Cameron’s energetic potboiler could draw readers in—or exhaust them.
A deputy U.S. marshal stationed in Alaska is challenged by a handful of serious cases and a complicated home life.
When a big archaeological dig grinds to an abrupt halt at the discovery of a rattle that could be worth half a million dollars, the handful of men on hand debate their next move, wary of upsetting their boss, Harold Grimsson, or his dangerous right-hand man, Dollarhyde. Grimsson, who owns the Valkyrie Mine Holdings, is on his private island south of Juneau being warned by two corrupt state senators that he’s in danger of being connected to the criminal Hernandez brothers, currently on trial for financial fraud. Little do the senators know that Grimsson murdered his first wife or that Dollarhyde killed the dig site employee who wanted to halt the operation. While all this is unfolding, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshals Arliss Cutter and Lola Teariki are hauling in some grittier perps. Their takedown of drug dealer Jarome Pringle and his stripper girlfriend blossoms into a tense chase and a major bust with several more arrests. Other cops deal with a body on a frigid gravel beach. Cutter’s home life is going through some growing pains. After four marriages, he’s now helping his late brother's widow, Mim, raise snarky twin teenagers and harboring sad memories from his past. Dollarhyde’s thirst for violence seems unquenchable. Cameron’s colorful procedural has epic scope; each change of setting seems to bring a new set of characters and a new subplot with its own wrinkles. Plot threads sprawl and tangle with the abandon of a soap opera. Until the tale settles down to focus on premier villain Grimsson, keeping it all straight is a challenge.
Cameron’s energetic potboiler could draw readers in—or exhaust them.Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4967-3208-8
Page Count: 456
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
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
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