Sparkling characterizations, espionage, and international intrigue spice up this ambitious, eco-conscious thrill ride.
A debut globe-trotting novel charts an enterprising American entrepreneur’s risky foray into renewable electricity.
Canadian author Helm’s corporate thriller stars Jim Dunsmuir, a reckless risk taker and “one of the richest, most eligible bachelors in the world.” Dunsmuir got his start in the real estate and oil production industries before digging his heels into financial investments. From his home base in Reykjavik, Iceland, he seeks a partner in a new venture and proposes a collaboration with environmentalist and sustainability expert Garcia Grey. Combining her knowledge and vast experience with his resources, they spearhead a pioneering renewable energy source that is poised to revolutionize how the world manufactures, delivers, and ultimately consumes electricity. This brilliant innovation makes Dunsmuir a target for other companies thirsty for an ecologically sound breakthrough in power sources. The corporate shark closest to unseating his plans is the conniving cutthroat George Anderson, founder of Blade Solar, one of the world’s largest solar companies, a man who isn’t above bribing, spying, or bending the law. He diabolically injects himself into Dunsmuir’s orbit to derail his bid on a lucrative contract involving installing an eco-friendly, efficient hydroelectricity grid in a new Saudi Arabian “super city.” To gain an edge, Anderson employs the aid of former New York City Police Department detective Richard Emerson and his security industry cohorts, who have illicitly ushered through other acquisitions. With pitch-perfect characterizations and a swift narration, Helm shifts his novel into high gear as Dunsmuir plans his strategic bid while Anderson uses every fiendish, undermining tactic in his arsenal, including vicious kidnapping and sabotage plots, to eliminate the competition and gain favor with the Saudi crown prince. The two entrepreneurs’ bidding war gets violently nasty, but the author uses this competitiveness to the book’s advantage by generating suspense, momentum, and the kind of corporate greed and fierce power plays that reflects aspects of today’s modern, high-tech business world. Additionally, the dynamic between Dunsmuir and Grey deepens and intensifies as both grow closer over the course of a perhaps needlessly lengthy novel. The author’s use of a hot topic—sustainable green resources—will surely draw readers in, and his storytelling talent will keep them there until the tidy ending.
Sparkling characterizations, espionage, and international intrigue spice up this ambitious, eco-conscious thrill ride.Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5320-8442-3
Page Count: 486
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
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
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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