A suspenseful yarn that will satisfy readers’ desire for excitement as well as a thirst for knowledge.
Two lawyers stand up to a big bank and try to find justice for those killed by terrorists in Papantonio and Paulos’ legal thriller.
Joel Hartbeck has had a tough life. In 2008, after surviving an encounter with an Explosively Formed Penetrator, a rumor spread that he was at fault for the deaths of many fellow soldiers because he did not find the device in time. Suffering from PTSD, he fell into a life of addiction and failed relationships. Even after becoming sober and getting his life on track, Joel feels angry at the world, primarily at the government, for what happened to him and so many others. Joel gets a job at Bank Antriol. At first, he’s happy with the good salary and comfortable office work, but soon he discovers something sinister: The bank has been funding terrorists overseas. Meanwhile, Joel starts dating Janet, another employee at the bank, who’s also found concerning transactions. While Joel doesn’t want to lose his job, Janet wants justice and plans to go to the FBI if need be. After Janet is fired for asking too many questions and then found murdered in her home, Joel decides to take action. Joel’s friend from the service, Michael Carey, now works for Nicholas “Deke” Deketomis as a lawyer; the two aid Joel in finding justice. Papantonio and Paulos showcase their immense knowledge of American business’ intersection with terrorism, and the harm such a nexus causes innocent people. While the narrative can sometimes be overburdened with exposition, the characters effectively support the theme of justice. Michael and Deke are worthy heroes who propel the fast-paced story. Similarly, Joel is an excellent character to begin the story with, as he lays the emotional foundation for the significance of the legal battle (“He awoke in a panic. Once again, he was in a cold sweat and his heart was pumping like a jackhammer. After a few anxious seconds, Joel realized where he was and what had happened”).
A suspenseful yarn that will satisfy readers’ desire for excitement as well as a thirst for knowledge.Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781956763898
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Arcade
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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