Anchored by two tough yet likable sleuths, this is a rousing character-based mystery with potential.
A secret agent’s surveillance of a rogue killer gets personal in Dow’s suspense thriller.
This novel, the first in a planned trilogy, opens in Valencia, Spain, where Interpol agent Daniel Leder has finally located an elusive international assassin named Nester, a subject he’s been surveilling for the past year. Things quickly fall apart in a chaotic shipping port shoot-out as Nester viciously kills Daniel’s partner and close friend, Agent Simon Klein. Daniel’s mission to apprehend Nester becomes personal with the added motivation of revenge. The son of a United States Marine, Daniel’s resolve remains solid as he turns his attention to the man believed to be Nester’s next intended target: renowned Canadian professor, diplomat, and environmental conservative Matthew Guillaume, whose daughter is slated to participate in an equestrian show jumping event. When the assassin outsmarts everyone and sabotages the girl’s horse. Daniel, working undercover, is too late to intervene, but Tess Knight, an author and cyber security expert, swoops in to save the day. Though mutual trust is difficult to come by, Daniel feels an instant attraction to Tess, which sets the couple up for interpersonal entanglements that only mildly distract them from the more serious matters at hand (“He stood and met her feisty gaze before she headed for the door. Was it his imagination, or was the air between them a bit warmer?”). When they finally begin working (somewhat) in tandem, Nester has already stealthily infiltrated Daniel’s investigation in a major way. As an added point of intrigue, the author also threads Nester’s perspective into the narrative, bringing readers closer to the lethally clever, tech-savvy villain. Daniel is a powerful, intuitive protagonist who leaves no detail uncovered; his personality nicely complements Tess’s fearless demeanor even as they both face deadly threats. Dow has crafted an impressive, briskly paced thrill ride right up to the concluding cliffhanger, which leaves room for future installments.
Anchored by two tough yet likable sleuths, this is a rousing character-based mystery with potential.Pub Date: Dec. 23, 2022
ISBN: 979-8886043792
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.
Three siblings on very different paths learn that their family home may be haunted by secrets.
Eldest daughter Beth is alone with her fading mother as she takes her final breath and says something about Beth’s long-departed brother and sister, who may not have disappeared forever. Beth is still reeling from the loss of her mother when her estranged siblings show up. Michael, the youngest, hasn’t been home since their father’s disappearance seven years ago. In the meantime, he’s outgrown his siblings, trading his share of the family troubles for a high-paying job in San Jose. Nicole, the middle child, has been overpowered by addiction and prioritized tuning out reality over any sense of responsibility, much to Beth’s disgust. Though their mother’s death marks an ending for the family, it’s also a beginning, as the three siblings realize when they find a disturbing videotape among their parents’ belongings. The video, from 1999, sheds suspicion on their father’s disappearance, linking it to a long-unsolved neighborhood mystery. Was it just a series of unfortunate circumstances that broke the family apart, or does something more sinister underlie the sadness they’ve all found in life? In chapters that rotate among the family’s first-person narratives, the siblings take turns digging up stories and secrets in their search for solace.
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798212182843
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Roberts revisits a favorite theme: The power of community can defeat a great evil.
After escaping from a serial killer, a woman tries to reclaim her life.
After a childhood as an Army brat, Morgan Albright is determined to put down roots. She bought a small house in the perfect neighborhood outside of Baltimore, living with a friend and working two jobs to make ends meet. Morgan’s life is happy and fulfilling, and she is making progress on her financial and career goals. Her perfect world is shattered when someone breaks into her home and murders her roommate. At first, the police assume it was a random act of violence, but after discovering the killer stole Morgan’s identity and her entire savings, they realize the crime fits the profile of a serial killer named Gavin Rozwell. The police inform Morgan that her roommate was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time; she was the real intended target. Morgan’s grief, coupled with the financial devastation from the identity theft, leaves her no choice but to return home to Vermont to live with her mother and grandmother. Morgan reconnects with her family and rebuilds her life, including landing the perfect job and falling in love. The police and FBI pursue Gavin, who continues to stalk and kill women, each time leaving a reminder at the crime scene that shows he’s fixated on Morgan as the one who got away. Roberts shows Gavin’s slow descent into obsession and madness as the inverse of Morgan’s healing journey back to herself and her community. The novel highlights Morgan’s preparations for the inevitable final countdown with Gavin, but the lack of immediacy and urgency of the threat makes for a subdued, restrained thriller.
Roberts revisits a favorite theme: The power of community can defeat a great evil.Pub Date: May 23, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284112
Page Count: 448
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
