A riveting, energetic sequel with lead characters worth rooting for.
A U.S. agent takes on a dangerous undercover assignment to dismantle a neo-Nazi group in this third installment of a thriller series.
Kolya Petrov suffers from PTSD after the torture he endured just a year ago. But he’s more than ready when the Executive Covert Agency hands him his latest mission. Kolya, a Russian Jewish immigrant, may even have a personal reason to take down German-based white supremacists. He heads overseas and cozies up to their apparent leader, Frederick Bauer, who’s got his sights set on the Jewish director of an organization outing local Nazis. Kolya, struggling to maintain his covert identity, also faces an unforeseen threat. Bauer’s girlfriend, Lisette Vogel, has her own lethal agenda. She’s secretly hunting the wolf-tattooed neo-Nazi who killed her beloved father. She’s dispatched murderous men along the way, and as she suspects Kolya to be another killer Nazi, he may soon wind up on her hit list. But with Bauer suspecting a traitor to the “cause,” neither Kolya nor Lisette is safe, and both are determined to expose the diabolical plan Bauer’s group has brewing in Manning’s (Nerve Attack, 2021, etc.) tale in which the action rarely lets up. Kolya and Lisette face relentless peril, as naturally distrustful Bauer questions any number of things they do or say. While the neo-Nazis are indisputable villains, other characters have layered personalities; Lisette has flashes of guilt, even when knocking off killers, and Kolya’s cherished fiancee takes up residence in his mind. The author sets an impressive pace, driving the plot forward while slyly reminding readers of Kolya’s rotating identities and dropping subtle nods to earlier series events. In the end, this narrative makes it clear that Nazis, not Germans, are evil. Certain members of that hateful batch, for one, hail from other countries, while Manning showcases the beauty of Germany by often lingering on its historically rich cities and towns.
A riveting, energetic sequel with lead characters worth rooting for.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64599-404-6
Page Count: 366
Publisher: Encircle Publications, LLC
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
