A mile-a-minute supernatural thriller set in the arena of presidential politics.
San Francisco’s top political operative takes on her most demonic challenge yet in Davis’ supernatural novel, the third in a series.
Political consultant–turned–supernatural agent Olivia Shepherd is back in America following a dangerous assignment in Eastern Europe. Recently, she’s been focused on the internal politics of the Others—the witches, vampires, werewolves, and fairies who live secretly among us and whose relationship to the human world is overseen by a shadowy Council—but now her attention has been drawn back to the less magical (if no less brutal) world of human politics. Diana Chambers, the current American secretary of state, is running for president, and she wants Olivia to consult on her campaign. Olivia agrees, in part because Diana knows she’s a witch (they’ve worked together in the past) and in part because Diana’s main rival for the presidency has employed Olivia’s archnemesis, Stoner Halbert, whose earlier turn toward dark magic led to Olivia’s discovery that she was an Other in the first place. With her extensive campaign experience and a little help from her friends—including vampire brothers William and Josef—Olivia hopes she can make quick work of Stoner and ensure Diana becomes America’s first female president. Little does she understand that the demonic force unleashed by Stoner and his allies has the power to literally tear the universe asunder. Davis combines the realms of magic and American politics to create a fun, sometimes-surreal effect. “The candle wax and the animals are rituals associated with black magic used to empower the demon,” Olivia explains to a baffled campaign colleague. “We’ve got to keep you protected so Diana can get to the convention and accept the nomination.” Davis keeps her characters busy, and the breathless pace of the plot does not always leave room for the reader to enjoy the texture of the world or get to fully know the characters. Even so, fans of the preceding books will no doubt appreciate this dramatic conclusion to the series.
A mile-a-minute supernatural thriller set in the arena of presidential politics.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781684633326
Page Count: 256
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A touching novel about loss with a magical and mystical flourish.
A young man helps the living and dead meet one last time under the full moon.
Japanese bestseller Tsujimura’s quiet novel follows a mysterious teenager known as the go-between, who can set up meetings between the living and the dead. An introverted woman wants to meet the television star with whom she has a parasocial relationship. A cynical eldest son hopes to visit his mother about their family business. A devastated high schooler fears she is responsible for her friend’s tragic death. And, finally, a middle-aged workaholic finally feels ready to find out if his fiancée, who disappeared seven years ago, is dead. Each character has a uniquely personal reason for seeking out the deceased, including closure and forgiveness, as well as selfishness and fear. Imbued with magic and the perfect amount of gravitas, there are many rules around these meetings: Only the living can make requests and they can only have one meeting per lifetime. Additionally, the dead can deny a meeting—and, most importantly, once the dead person has met with a living person, they will be gone forever. With secrets shared, confessions made, and regrets cemented, these meetings lead to joy and sorrow in equal measure. In the final chapter, all of these visits—and their importance in the go-between’s life—begin to gracefully converge. As we learn the go-between’s identity, we watch him struggle with the magnitude and gravity of his work. At one point, he asks: “When a life was lost, who did it belong to? What were those left behind meant to do with the incomprehensible, inescapable loss?” Though the story can be repetitive, Tsujimura raises poignant and powerful questions about what the living owe not only the dead, but each other; and how we make peace with others and ourselves in the wake of overwhelming grief.
A touching novel about loss with a magical and mystical flourish.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781668099834
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.
In this long-awaited fifth installment of Shannon’s Bone Season series, the threat to the clairvoyant community spreads like a plague across Europe.
After extending her fight against the Republic of Scion to Paris, Paige Mahoney, leader of London’s clairvoyant underworld and a spy for the resistance movement, finds herself further outside her comfort zone when she wakes up in a foreign place with no recollection of getting there. More disturbing than her last definitive memory, in which her ally-turned-lover Arcturus seems to betray her, is that her dreamscape—the very soul of her clairvoyance—has been altered, as if there’s a veil shrouding both her memories and abilities. Paige manages to escape and learns she’s been missing and presumed dead for six months. Even more shocking is that she’s somehow outside of Scion’s borders, in the free world where clairvoyants are accepted citizens. She gets in touch with other resistance fighters and journeys to Italy to reconnect with the Domino Programme intelligence network. In stark contrast to the potential of life in the free world is the reality that Scion continues to stretch its influence, with Norway recently falling and Italy a likely next target. Paige is enlisted to discover how Scion is bending free-world political leaders to its will, but before Paige can commit to her mission, she has her own mystery to solve: Where in the world is Arcturus? Paige’s loyalty to Arcturus is tested as she decides how much to trust in their connection and how much information to reveal to the Domino Programme about the Rephaite—the race of immortals from the Netherworld, Arcturus’ people—and their connection to the founding of Scion, as well as the presence of clairvoyant abilities on Earth. While the book is impressively multilayered, the matter-of-fact way in which details from the past are sprinkled throughout will have readers constantly flipping to the glossary. As the series’ scope and the implications of the war against Scion expand, Shannon’s narrative style reads more action-thriller than fantasy. Paige’s powers as a dreamwalker are rarely used here, but when clairvoyance is at play, the story shines.
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781639733965
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
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