Op-Center fans will find this a worthy entry in the series.
America’s relations with China get testy in the Tom Clancy industry’s 22nd Op-Center thriller.
Sen. Yvonne Malo and three fellow astronauts circle the Earth in the Phoenix One until suddenly everything goes wrong. They lose all power and communications, the vehicle burns, and they all die. China has fired the first shot in what could be a war in space. It doesn't take long for Americans to figure out that the Chinese have sabotaged Phoenix One in retaliation for the American abduction of a Chinese engineer who was working on a hypersonic missile program. Now President John Wright looks for a way to retaliate without escalating too far. This calls for the Op-Center, a strike force that takes on highly secretive missions for the president of the United States. China wants their man back, and they demand that Adm. Chase Williams make the delivery. Hmm, that sounds suspicious. Yes, they kidnap him to use him as bait to destroy Black Wasp, a subgroup of five members of Op-Center that does tough, on-the-ground dirty work at the behest of the president. As with all the novels that are part of the Op-Center formula, this one is filled with well-plotted action and strong characters. In captivity, Adm. Williams does himself credit as an American citizen, but can Black Wasp rescue him? Or will the Chinese destroy them all? When a Black Wasp suffers a heavy personal loss, readers might expect a greater showing of grief. Yet amid all the violence and turmoil, there is an unexpected grace note at the end. The writing style has not changed since The Hunt for Red October—eminently readable and enjoyable but with no memorable dialogue. More importantly, this story reflects America’s ongoing struggle to maintain its place in the world and China’s ongoing effort to surpass us. It’s a world where the U.S. is imperfect but essentially just, no victory is ever complete, and the sequels keep coming.
Op-Center fans will find this a worthy entry in the series.Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868725
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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
A weird, wild ride.
Celebrity scandal and a haunted lake drive the narrative in this bestselling author’s latest serving of subtly ironic suspense.
Sager’s debut, Final Girls (2017), was fun and beautifully crafted. His most recent novels—Home Before Dark (2020) and Survive the Night (2021) —have been fun and a bit rickety. His new novel fits that mold. Narrator Casey Fletcher grew up watching her mother dazzle audiences, and then she became an actor herself. While she never achieves the “America’s sweetheart” status her mother enjoyed, Casey makes a career out of bit parts in movies and on TV and meatier parts onstage. Then the death of her husband sends her into an alcoholic spiral that ends with her getting fired from a Broadway play. When paparazzi document her substance abuse, her mother exiles her to the family retreat in Vermont. Casey has a dry, droll perspective that persists until circumstances overwhelm her, and if you’re getting a Carrie Fisher vibe from Casey Fletcher, that is almost certainly not an accident. Once in Vermont, she passes the time drinking bourbon and watching the former supermodel and the tech mogul who live across the lake through a pair of binoculars. Casey befriends Katherine Royce after rescuing her when she almost drowns and soon concludes that all is not well in Katherine and Tom’s marriage. Then Katherine disappears….It would be unfair to say too much about what happens next, but creepy coincidences start piling up, and eventually, Casey has to face the possibility that maybe some of the eerie legends about Lake Greene might have some truth to them. Sager certainly delivers a lot of twists, and he ventures into what is, for him, new territory. Are there some things that don’t quite add up at the end? Maybe, but asking that question does nothing but spoil a highly entertaining read.
A weird, wild ride.Pub Date: June 21, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-18319-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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