnical—of the minute details of the case. Nonetheless, this is an intelligently constructed, suspenseful drama that will grab the attention of readers who are particularly interested in the intersection of cryptocurrency and crime.
An astute exploration of the dark side of cryptocurrency.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-03-911623-8
Page Count: 252
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Don’t feel that your current news feed is disturbing enough? Penny has just what you need.
A sequel to The Grey Wolf (2024) that begins with the earlier novel’s last line: “We have a problem.” And what a problem it is.
Now that Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his allies in and out of the Sûreté du Québec have saved Canada’s water supply from poisoning on a grand scale, you might think they were entitled to some rest and relaxation in Three Pines. No such luck. Don Joseph Moretti, the Sixth Family head who ordered the hit-and-run on biologist Charles Langlois that nearly killed Gamache as well, is plotting still more criminal enterprises, and Gamache can’t be sure that Chief Inspector Evelyn Tardiff, who’s been cozying up to Moretti in order to get the goods on him, hasn’t gone over to the dark side herself. In fact, Gamache’s uncertainty about Evelyn sets the pattern for much of what follows, for another review of one of Langlois’ notebooks reveals a plot so monstrous that it’s impossible to be sure who’s not in on it. Is it really true, as paranoid online rumors have it, that “Canada is about to attack the U.S.”? Or is it really the other way around, as the discovery of War Plan Red would have it? As the threats loom larger and larger, they raise questions as to whether the Black Wolf, the evil power behind them, is Moretti, disgraced former Deputy Prime Minister Marcus Lauzon, whom Gamache has arranged to have released from prison, or someone even more highly placed. A brief introductory note dating Penny’s delivery of the uncannily prophetic manuscript to September 2024 will do little to assuage the anxieties of concerned readers.
Don’t feel that your current news feed is disturbing enough? Penny has just what you need.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328175
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.
A woman fears she made a fatal mistake by taking in a blood-soaked tween during a storm.
High winds and torrential rain are forecast for “The Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire,” making Casey question the structural integrity of her ramshackle rental cabin. Still, she’s loath to seek shelter with her lecherous landlord or her paternalistic neighbor, so instead she just crosses her fingers, gathers some candles, and hopes for the best. Casey is cooking dinner when she notices a light in her shed. She grabs her gun and investigates, only to find a rail-thin girl hiding in the corner under a blanket. She’s clutching a knife with “Eleanor” written on the handle in black marker, and though her clothes are bloody, she appears uninjured. The weather is rapidly worsening, so before she can second-guess herself, former Boston-area teacher Casey invites the girl—whom she judges to be 12 or 13—inside to eat and get warm. A wary but starving Eleanor accepts in exchange for Casey promising not to call the police—a deal Casey comes to regret after the phones go down, the power goes out, and her hostile, sullen guest drops something that’s a big surprise. Meanwhile, in interspersed chapters labeled “Before,” middle-schooler Ella befriends fellow outcast Anton, who helps her endure life in Medford, Massachusetts, with her abusive, neglectful hoarder of a mother. As per her usual, McFadden lulls readers using a seemingly straightforward thriller setup before launching headlong into a series of progressively seismic (and increasingly bonkers) plot twists. The visceral first-person, present-tense narrative alternates perspectives, fostering tension and immediacy while establishing character and engendering empathy. Ella and Anton’s relationship particularly shines, its heartrending authenticity counterbalancing some of the story’s soapier turns.
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781464260919
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
