A satisfying read with a complicated, engaging plotline.
The stock market crash of 1929 upends the life of Chicago’s biggest trader in wheat futures.
At 32, Frank Cork, a poor Irish/Polish kid from Chicago’s South Side, has made it to the top of the wheat futures heap, reaping a lavish home, beautiful wife, two lovable children, and a brand new, eye-catching “Hudson Super Six Cabriolet in jade and moss green.” But wheat prices have been falling for the past two days, and Frank senses trouble is brewing. On Monday, October 28, 1929, he’s driving to the Chicago Board of Trade building after a breakfast meeting during which he secures a significantly large trade investment. Suddenly, he finds himself caught in the middle of a mob hit. He escapes from the scene, but not before his flashy Hudson is noticed and Frank and the shooter make brief eye contact. And his day is about to get even worse. He learns from his best friend, Robert “Bobby” MacNamara, president of the Board of Trade, that he and his company are being accused of market manipulation by Canada’s Yuri Dyachenko, head of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. The next morning, the stock market crashes, and Frank’s fortune crashes with it. Distraught, he catches the first train out of town, not yet realizing he’s heading to Canada, where he will secretly remain for many months. Kirk’s intriguing tale of a man rediscovering himself in the wheat basket of the Canadian Prairie is part tender personal drama and part a vivid depiction of the bad days during Chicago’s history of political corruption and mob rule, when Al Capone and Bugs Moran fought for control of the illegal liquor business during Prohibition. The novel abounds with historical tidbits about cross-border bootlegging. And although the narrative is not quite a thriller, once Frank temporarily joins up with the Canadian liquor exporters, which involves contact with the mob, the pace and excitement build considerably. Kirk’s prose is crisp, plus she offers an accessible primer on the ins, outs, and perils of day trading and playing the market on agricultural futures.
A satisfying read with a complicated, engaging plotline.Pub Date: June 20, 2025
ISBN: 9781998779703
Page Count: 350
Publisher: At Bay Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.
What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism.
When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780385550543
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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