by Tess Diamond ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2017
A solid, appealing debut.
Maggie Kincaid, a former FBI negotiator working a sensitive kidnapping case, finds herself clashing with Jake O'Connor, a security expert also working the investigation, but as evidence of secrets and corruption emerge, he becomes her most trusted ally.
Maggie has a “once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent” as a hostage negotiator, but she turned her back on her FBI career after a tragic mistake led to the death of a teenage girl. Now her mentor is asking her to come back to work a case that involves another teen, the daughter of a senator who proves to be less than forthcoming in the investigation. Jake, a former Ranger who consults on special cases, is also helping out. At first Jake thinks Maggie is mishandling the negotiation, but he soon comes to admire just how strong and smart she is and how well she’s navigating the various players, most of whom have sexist chips on their shoulders. As Jake and Maggie dive further into the mystery, they realize the senator has a lot to hide, much of it illegal, and there are some powerful people who are far more concerned with keeping their secrets than with saving the girl. Maggie, who was abducted as a child, is infuriated by their interference and determined to save her, but when she doesn’t know whom she can trust, Jake becomes a valuable ally. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, their attraction is sizzling, and the danger is rising. Maggie and Jake weren’t looking for love, but now that they’ve found each other, they have to survive in order to consider a future together. Debut author Diamond writes a taut, compelling romantic thriller with believable villains, smart heroes, and a fresh plot that keeps readers engaged while keeping the door open for a sequel. Some details—particularly occasional D.C.–area geography and descriptions and the main sex scene, which seems out of character for laser-focused Maggie—miss the mark.
A solid, appealing debut.Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-265580-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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by Janice Hadlow ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Another reboot of Jane Austen?!? Hadlow pulls it off in a smart, heartfelt novel devoted to bookish Mary, middle of the five sisters in Pride and Prejudice.
Part 1 recaps Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes, climaxing with the humiliating moment when she sings poorly at a party and older sister Elizabeth goads their father to cut her off in front of everyone. The sisters’ friend Charlotte, who marries the unctuous Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him, emerges as a pivotal character; her conversations with Mary are even tougher-minded here than those with Elizabeth depicted by Austen. In Part 2, two years later, Mary observes on a visit that Charlotte is deferential but remote with her husband; she forms an intellectual friendship with the neglected and surprisingly nice Mr. Collins that leads to Charlotte’s asking Mary to leave. In Part 3, Mary finds refuge in London with her kindly aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner is the second motherly woman, after Longbourn housekeeper Mrs. Hill, to try to undo the psychic damage wrought by Mary’s actual mother, shallow, status-obsessed Mrs. Bennet, by building up her confidence and buying her some nice clothes (funded by guilt-ridden Lizzy). Sure enough, two suitors appear: Tom Hayward, a poetry-loving lawyer who relishes Mary’s intellect but urges her to also express her feelings; and William Ryder, charming but feckless inheritor of a large fortune, whom naturally Mrs. Bennet loudly favors. It takes some maneuvering to orchestrate the estrangement of Mary and Tom, so clearly right for each other, but debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb in a bravura passage describing a walking tour of the Lake District rife with seething complications furthered by odious Caroline Bingley. Her comeuppance at Mary’s hands marks the welcome final step in our heroine’s transformation from a self-doubting wallflower to a vibrant, self-assured woman who deserves her happy ending. Hadlow traces that progression with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished.
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-12941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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by Josie Silver ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 16, 2018
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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