A supernatural espionage tale that keeps the excitement high.
In Krummenacker and Caminiti’s paranormal thriller series starter set in the Civil War era, an Irish immigrant on a spy mission fights monsters and discovers a new superpower.
The story opens on a man named Jacob Long, who’s carrying his infant daughter in a blizzard, encountering a great beast called a skinwalker, which gains different powers depending on what pelts it acquires. The creature protects the child when a pack of monsters attack. Readers soon learn that the monsters are under the control of a mysterious figure working with an assassin named Lansford Hastings. The plot transitions to the main character, Keefer O’Connor, an Irishman who’s made a name for himself as a military strategist. This leads to his recruitment by Union Army Provost Marshal Lafayette Baker, and soon, Keefer is promoted from a captain to a colonel by the War Department. He’s assigned a mission to assassinate Gov. Fredrick Low of California if he sways from his antislavery stance, and to kill Hastings on sight. During his journey west, he has several supernatural experiences; for one, he discovers his own ability to see about 60 seconds into the future. O’Connor is also suspicious of a shadowy figure that follows him on his travels, along with flocks of crows. As nefarious creatures of superhuman ability pursue him, he briefly finds refuge with a widow, Jenny, and her son, Edward. Krummenacker. And Caminiti’s skillful prose ably reflects the main character’s Irish accent, as well as his considerable charm and wit.Long scenes of journeying feature vivid descriptions, and they’re broken up by exhilarating scenes of battle and tension: “Something in Keefer’s head suddenly caused him to leap from his seat and onto the ground. A moment later, the crack of a rifle and the whoosh of a bullet ripped into the seat he’d just vacated.” Although the story is relatively short, it provides a strong foundation for the series ahead.
A supernatural espionage tale that keeps the excitement high.Pub Date: April 14, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 257
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.
Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them.
The current caseload for Stephanie and Lula—the ex-prostitute file clerk at her cousin Vincent Plum’s bail bonds company, who serves as her unflappable sidekick—begins with two “failures to appear.” Eugene Fleck is suspected of being Robin Hoodie, who robs from the rich and, yes, distributes the proceeds to the poor. Racketeer Bruno Jug, who’s missed his court date on charges of tax evasion, is also suspected of drugging and raping a 14-year-old. But neither of these fugitives can hold a candle to Zoran Djordjevic, aka Fang, a self-proclaimed vampire wanted in connection with the gruesome fate of his late wife and three other missing women. As usual, Stephanie’s personal life is just as helter-skelter as her professional life as a bounty hunter. She’s managed to get herself engaged both to Det. Joe Morelli, of the Trenton PD, and Ranger, a former Special Forces agent who runs a private security firm; she thinks she may be pregnant; and she’s willing to marry the father, whichever of her fiances that turns out to be. On top of it all, her nothingburger schoolmate Herbert Slovinski suddenly pops up at one of the funerals she ferries her Grandma Mazur to, hitting on her relentlessly and gilding his importunities by cleaning and painting her shabby apartment and laying new carpet. Luckily, Lula’s on hand to offer cupcakes that stave off the worst disasters, and whenever this hodgepodge threatens to slow down, another FTA appears, or fails to appear.
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781668003138
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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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