An investigator who’s an acquired taste softens during this intense thriller.
A fledgling detective discovers the hard way that being overconfident could land her in deep trouble in this engrossing mystery.
Author Diamond’s investigator is Claire Chastain, back for a second outing following The Friday Cage (2020). Claire formerly examined hidden risks for corporate buyouts, a dull sort of detective work. But after the traumatizing events of the first volume, she is taking criminal justice courses at American University. Now, she’s game for something more challenging. Well, be careful what you wish for. Claire receives a call from appliance magnate Roscoe Lehmann, who has a case for her, though she’s not yet a licensed PI. He wants her to check out Jacob Reisman, a squirrelly employee who might be stealing. Posing as an insurance investigator, Claire soon determines that Jacob is far too nervous to be a thief. Doing the proper legwork, Claire even visits Jacob at his apartment. When he’s brutally murdered, Claire becomes a suspect, with a security camera capturing an image of a woman who looks like Claire around the time of the crime. She had ignored her doubts about the case, and now she is framed as a result. Ignoring the sensible advice of her attorney, Anton Durant, Claire stubbornly sets out to prove her innocence. As Anton notes throughout, Claire suffers from “resting bitch face,” which makes her appear guilty despite being innocent. She came by her demeanor honestly; her overbearing grandmother taught her to distrust everybody. Perhaps she can learn to trust a bit more? While the novel does have likable supporting characters, like Anton and the victim, the narrative is primarily a battle of wits between Claire and the real killer, who set her up. The action swiftly moves along as Claire races around the country following leads, too impatient to wait for Anton’s investigator and the police to clear her. The real question that remains is what has the hotheaded detective learned that will serve her better down the road.
An investigator who’s an acquired taste softens during this intense thriller.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73413-924-2
Page Count: 286
Publisher: Stolen Time Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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
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