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MALKAH JOB

PART ONE—RED DRAGON

A steamy and action-packed, albeit flawed, thriller featuring a memorable hero.

Awards & Accolades

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This blend of espionage thriller, romance, and erotica chronicles the globe-trotting adventures of a beautiful Mossad agent and contract killer.

As Wladowsky’s debut novel begins, Leda—a “Jewess from Israel” and former Russian agent who is now working as an operative for the Israeli army—embarks on a treacherous mission to rescue her husband, Caleb, from a Russian prison. Caleb has been missing for six years, and Leda believes that the Russians abducted him in retaliation for her betrayal years earlier. Leaving her two sons behind, Leda uses her extensive network of contacts (many of whom are hopelessly in love with her) to gather information on Caleb’s whereabouts. Her travels take her from Venice to Switzerland to the Kamchatka Peninsula, and during her journey, she must remain vigilant of the countless Russian operatives sent to kill her. But her dangerous rescue mission leads her to an unforeseen discovery: love. She falls in love with a Croatian NATO general named Drazen and even has a marriage ceremony with him. Shortly after leaving Drazen, she sees her adoptive father, a billionaire named John Doe, and—inexplicably—begins a wildly hedonistic relationship with the much older man. This series opener’s pacing is brisk; the numerous action sequences are gripping; and the striking protagonist is indelible. But the novel has several flaws. The narrative loses momentum in the book’s second half, as the author focuses too much on personal minutiae (such as Drazen’s obsessively doubting his relationship with Leda) and the overtly sexual nature of the protagonist’s liaison with Doe, which becomes gratuitous in places. Additionally, some readers may find certain sexual scenes verging on repugnant, like Leda’s graphic relationship with her adoptive father. Lastly, the main plot thread—Leda’s attempt to save her husband—is all but forgotten by the story’s end. This will presumably be revisited in the sequel.

A steamy and action-packed, albeit flawed, thriller featuring a memorable hero.

Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 480

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022

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AN INSIDE JOB

A rather flat entry in a generally excellent series.

The 25th novel featuring Silva’s legendary protagonist.

During his intersecting careers as art restorer and Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon has tangled with Russian gangsters and al-Qaida terrorists. He has become well-acquainted with operatives in multiple security agencies and befriended a paid assassin. He has busted art thieves and created passable forgeries by Renaissance masters and abstract Modernists. This latest installment centers around his relationship with the pope and a newly discovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci that has gone missing from the Vatican. Silva’s novels tend to fall into two categories: books that reflect the politics of the day and books that don’t. His latest is one of the latter, which could be a treat for readers looking for escape, but it falls flat for a variety of reasons. Luxury has always been part of Gabriel Allon’s universe. It used to be an aspect of tradecraft, though. Allon would be wearing a very expensive suit and driving a very expensive car because he was posing as a client at a Swiss bank. Here, his wife is hosting a catered lunch for 150 of their daughter’s classmates in their apartment overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice. What once felt like a scintillating peek into the world of the obscenely wealthy now just feels…kind of obscene. Similarly, Allon goes chasing after a missing painting as a civilian—he retired from Mossad in Portrait of an Unknown Woman (2022)—the same way another man his age might buy a speedboat or get hair plugs. As the story progresses, the stakes are raised, but it’s hard to forget that Allon is now a middle-aged man pursuing a dangerous hobby, rather than a spymaster leading his intrepid team to prevent a disaster that will disrupt the global order.

A rather flat entry in a generally excellent series.

Pub Date: July 15, 2025

ISBN: 9780063384217

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025

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JUST FOR THE SUMMER

A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.

Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.

Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.

A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.

Pub Date: April 2, 2024

ISBN: 9781538704431

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Forever

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024

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