An engrossing, thoughtful, and disturbing drama that caters to fans of constitutional debates.
The First Amendment remains front and center in this legal thriller.
Is a high school flagpole a public forum or an expression of the school’s philosophy of inclusivity with respect to its diverse student body? That is the legal question at the heart of the controversy stirred up when Montpelier High School in Vermont elects to fly the Black Lives Matter flag on its grounds. There are protests by local gun rights group True Patriots. And then the school receives a notice that it is being sued by “Second Amendment, Inc.,” a Virginia gun rights nonprofit funding the Patriots. Enter lawyer Tad Sorowski for the defense. Racist and antisemitic letters and emails are subsequently received by Tad and Sarah Jacobson, the story’s main protagonist, who works for the Green Mountain Black Lives Matter organization. This clash leads to an additional, more intense, First Amendment lawsuit that propels the captivating narrative, with Tad and Sarah filing as the plaintiffs under the “intent to commit” statute. The tale’s opening scene takes place in April 2019, near the story’s conclusion, with the kidnapping of Sarah from a Vermont gas station. She and her boyfriend, Ricky Stillwell, had moved back home to Montpelier from Rhode Island in 2018, when Sarah landed the job working for the Green Mountain Black Lives Matter group. Readers of Lambek’s first novel, Uncivil Liberties(2018), will remember Sarah and Ricky. She was the daughter of that book’s lead attorney, Sam Jacobson, and Ricky was the lawyer’s client. The author toggles between past and present, developing both characters, especially Sarah, and the events leading up to the abduction. These time jumps provide a sense of action in an otherwise more politics- and relationships-driven plotline. Armchair legal eagles will have plenty to chew on here—detailed case histories, precedents, and courtroom maneuvers. But there is also enough personal drama to keep less civically obsessed readers engaged. The cast is comprised of an eclectic group of complex characters with intriguing backstories. And Lambek, a Vermont attorney, is a meticulous writer who stages even relatively minor scenes with the same descriptive precision he uses in his legal arguments.
An engrossing, thoughtful, and disturbing drama that caters to fans of constitutional debates.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-57869-069-5
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Rootstock Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
This mystery’s promising premise bogs down in an overloaded cast.
When one woman takes on another’s identity to uncover a crime, they both become suspects in a murder.
Aubrey Price and Camille Bayliss come from different worlds, only crossing paths because of the discovery that Camille’s husband, powerful lawyer Ben Bayliss, is hiding something terrible that affects them both. As the novel opens, Aubrey is driving Camille’s Range Rover, then teetering into a bar on Camille’s high heels, with Camille’s dress and credit cards and a wig that mimics Camille’s hair, pretending to be her because Ben tracks his wife’s every move and expenditure, and Camille wants to create a smokescreen while she sneaks into his office in search of evidence of that unnamed secret. But the scheme goes awry, and the women become each other’s alibis after Camille finds Ben murdered in their home. The first part of the book builds suspense and misdirection well, with Aubrey and Ben’s straight-arrow partner, Hank Landry, serving as first-person observers in some chapters while others track Camille. She’s a wealthy and privileged woman but not a happy one, stuck under the thumbs of her husband and her tyrannical father, Randall Everett, who pretty much runs their small Louisiana town. Aubrey was orphaned as a teen when her parents died in a car crash and has proudly fended for herself ever since, coming to depend on her four roommates, who have become friends. But as the cast of characters grows, it seems as if almost everyone in town has a motive for killing Ben, and the piling up of suspects and movements among different timelines can sometimes be confusing. And it all comes to a frustrating end when, after a whole school of red herrings, the solution to Ben’s murder arrives out of far left field.
This mystery’s promising premise bogs down in an overloaded cast.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9780593834459
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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