An unevenly executed but often engaging supernatural thriller with elements of comedy.
In Reefe’s horror novel, a teenage girl possessed by a demon battles a local legend known as the Goatman.
The story begins in Bowie, Maryland, in the fall of 1988. Kate Dwyer starts having disturbing dreams around the same time that her new neighbor, Maya Suárez Martinez, moves into an abandoned house that used to belong to a serial killer called the the Butcher of Bowie; some believe that the killer is a boogeyman-like monster called the Goatman. It turns out that a demon named Raga is inhabiting Kate’s body; Maya, who’s a witch, helps her navigate her relationship with the demon possessing her using her own magical knowledge, charms, and family’s spell book. Then Steve and Chris, Kate’s brothers, return to town, and it’s revealed that they’re monster hunters. With her friends, Theresa Petruzzo and Jackie Engert, they investigate the Glenn Dale hospital and take on a monster called the Bunnyman. Afterward, Jackie and Kate’s crush, Jake Shaw, go missing, and Kate’s investigation reveals that Jake has been looking into the Goatman case on his own. The story eventually involves another powerful demon; the young monster-hunting crew, with the help of Raga and Maya, are soon on a multistep mission to destroy it. However, a few twists occur that make their quest far more difficult than expected. Reefe’s novel stars a colorful assortment of heroic and villainous characters, including a sassy protagonist, a highly perceptive witch, and a Twinkie-loving demon. The dialogue throughout the novel is sometimes quite funny, especially when the teenagers’ mannerisms begin to rub off on the demonic Raga: “That ghost was pissed”; “Your brother has serious issues.” However, the complicated plot can feel a bit muddled at times, and readers may find it difficult to follow due to its pacing, which proceeds at a brisk clip.
An unevenly executed but often engaging supernatural thriller with elements of comedy.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781627205344
Page Count: 342
Publisher: Apprentice House
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fun read. Terrorists make great Clancy fodder.
Evildoers plan attacks from America to India, and Jack Ryan Jr. is a prime target.
In Washington state, a man and his family are murdered, and President Jack Ryan learns it is another Poseidon Spear incident. Three retired members of that counterterrorism group have been killed now, and the U.S. government suspects a mole in its midst. Meanwhile, the Umayyad Revolutionary Council believes it has a holy and wholly anti-American mission. Against this backdrop, Jack Ryan Jr., and his fiancée, Lisanne Robertson, visit Delhi, India, to attend the wedding of Srini Rai, the brilliant surgeon who attached Lisanne’s prosthetic left arm. Lisanne had lost her arm in Tom Clancy Shadow of the Dragon (2020). Jack and Lisanne are both operators working for the Campus, a covert group that executes secret presidential directives. A wedding is a happy occasion, and the engaged American couple intend the trip as a vacation. Jack and Lisanne will attend a sangeet, an elaborate pre-wedding party. But it isn’t long before they survive a suicide bomb attack. As with all Clancy novels, there’s plenty of action on a global scale. In simultaneous strikes, terrorists plan to contaminate America’s Western water supply with radioactive waste from Washington’s Hanford nuclear power plant, blow up a spectacular new bridge in Kashmir, and kill the evil Ryan—or Junior, at least. It will be At-Takwir, the end of days. There is an appealing mix of Indian culture, high-speed action, and the rich lode of details that characterizes the whole series. And in the background lingers the question on several characters’ minds: Have Jack and Lisanne set their own wedding date?
A fun read. Terrorists make great Clancy fodder.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780593718032
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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