An often compelling spy tale with plenty of twists and turns.
In Levin’s thriller, a Soviet espionage project reemerges decades after the end of the Cold War.
In the 1970s, hundreds of highly trained operatives of the U.S.S.R. infiltrated the United States, posing as ordinary U.S. citizens and integrating themselves into American society. In 2011, Lisa Jones, a 28-year-old genetic researcher, receives a strange call, consisting of random Russian words spoken over the 18th-century musical arrangement “La Voltaire et La Franklein,” and goes into a trance. A week later, her 30-year-old boyfriend, Stephan Beck, who interprets intercepted Russian messages for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, translates one that’s partially concealed by a series of noises; he later discovers that the same sequence—hidden under “La Voltaire et La Franklein”—is on a recording he made at Lisa’s class reunion months before. It’s revealed that Lisa’s parents, Roxanne and Peter, were among the aforementioned Soviet agents, and that Lisa’s school was teaching more than the usual subjects. As Stephan tries to figure out what’s going on, Lisa continues to receive trance-inducing phone calls; soon, she is roped into a clandestine project with dangerous implications. Levin delivers an action-packed novel with a fresh, engaging plot and memorable characters; in some ways, it feels like a love letter to classic spy tales, such as Walter Wager’s Telefon (1975). The story unfolds through multiple perspectives, although all but one of them—Stephan’s—are written in the third person, which some readers may find distancing. Additionally, the narrative reveals some major plot points very early, including Lisa’s parents’ past and the truth about the school, which takes away much of the element of mystery. Still, it’s an entertaining read that explores rivalries, secrets, and vestiges of Cold War tension. There’s also some metafictional humor: “Turning back to the work waiting on her computer, she thought, ‘You know, I’d make a really excellent spy, just like in those old Cold War novels.’”
An often compelling spy tale with plenty of twists and turns.Pub Date: June 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781685134365
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.
What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism.
When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780385550543
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
Another entertaining Aussie cozy for readers of Liane Moriarty—and fans of tough old ladies everywhere.
When her tabloid past comes back to haunt her, an 81-year-old Australian woman gets by with a little help from her friends.
When the neighbor child asks to interview her for a school project, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick’s first line of defense is to shift little Persephone’s focus to another “old person” in their suburban Melbourne neighborhood, 93-year-old Ishaan Patel. Too late, says Persephone, he’s dead. This surprising information turns out to be true, as when she goes to check, Elsie finds the man sprawled lifeless on his kitchen floor. Her discovery of the body proves to be the first domino in a cascade of unwanted events, as her long-buried identity as Mad Mabel, the youngest convicted killer in Australian history, comes to light and creates a tidal wave of suspicion and media attention. Hepworth’s latest cozy domestic thriller uses the device of a YouTube documentary team determined to get Elsie/Mabel’s side of the story on the record for the first time, presented here in chapters alternating between Now and Then. In the present, cantankerous, sharp-tongued loner Elsie goes from having just one friend, the loyal Daphne Barton, to a web of close connections, including even a previously reviled dog she reluctantly inherits from the late Ishaan. In the past, a landslide of dead bodies and cruel twists of fate emerges to both justify and challenge the Mad Mabel moniker. If some aspects of the premise feel overfamiliar (cranky oldster’s frozen heart thawed by charming child), other elements are less well worn—a lovely pair of lesbians named Cess and Ness in the Then thread, for example. Those quirky suburban Australian neighborhoods just keep popping out the predators, bullies, shocking family secrets, and darkly charming surprises.
Another entertaining Aussie cozy for readers of Liane Moriarty—and fans of tough old ladies everywhere.Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9781250284549
Page Count: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2026
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