Another well-crafted case beautifully built on a foundation of the local geography Doiron knows so well.
Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch’s engagement party is interrupted by a suspicious noise that leads to the discovery of two corpses.
The sound that interrupts the celebration that Mike’s stepfather, tax attorney Neil Turner (who was married to Mike's late mother), is hosting at his lake house for him; his fiancee, Stacey Stevens; her parents; and Neil’s new wife, yoga instructor Jubilee Batchelder, is that of a Jet Ski, which no one’s supposed to be running on the lake after dark. Stacey notes that it’s not Mike’s district or his job, but when he hears the thump of a collision, he ventures out with Neil and Stacey’s father, Charley, a retired game warden, and they find first a severed arm and then the rest of Kipling Whitcomb, the husband of Mouse Island owner Dianne Fenton-Whitcomb, a wealthy invalid who had no idea (or did she?) that her mate was spending Labor Day weekend in their lake house with another woman. That other woman was hair colorist Gina Randazza, 22, whose husband, petty criminal Joey Randazza of the Direwolves motorcycle gang, becomes the instant suspect of choice for Det. Roger Finch of the Maine State Police once her body is also found in the lake. The investigations are awkwardly divided between Finch’s search for Gina’s murderer and Mike’s look at the apparently accidental death of Kip. Further awkwardness is provided by lake constable Galen Webb, whose longing to take an active role in the case is torpedoed by his quick temper and unwillingness to share everything he knows. Could he possibly be at the bottom of all this?
Another well-crafted case beautifully built on a foundation of the local geography Doiron knows so well.Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781250864390
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
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
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
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