A spy tale with an intriguing premise that’s bogged down by ill-defined conspiracies and one-note characters.
In Blaine’s mystery-thriller, a veteran of the first U.S.-Iraq war is recruited to spy on a Paris-based artist’s cult.
It’s the 1990s, and Amadeo Effscott—not his real name—is a 20-something informant for the United States government, which is investigating the possible terrorist activities of charismatic artist Sean Dorian Knight. The novel is presented as a series of classified documents allegedly recovered in the real-life 2022 FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. In a series of accounts to French police, person-of-interest reports, and dispatches from Amadeo’s handler, readers learn that the informant is torn between his allegiance to the United States and his feelings of genuine friendship for the people in Dorian’s secretive American Renaissance organization. Much of his attachment to the latter seems to stem from his sexual obsession with poet and artist Lilah al-Hazara, a member of Dorian’s inner circle. Amadeo also appears to be suffering from the effects of traumas incurred during his military service in Iraq, which his handler exploits and that may also be affecting his reliability—as an agent and as a narrator. Although he’s tasked with killing Dorian, he tries to reform the leader, instead. Blaine’s novel has a compelling setup. However, readers will find that the details of the cult’s operations are rather fuzzy, largely because Amadeo himself gets lost in a fog of conspiracies disseminated by government agents and potential terrorists. Also, several characters feel underdeveloped, aside from their most basic function in the plot. However, the rumors that Amadeo encounters have a diverting religious overtone: Several main characters come from Muslim backgrounds, and, according to Effscott’s handler, the cult’s central lore involves a “Muslim Jesus” figure. In an additional twist for American literature aficionados, the story is laced with allusions to F. Scott Fitzgerald, including Effscott’s cover name, the presence of a character called the “Sheik of Araby”—a song quoted in The Great Gatsby (1925)—and even the author’s pseudonym (and Effscott’s real name), which references the protagonist of This Side of Paradise (1920).
A spy tale with an intriguing premise that’s bogged down by ill-defined conspiracies and one-note characters.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781960142337
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© 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.
