A conflicted investigator successfully follows his conscience in this well-constructed mystery.
In Hadden’s second series thriller, a private investigator risks his new family to help a desperate woman find answers.
P.I. Ike Rossi’s new client is Amelia Garcia, a retired U.S. Air Force drone pilot who now runs a remotely operated deep-water vehicle for Falzone Energy, owned by Ike’s friend Shannon Falzone. Amelia’s hobby is collecting artifacts from the ocean floor, but her latest find, a strongbox emblazoned with a Nazi eagle, quickly puts her in danger. She mentioned it to her Uncle Billy, and soon afterward, he and his wife, Bessie, were found dead. Billy’s contact at the U.S. Department of Justice was killed in a car wreck around the same time. The deaths get the FBI interested in the case, and Ike gets involved as well after a panicked Shannon asks for his help. As it turns out, one of the FBI agents is Mia Russo—Ike’s old flame, whom he considers to be the one who got away. Shannon convinces Ike to fly with her to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, to meet with Amelia. Ike is still seeking answers to his own parents’ murders 23 years ago, but he agrees to help. It soon becomes clear that someone powerful is after whatever’s in the strongbox. With the help of retiree Frank McNally, an ex–World War II codebreaker with his own secrets, Ike and Amelia must solve the mystery before it’s too late. Hadden begins with a novel concept: a dogged and skilled detective who’s unable to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Although Ike makes significant headway on that front this time out, he still ends up with more questions than answers. Most of the colorful characters from Hadden’s first series installment, The Victim of the System (2018), return, but he also develops engaging new characters, including Amelia and tech whiz Dominic Massaro. Ike and Amelia often clash over the direction of their investigation, wasting precious time; their delays also allow those chasing them to close in, making for an effectively suspenseful narrative that proceeds at a brisk pace.
A conflicted investigator successfully follows his conscience in this well-constructed mystery.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Mahogany Row Press
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil.
Roberts’ latest may move you to tears, or joy, or dread, or all three.
Every summer, John and Cora Fox visit Cora’s mother, Lucy Lannigan, in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky, leaving their children, 12-year-old Thea and 10-year-old Rem, for a two-week taste of heaven. The children love Grammie Lucy far more than John’s snooty family, which looks down on Cora. Lucy, a healer with deep Appalachian roots, loves animals, cooks the best meals, plays musical instruments, and makes soap and candles for her thriving business. Thea—who’s inherited the psychic abilities passed down through the women of Lucy’s family—has vivid magical dreams, one of which becomes a living nightmare when a psychopath robs and murders John and Cora as Thea watches helplessly. Thea’s description of the killer and her ability to see him in real time help the skeptical police catch Ray Riggs, who goes to prison for life. Although Thea and Rem go on to have a wonderful childhood with Grammie, Thea constantly wages a mental battle with Riggs, who tries to use his own psychic abilities to get into her mind. Over the years, Thea uses her imagination to become a game designer while the more business-minded Rem helps manage her career. Thea eventually builds a house near Lucy, where a newly arrived neighbor is her teen crush, singer-songwriter Tyler Brennan. Tyler has his own issues and is protective of his young son but slowly builds a loving relationship with Thea, whose silence about her abilities leads to a devastating misunderstanding. At first Thea tries to keep Riggs locked out of her mind. As her powers grow, she torments him. Finally, she realizes that she must win this battle and destroy him if she’s ever to have peace.
A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781250289698
Page Count: 432
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
The most cinematic Ruth Ware novel so far.
A reality TV paradise becomes a nightmare for the show’s unlucky contestants.
Lyla Santiago and Nico Reese have been dating for more than two years, and she’s beginning to feel like their relationship may be hitting a wall; she loves him, but his main focus at 28 is on his acting career, while, at 32, scientist Lyla is starting to dream about settling down. When Nico pleads with her to join him on a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, Lyla views it as an opportunity to see whether their relationship can go the distance—in reality as well as on TV. They arrive on a remote Indonesian island to find blue waters, white sands, romantic huts, and eight other contestants, all beautiful, glamorous, and clearly committed to bolstering their visibility by competing on the show. The director seems a bit shady; he insists (as their contract demands) that they turn in all electronics, plies them with booze, and then leaves with the crew—and the first ousted contestant. That night, a huge storm sweeps across the island. The next morning reveals a fatality among the wreckage: a hut and its inhabitant have been crushed by a tree, and the outbuildings have been destroyed. The remaining contestants are cut off from all communication, with the exception of one radio, and there is a very limited supply of food and water. So Love Island becomes Survivor, and one person in particular is set on being the last person standing. Ware offers another take on the locked-room mystery, but this time, her focus is less on creating a creepy atmosphere of dread, as she did in earlier novels, than on showing the absolute brutality of which some humans are capable. But she still has a good time herself: There’s a funny self-referential line to an earlier novel, plus some female characters MacGyver-ing a battery. The prolific Ware continues to stretch herself, taking on something new in each novel and writing strong—and increasingly kick-ass—female characters.
The most cinematic Ruth Ware novel so far.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781668025598
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Scout Press/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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