An enjoyably twisty mystery.
When a routine investigation yields evidence of a serious crime, a medical examiner and an anthropologist find themselves in a killer’s crosshairs in this thriller.
Trudy Beasley, the assistant chief medical examiner for Philadelphia, expects the gritty crimes that come with working in a major city, but nothing prepares her for what is unearthed after a gas explosion. Investigators sifting through the rubble find skeletal remains that seem older and unconnected to the incident. In an attempt to learn more about the remains, Trudy contacts Benjamin Roberts, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Ben is fascinated by the discovery and estimates that some of the remains are those of a man who died within the last hundred years. (He “shows classic indicators of having used his fists for a living. If I was a betting man, I’d say he was a boxer in his youth.”) When Ben locates a fetal bone, Trudy is convinced a crime occurred. But Ben needs more evidence before he can make an official determination. They soon learn that they are not the only ones who are interested in the remains. Ben receives an email from a college student named Caroline Trey asking to work on the project, and Trudy’s office is vandalized. As the investigation progresses, an attraction develops between Ben and Trudy. While they are determined to identify the remains and find justice for the deceased, they must outwit a criminal who wants to keep the truth buried forever. This third installment of Flade’s Philly Heat series is a fast-paced thriller with the right amount of mystery and romance. Trudy and Ben are likable protagonists whose chemistry is palpable from the first chapter. While their romance is a significant subplot, it does not detract from the central mystery. The investigation of the remains unfolds slowly and methodically, enabling the author to introduce a colorful supporting cast of characters, including Special Agent Noah Danes and Pamela Dryden, a caregiver who harbors many secrets. Flade has a knack for finding opportunities to effectively add suspense to a scene, especially in one sequence in which a date between Ben and Trudy ends with an encounter with a potential stalker.
An enjoyably twisty mystery.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 225
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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