An often engaging novel with a perceptive protagonist but uneven characterization.
After witnessing a stabbing at a carnival, a man goes to great lengths to protect his sister, who knew the victim, in this thriller sequel.
Twenty-six-year-old Zane Clearwater isn’t having an easy time raising his 15-year-old sister, Lettie. He works a maintenance job at the zoo as well as a summer job at the carnival to be able to afford the rent for their two-bedroom apartment. A fight breaks out between two inebriated men at the carnival, resulting in one of them getting stabbed; the perpetrator flees, and as the victim lies bleeding, he calls out Lettie’s name. She tries to comfort him, but he dies in an ambulance. Later, when Zane asks his sister about the dead man, it’s clear that she’s hiding something that truly scares her. When the killer pays a visit to their home, Zane understands that his sibling could be the next to die. He pulls her from her class at school and takes her to their grandmother’s place, but before long, the girl goes missing, and Zane must work together with Lettie’s boyfriend, Angel, to find her and bring her home. Lipinski, who wrote Bloodlines(2015), returns with a gripping and well-paced follow-up. The novel offers action from the get-go and then paints a vivid picture of the relationship between Zane and his sister. He’s clearly shown to be traumatized by his past, in which his father killed his mother, but he cares deeply for his similarly scarred sibling and does everything he can to provide for her; he lacks a support system but does his best with what he’s given. But although his perspective is clear, readers may wish that the novel offered more of Lettie’s side of the story and provided more insight into the siblings’ relationship. Indeed, readers only get glimpses of Lettie’s personality, which keeps her from truly coming alive on the page.
An often engaging novel with a perceptive protagonist but uneven characterization.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-9964676-8-1
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Majestic Content Los Angeles
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
