Although much of this is cartoonishly over-the-top, there is surely an enthusiastic audience for it.
In Franz’s thriller, one CIA agent strives to save the world from the mother of all viruses.
CIA agent Jeremy Kent was a mole in a bad guys’ outfit and was discovered, but only after he had snatched and hidden the antidote to the most insidious and powerful artificial virus known to humankind. Of course, he does not crack under torture, and in the nick of time, escapes. (In fact, he escapes time and time again!) Jeremy is being chased now all across Europe, and in a particularly harrowing getaway, beautiful innocent bystander Allison Shaw is pulled into the chaos. Now it is the two of them on the run—and of course the seeds of love have been planted. They have the antidote to the virus but must retrieve a key (don’t ask) that has been stashed in Buckingham Palace. Franz certainly knows how to keep things moving. The chapters are very short, and unlike thrillers with more subtle plots, this one is really just one long, relentless, hair-raising chase. The good guys are good, and the bad guys are horrifically, pathologically bad. Jeremy is not George Smiley but rather James Bond, squared. At one point, he chews into his own shoulder to get out a capsule that will simulate death. He is shot, knifed, and thrown around like a rag doll, but he always recovers with, seemingly, no lasting effects. There are some good if overwrought lines (“A cloud of nightmarish déjà vu instantly filled the cabin”), and the writing is generally up to the job despite occasional typos. At the climax, all seems lost, but we have learned by now to trust in the hokey faith that Franz has instilled in us.
Although much of this is cartoonishly over-the-top, there is surely an enthusiastic audience for it.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-09-837913-1
Page Count: 308
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An often engrossing crime epic about a mobster family’s intricate machinations.
A novel that spans a decade in the lives of an organized crime family.
In a story set in 1973 in small-town Wheeling, West Virginia, author Florio depicts a tightly knit clan struggling in an era when the Italian American mob is proliferating across the country. The author expertly sets the novel’s grim, menacing tone early on with the coldblooded contract killing of someone who paid for betrayal and treachery in blood. Protagonist Johnny Mesagne is described as someone who is “handsome, in a hoodlum sort of way,” and who’s a divorced father to estranged adult son J.J. Jenkins. Six years have passed since Johnny was a part of Wheeling’s mob faction led by kingpin Paul Verbania. His abrupt departure from the group has caused many changes in his life and in his circle of friends. Meanwhile, J.J. finds his father’s former mob involvement to be intriguing, and he decides to dip his foot into the life himself, but he does so in reckless, thrill-seeking ways, such as romancing Verbania’s girlfriend, Leslie Fitzpatrick, a deadly, impulsive move that plays out across the entire novel. Johnny’s never taken an interest in his only son until now, but he feels he must rescue him from a way of life in which people are sometimes “rubbed out.” The narrative volleys between 1963 and 1973, showing how Johnny moves up the Wheeling gang echelons and then abandons it all to live clean and manage a bar. He then works hard to shield his son from the mob’s nefarious influences. Ten years later, J.J.’s life is in danger. Is it too late for Johnny to save him?
Readers will find that this book is a distinct departure from Florio’s previous publications, which focused mainly on football commentary and history and drew from the author’s livelihood as a sportswriter, commentator, and television and radio show host. Although this story is built upon a well-worn crime-fiction premise, the author’s take is a refreshing one and incorporates notes of suspense, terror, family drama, and black humor. He draws on true events in a fictional story that has a lot of moving parts, but they all manage to coalesce into a thrilling reading experience. Florio’s cast of characters—some good, others much less so—are all crystal-clear in their intentions and demeanor, which makes the story a devilish indulgence. Tough-guy Bobby and Paul’s driver, Vinny, are superbly portrayed as bumbling henchmen with poor judgment; Vinny is introduced with the line, “How the fuck did you forget the silencers?” Fans of The Godfather and The Sopranos will recognize and appreciate the overtures that Florio makes on behalf of his creatively inspired mob family—particularly the central ordeal concerning Johnny and his son. Every stylistic nuance and dialogue inflection feels pitch-perfect, and every character is believably hypersensitive to law enforcement and the dire consequences of a botched job. The novel’s conclusion has a twist that’s truly a surprise.
An often engrossing crime epic about a mobster family’s intricate machinations.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: PFT Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
“Nasty little fellows…always get their comeuppance,” a movie character once said. Deeply satisfying.
Following the mysterious disappearance of his wife, a struggling London novelist journeys to a remote Scottish island to try to get his mojo back—but all, of course, is not what it seems.
Grady Green hits the pinnacle of his publishing career on the same night that his life goes off the rails—first his book lands on the New York Times bestseller list, and then his wife, Abby, goes missing on her way home. A year later, Grady is a mere shadow of his former self: out of money and out of ideas. So, when his agent, Abby’s godmother, suggests that he spend some time on the Isle of Amberly, in a log cabin left to her by one of her writers, it seems as good a plan as any. With free housing for himself and his dog and a beautiful, distraction-free environment, maybe he can finally complete the next novel. But from the very beginning, Grady’s experiences with Amberly seem weird, if not downright ominous: As a visitor, he’s not allowed to bring his car onto the island; the local businesses are only open for a few hours at a time; and there are no birds. At all. Not to mention the skeletal hand he finds buried under the floorboards of the cabin, the creepy harmonica music in the woods, and the occasional sighting of a woman in a red coat who’s a dead ringer for Abby. As Grady falls deeper and deeper into insomnia and alcoholism, he begins to realize his being on the island is no accident—and that should make him very afraid. Through occasional chapters from before Abby’s disappearance, told from her point of view, we learn that Grady is not necessarily a reliable narrator, and the book’s slow unfolding of dread, mystery, and then truth is both creative and well-paced. Every chapter heading is an oxymoron, like the title, reminding us of the contradictions at the heart of every story.
“Nasty little fellows…always get their comeuppance,” a movie character once said. Deeply satisfying.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781250337788
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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