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
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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