A stirring mystery anchored by a realistic and compelling protagonist.
A woman returning to her hometown finds herself embroiled in a mystery that jeopardizes her life in Greyson’s novel.
Kate Gardner has had a rough time of it lately. After a visit to her hometown that dredges up memories of her long-dead sister, her husband, Scott, has an affair with his high school sweetheart and abandons Kate and their two kids. Having put her own promising career in marketing on hold to help Scott pursue a law career, Kate finds herself adrift and anxious, with a peculiar feeling that someone is following her. Her paranoia seems justified when she sees a video that reveals that a mysterious stranger was stalking her at her son’s soccer game. From there, Greyson’s pacing picks up and events escalate; a random man shows up unannounced to Kate’s home and then claims that he just knocked on the wrong door, and later, someone carves a sexist expletive on the side of her minivan. Soon, the stalking becomes more brazen, including lewd messages on her phone. Aided by Ryan Daley, a police detective to whom she quickly finds herself attracted, Kate tries hard to maintain her composure; she finds herself forgetting appointments and family activities, leading another cop to suspect that her stories of her pursuer are unreliable. Over the course of this tightly plotted tale, Greyson consistently keeps readers on their toes with false leads and surprises. All the while, Greyson paints Kate as a deeply sympathetic character dealing with anxiety and depression as she works temp jobs to provide for her children; meanwhile, her ex-husband and his vindictive new girlfriend attempt to cast greater doubt on her stability. Along the way, the author also works to highlight the moralizing behavior of Kate’s suburban small town. It all leads to an unexpected finale that feels earned.
A stirring mystery anchored by a realistic and compelling protagonist.Pub Date: June 16, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 296
Publisher: Greyson Media, LLC
Review Posted Online: May 20, 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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