There’s “no rest for Team Texarkana” in this entertaining diversion.
The United States faces destruction unless an undercover CIA agent and Team Texarkana can foil an intricately conceived conspiracy in Davis’ thriller.
The diabolical plans James Bond villains concoct to rule the world are kid stuff compared to the Great Reset, a far-reaching, decades-in-the-making plot to “take down the United States.” Who is involved? Perhaps the question should be, “who is not involved?” Spearheaded by German multi-billionaire Klaus Burger, the Great Reset is a partnership between “some disillusioned Russians and Chinese officials in prominent positions in governments and private enterprises,” in addition to “a secret underground group of carefully selected green-energy zealots” and “one of Washington, DC’s most influential and known political leaders who was at the cusp of taking power.” The Chinese discovery of cobalt in a meteorite crater has game-changing implications for energy efficiency and battery performance. This development, coupled with a covert Chinese scheme to buy “immense swaths of farmland in the US, Canada, and other countries that permitted the selling of land to foreign companies,” promises to give them control of food and energy production in those countries. “No country, not even the Americans or their allies, will be able to stop us,” Burger proclaims. Enter Team Texarkana, introduced in Davis’ Flames of Deception (2022). Tex and his elite, first-names-only team of four is black ops–funded and can be placed anywhere in the world within 18 hours. The team is dispatched into action when Mary Johnson, a deep undercover CIA agent (by way of the Culinary Institute of America; “CIA squared”) disappears, along with her sister, Janet, who has fallen into Burger’s unspeakable clutches. As in the previous installment, this sophomore outing gets much of its energy from drawing on ripped-from-the-headlines situations. The fantastical conspiracy is “out there” to the extreme and the writing is not subtle (Burger also operates a sex-trafficking ring), but the briskly paced action covers the globe from Washington, D.C., to North Korea to the Gobi Desert and Mongolia, providing the requisite escapism.
There’s “no rest for Team Texarkana” in this entertaining diversion.Pub Date: May 8, 2023
ISBN: 9781959677314
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Defiance Press & Publishing, LLC
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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.
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.
