Thriller fans will love the ticking-clock action.
Pike Logan and his extra-Constitutional Taskforce save the day in their 17th book-length outing.
It’s 2021, and Afghanistan is falling. The Taliban wants to capture mortal enemy Jahn Azimi before he escapes their clutches, which he does with help from Logan and his crew. Aside from having killed many Taliban, Jahn has the Bactrian Treasure (yes, this is a real thing, a pile of ancient gold coins said to be worth billions of dollars). The Taliban want both the man and the gold “really bad.” Blood flows, of course. Meanwhile, bad guys test “zero-click” ransomware on a Washington, D.C., consulting company that happens to have ties to the U.S. intelligence community, but that’s just a dry run for a much bigger show. A private enterprise plans to send some rich dilettantes into space to dock with the International Space Station. Criminals plan to spoil that flight in spectacular and deadly fashion unless the American government tells them where the treasure is. “This attack is going to make worldwide news,” a conspirator says. “It's going to cause America to go nuts.” Which is why President Hannister takes decisive action: “I want Pike Logan operational right now.” Much of the action takes place in Croatia, where Logan accurately says, “I'm probably going to go kinetic here.” The administration’s confidence is well placed: “I know it sounds strange,” an official says, “but that guy is never wrong.” Logan is a fun hero to follow, given that he only slaughters bad guys and has a degree of self-awareness. Every time he kills someone, he says, “it’s like a chip in the armor of your soul.” Whether modestly or carelessly, Pike Logan doesn’t mention his full name for well over 100 pages, never mind that he’s the main character. His fans already know who he is, but it wouldn’t kill the author to weave Chip’s—er, Pike’s—name into his first scene.
Thriller fans will love the ticking-clock action.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-322198-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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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