An engaging, sophisticated, and wide-ranging whodunit.
In this third installment of a mystery series, two actors associated with a stage production of Romeo and Juliet die, and an interim artistic director must solve the murders before opening night.
Larkin Day has already solved two homicides in novels by Dieker. Now, Larkin is the interim artistic director of the Summer Shakespeare Festival under the aegis of Howell College in Iowa. The former festival director and the previous Juliet were sacked for having an adulterous affair. The ex-director’s daughter, Rebecca Morris, has been given the job of assistant props master as a kind of legacy privilege. Because she is a minor, a big deal is made of her having to be chaperoned at all times. Soon, Tyler Mackintosh, the production’s Romeo, is found dead, having drunk from a cyanide-spiked potion flask. Was it meant for the actor playing Juliet? Later, the festival’s original Juliet—the disgraced one—is found stabbed, but she was actually poisoned beforehand. Then there is the matter of real daggers versus fake ones, assorted potion bottles, and lots of prop switching, either accidental or intentional. And along the way, there are various romances, jealousies, and red herrings. Dieker is a master of obfuscation. The enjoyable story raises a host of tantalizing questions. Whodunit and why? And will the show go on? The author is a versatile writer with many interests, including financial planning and personal development, which she weaves into the book. For example, readers observe Larkin always pursuing her elusive best self. (The protagonist’s best friend, freelance writer Anni Morgan, seems to be Dieker’s avatar.) The author can skillfully turn a phrase, as when a well-to-do character comes out with a “tinkly, wealthy laugh” to mask her careless irresponsibility. Another plus is that readers get a close reading of Shakespeare and a look at the many ambiguities and subtleties in Romeo and Juliet that an artistic director must deal with. Dieker appears delightfully curious about virtually everything, and the audience profits from that. There is even a short story appended as a kind of lagniappe. But the intriguing mind games that are played throughout the novel may be a bit too subtle for some readers.
An engaging, sophisticated, and wide-ranging whodunit.Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781959565130
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Shortwave Media
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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