A slow start evolves into a pleasing paranormal story.
A podcaster searches for an informant who's gone missing under mysterious circumstances.
Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rivers suspect that seven months ago, they were victims of an experiment designed to enhance their innate paranormal abilities—Talia, for instance, can now find hidden or lost objects, including dead bodies. Now the three friends co-host a popular podcast that investigates paranormal mysteries. When a devoted listener named Phoebe Hatch offers to sell them a list of possible subjects for the experiment they think they were part of, Talia heads off to Seattle to meet her. When she arrives at the designated spot, though, she discovers Luke Rand, another potential buyer, but no Phoebe. Luke believes he was part of a related experiment, with the goal of creating psychic assassins. Phoebe is missing, but Luke and Talia find several clues that point them to the Night Island, an exclusive getaway in the San Juans that promises meditation and a full digital detox. Determined to find the missing list and rescue Phoebe, they decide to go to the Night Island, posing as a married couple. The early chapters are overburdened with too much exposition, but the plot picks up once Talia and Luke arrive on the island, where the bioluminescent plants give off a strange, menacing energy. Krentz successfully leverages the creepy, isolated setting. A bout of bad weather postpones the daily ferry service, and the island is cut off from civilization with no cell service or Wi-Fi. The staff is curt and unwelcoming, and when several of them die under mysterious circumstances, there's no way to call for help. The guests are desperate to escape the murderous island even as the flora and fauna seem to become imbued with more power and energy. Talia and Luke continue their search for Phoebe and investigate the murders, even as their pretend relationship turns into a real romance.
A slow start evolves into a pleasing paranormal story.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780593639856
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
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
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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