A consistently nimble and riveting cross-genre tale.
In this thriller, a real estate broker stumbles into danger when he examines the past life of a reincarnated soul inhabiting his body.
Californian John Bastian, divorced and nearly bankrupt, hopes a ski trip with his bestie Kevin will be the escape he needs. But an accident on the slopes puts John in a coma for three days. When he comes to, he has someone else’s memories mingling with his own. The bodily interloper is the soul of Jack Bachman, a long-dead commercial pilot from Baton Rouge. Dreams/visions make it clear an ax-wielding killer took Jack out. But John gets an even stronger vibe from visions of Tammy, Jack’s beautiful redheaded wife. Wanting to make sense of this potential reincarnation, John, along with Kevin, travels to Louisiana to find Tammy. The late Jack, however, also had ties to a reputedly cursed hidden treasure worth more than a billion dollars. The pilot’s memories may help John unearth the lost gold, which pits him against a vicious treasure hunter. Bennecke, whose last book was Waterborne (2021), seasons the novel with romance, lost treasure, a murder mystery, and even the supernatural. All combine to fuel an impressive pace. Meanwhile, a hurricane aimed right at Louisiana sets a menacing tone; indeed, villains gradually pop up the closer John gets to the gold and to unmasking the person who swung that ax years ago. The lead is an endearing hero, willing to accept reincarnation despite his Catholic upbringing, and his tendency to do things on a whim gives the story a welcome unpredictability. The finale throws everything into a tailspin—a shocking but effective turn.
A consistently nimble and riveting cross-genre tale.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9780965771559
Page Count: 412
Publisher: Jaytech Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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