A smart, funny tale of a Good Samaritan crime spree.
Essen presents a novel about two septuagenarians intent on changing the world in an unconventional way.
Barry Swanson, a 70-year-old widower, moves into Blue Loon Village, a senior living center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the insistence of his daughter. He’s not entirely ready to give up on living an active life, but he’s also not one to rock the boat. His attitude changes, though, when he discovers that his old high school girlfriend, Beth, is living in the same residence. Beth is as lively as ever, and she quickly recruits him for some serious boat-rocking—with little concern for potential legal consequences. When they discover that their neighbor’s granddaughter is a victim of domestic abuse, they make a plan to kidnap and terrorize the husband to scare him straight. The mission is a success, so the pair hit the road to enact more DIY justice: They rob a shipment of Spam and distribute it to unhoused people; they pick up Jenny Callahan from Des Moines, who’s on the run from an abusive husband, and she becomes their sidekick; and all three later get caught in a mass shooting during which Barry makes good use of a can of Spam. Later adventures send them to Florida, and toward a final showdown. Overall, Essen delivers a smart, gripping read that adults of any generation will enjoy, but it’s likely to appeal particularly to readers around the same age as the gray-haired heroes. Its overriding message that people of any age can make a difference in the world has universal appeal. The novel never takes itself too seriously, and it’s chock full of funny moments, despite the sometimes-dark subject matter. The book will also be a great fit for animal lovers, as the gang helps many creatures, including alligators, on their journey; Barry’s beloved leopard gecko, Gertrude, is effectively a member of the team. The narrative does simplify some issues surrounding vigilante justice, but few readers will object to the Silver Squad’s courage, even when they’re on the wrong side of the law.
A smart, funny tale of a Good Samaritan crime spree.Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2025
ISBN: 9781734430394
Page Count: 278
Publisher: Encante Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.
Two killers are on the loose. Can they be stopped?
In this ambitious mystery, the prolific and popular King tells the story of a serial murderer who pledges, in a note to Buckeye City police, to kill “13 innocents and 1 guilty,” in order, we eventually learn, to avenge the death of a man who was framed and convicted for possession of child pornography and then killed in prison. At the same time, the author weaves in the efforts of another would-be murderer, a member of a violently abortion-opposing church who has been stalking a popular feminist author and women’s rights activist on a publicity tour. To tell these twin tales of murders done and intended, King summons some familiar characters, including private investigator Holly Gibney, whom readers may recall from previous novels. Gibney is enlisted to help Buckeye City police detective Izzy Jaynes try to identify and stop the serial killer, who has been murdering random unlucky citizens with chilling efficiency. She’s also been hired as a bodyguard for author and activist Kate McKay and her young assistant. The author succeeds in grabbing the reader’s interest and holding it throughout this page-turning tale of terror, which reads like a big-screen thriller. The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King’s choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic. King shines brightest when he gets to the heart of our darkest fears and desires, but here the dangers seem a bit cerebral. In his warning letter to the police, the serial killer wonders if his cryptic rationale to murder will make sense to others, concluding, “It does to me, and that is enough.” Is it enough? In another writer’s work, it might not be, but in King’s skilled hands, it probably is.
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781668089330
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”
Idyllic Catalina Island turns out to be just as crime infested as the rest of Los Angeles County in the latest series launch by the creator of Harry Bosch, Renée Ballard, and the Lincoln Lawyer.
Det. Sgt. Stilwell has been bounced off the county homicide squad and rusticized to Catalina, where the exclusive Black Marlin Club won’t admit even four-term Avalon Mayor Doug Allen to full membership and the most serious infraction seems to be the killing and cutting up of a buffalo, presumably by Henry Gaston, who operates Island Mystery Tours when he’s not threatening endangered species. All that changes with the discovery of a body sunk in the surrounding waters. The corpse, most recognizable by its streak of purple hair, is that of Leigh-Anne Moss, a Black Marlin server recently fired for fraternizing with members and guests she sees as potential sugar daddies. Stilwell is sufficiently invested in her murder to compete vigorously over jurisdiction with Rex Ahearn, the LA County homicide detective who kept his job when Stilwell lost his. Their rivalry, fueled by mutual contempt, is only the first hint that Stilwell will end up fighting his counterparts in law enforcement and local government at least as hard as he fights crooks like hit man Merris Spivak and Oscar “Baby Head” Terranova, Henry’s boss, who comes under sharper scrutiny when Henry disappears and ends up dead himself. Connelly handles his hero’s obligatory romance with assistant harbormaster Tash Dano and his increasingly wary alliance with assistant D.A. Monika Juarez with equal professionalism, and if the wrap-up leaves some loose ends dangling, well, that’s what franchises are for.
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780316588485
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
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