If only the clever ending were worth the trouble it takes to get there.
On his deathbed, a famous mystery novelist invites a knowledgeable fan to come write his life story.
After a long career of bestsellers, Sebastian Trapp hasn't produced a book in decades, since his wife and son disappeared under mysterious circumstance following a New Year's Eve party. Twenty years later, with three months to live, he has one tale left to tell: the story of his life, which may or may not include answers to the questions surrounding the disappearances—for which many believe he is responsible. Nicky Hunter, an expert in detective fiction and a longtime correspondent of Trapp's, is his appointed amanuensis; she takes on the task with relish only slightly diluted by concern for her own longevity. Trapp's current San Francisco household consists of his erstwhile assistant and now second wife, Diana; his adult daughter, Madeleine (a failure-to-launch whose point of view alternates with Nicky's); and the latest edition of a French bulldog named Watson, whose many taxidermic predecessors are lined up in Nicky's assigned bedroom. There's also Sebastian's brutish nephew, his British buddy, his widowed mother (his brother also died mysteriously around the same time as the other two), a couple of colorful cops, and a corpse in the koi pond that is revealed on page 1 but not found until halfway through, clearly intended to goose the page-turning. If you enjoyed Woman in the Window (2018), be warned that this novel is its opposite. While the debut had truly breathtaking forward momentum but a somewhat ludicrous solution, this time we have an unbelievably leisurely build during which we pursue patent red herrings, read a lot about the weather and geography of San Francisco, and are hopefully impressed by quotes and references to Christie, Chandler, Hammett, etc. "The past isn't gone: It's just waiting," a catchphrase of Trapp's, is certainly the case. Unfortunately it waits too long.
If only the clever ending were worth the trouble it takes to get there.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780062678454
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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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