A satisfying hit for excitement junkies.
The late Flynn’s fabled killer fights a deadly terrorist plot in this high-action thriller.
In the wake of the American withdrawal from Iraq in the 1990s, Saddam Hussein’s helicopters gas Kurdish forces. Several years later, Mitch Rapp, an assassin in the CIA’s secret Orion program, is in the Middle East to hunt down and kill a Pakistani weapons scientist. But his leads go up in smoke, and the CIA puts him on to a more pressing issue: Saddam Hussein plans to move his chemical weapons out of Iraq and into Syria. Terrorists would use them to deliver a “blow against America from which it will never recover.” Rapp will have to put a stop to that. Although he works alone, his complexion and fluency in Arabic help him blend in with the locals. He gets himself into tight, violent situations where he typically leaves a body behind. But he does have one firm rule passed on to him by CIA veteran Stan Hurley: “No innocents, no law enforcement, and no women and children.” The rest are fair game. He isn’t a superhero, but he’s extraordinarily talented and lucky. He was inspired to fight terrorists when his college girlfriend, Mary, died on Pan Am Flight 103, the plane that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. A second great love has also died, and the 20-something Rapp now lives in a “zero-sum world” with his unquenchable hatred of terrorist groups like Hezbollah. Explosions and gore come with the territory. Israel is on the case as well, and Israeli intelligence creates an attack plan code-named Double Tap, which is intended to stop the expected convoy of chemical-laden trucks. Ultimately a specific, deadly threat raises the stakes to an even more frightening level. Author Bentley remains true to the original vision of an American assassin who only kills the bad guys and comes within an inch of his life doing the job.
A satisfying hit for excitement junkies.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
ISBN: 9781668045916
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Emily Bestler/Atria
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
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.
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