Ellis ranks among the best writers in the genre, and this book will keep readers entertained from start to finish.
From Edgar winner Ellis, a complex courtroom thriller filled with tension and twists as the protagonist stands trial for murder.
The story opens with the trial but moves back and forth in time. As the reader quickly learns, a man calling himself James Drinker asks attorney Jason Kolarich to represent him for a murder that no one has accused him of, because he “knows” someone is going to frame him. How do people even go about framing a person, Drinker asks conversationally, and Kolarich mentions a variety of ways. But Kolarich soon finds himself on trial for the slashing murder of five women. He’s been framed. Can you guess who framed him? Yep, that’s right. But why? And how can Kolarich defend himself? He can’t talk about Drinker without violating attorney-client privilege, which would destroy Kolarich professionally and not help him legally. It’s a great premise made even better by flaws in Kolarich’s character that Drinker exploits to the hilt with malicious delight. Many of the short chapters focus on the trial itself, where the prosecution presents a powerful case for sending Kolarich to prison for life. The defendant, by all appearances, has been a successful and honest lawyer. But, in this case, he might have to take liberties with his ethics, including telling lies. And then there is his problem with oxycodone, which can turn out to be almost as dangerous as the murder charge. Luckily, his law partner, Shauna Tasker, has his back. But is that also true for his girlfriend, Alexa, the court reporter? Tasker doesn’t think so, suspecting that Alexa may not have her partner’s best interests at heart. Hero and villain are both smart and motivated, making for an even match in this exciting drama.
Ellis ranks among the best writers in the genre, and this book will keep readers entertained from start to finish.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-399-15880-3
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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