A profoundly moving read that will stay with thriller aficionados long after they finish the novel.
Ashby’s latest is a page-turning supernatural thriller that explores humankind’s oldest question: “Is there life after death?”
Afflicted with terminal cancer, billionaire Mark Long has been told he has mere months to live. Fixated on what comes after (if anything), he anonymously offers a $5 billion prize to anyone who can prove to Long’s satisfaction that there is some kind of life after death. Requiring applicants to first deposit a $25,000 bond in a trust account, the contest is quickly whittled down to three finalists. Professor Megan Finlay, chair of the Holmes Parapsychology Institute at the University of Edinburgh, is close to a breakthrough. She specializes in near-death experiences—what she calls “transcendence of spatio-temporal boundaries”—and winning Long’s multibillion-dollar prize is a necessity. The funding for the financially troubled institute ends in a matter of months. If the institute closes, Finlay’s entire life’s work will be all but forgotten. Another finalist is Aidan McKnight, former Navy SEAL and head of Acheron Capital Partners, who is addicted to challenges. When he hears about Long’s contest, his assistants find Hundra Benteen, a Montana-based “sensitive” (don’t call her a medium) who—in an industry filled with scammers, frauds, and charlatans—just may be the real thing. When McKnight meets Benteen, she turns his world upside down by knowing intimate information about his father, a SEAL who disappeared and was believed to have been killed during a botched 1983 mission in Grenada. Can Benteen communicate with the spirit of McKnight’s father and pass along any critical information? The last finalist, the Swiss National Institute for Paranormal Studies, doesn’t exist and is a front for Maxim Azimov, the world’s most notorious cybercriminal and mastermind of AI Deepfake technology. As Long’s battle with cancer draws to its inevitable end, Azimov plots to permanently eliminate each of his competitors.
Many narrative elements are worthy of note here. The character dynamism is exceptional. Even secondary characters, like Finlay’s assistant, Dougal Brown, are meticulously portrayed, three-dimensional, and emotionally compelling. The multiple storylines—which largely follow the three competitors and their respective quests—are continually intertwining, which keeps the momentum brisk. Additionally, bombshell plot twists will rivet readers until the very last page. The supernatural element gives the novel its fitting dark atmospherics: “It sprang, a crushing weight that crumpled the chair under him, driving the remaining breath from his lungs. As he looked into the fiery eyes and the glinting canine fangs, he knew it was the end. He tried to recite a prayer but volition had been sucked out of him. Strangely, as he plunged into unconsciousness, it seemed as if the creature was somehow melding with him, body to body, soul to soul.” But it’s the deep, esoteric examination of life after death from multiple perspectives—reincarnation, karmic retribution, tormented spirits seeking peace, reconnecting with loved ones who have passed, etc.—that make this such a memorable thriller.
A profoundly moving read that will stay with thriller aficionados long after they finish the novel.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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