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SOMEONE HAD TO LIE

This is a winner, packed with governmental misdeeds and threats of violence.

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In Luellen’s sizzling legal thriller, some cases just won’t stay solved.

In the author’s debut Someone Had to Die (2022), legal professionals and romantic partners James Butler and Erica Walsh were instrumental in bringing to justice those behind the abduction and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena. Eighteen months later, retired DEA Agent Joe Aguilar, who was involved in the case and became James’ friend, calls him to explain, “It was bigger than we thought and now we’re in danger,” right before he is murdered in Yuma, Arizona. James and Erica spend the rest of the book trying to parse Joe’s cryptic last words while attempting to determine why he was killed. Complicating things is a mysterious flash drive that the pair receives implicating the CIA in promoting drug trafficking by select Mexican cartels. The drive also puts a target on CIA agent Tim Speer, another friend who took part in the Camarena case. The couple must figure out who sent the documents and what their motivations are while trying to protect Tim. Going up against CIA spooks proves to be quite a challenge for a pair who are accustomed to being the smartest people in the room. In this complex outing, Luellen raises the bar for James, Erica, and their allies: In the series’ first volume, the Mexican cartels were the opposition; now, the even more shadowy activities of the CIA have been added to the mix. Going up against such a sensitive and violent bunch, James and Erica have to tread carefully. Luellen, himself a lawyer, had worked on cases connected to the actual Camarena case. His research is again front and center, supporting the narrative—the author brings to life a real rogue spy operation of which most readers aren’t aware. The novel’s chief flaw is the fact that it’s obviously a bridge book, leaving the bulk of the storylines unresolved. Still, James and Erica ensure that readers will enjoy the action-packed narrative.

This is a winner, packed with governmental misdeeds and threats of violence.

Pub Date: March 11, 2025

ISBN: 9781611533705

Page Count: 302

Publisher: Torchflame Books

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025

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NEVER FLINCH

Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.

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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

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DON'T LET HIM IN

Jewell is absolutely a genius at building suspense, but the “man behaving badly” plot is getting tired.

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Following her father’s sudden death, Aisling Swann is secretly horrified when her mother begins to date again—and she quickly becomes suspicious of this new flame.

Four years ago: A mysterious male narrator reflects upon his relationship with his wife—along with a few pointed comments about how she is aging. It quickly becomes apparent that this self-proclaimed “very pleasant” man is not who he seems; he already has a girlfriend on the side, and he’s playing both women with sob stories about his job and his traumatic past while taking money from them. Even as they get more and more frustrated with his lack of communication during ever-lengthening absences, he still gives them what they want: “a top-notch husband.” In the present day, Ash Swann; her brother, Arlo; and their mother, Nina, mourn the loss of her charismatic father, Paddy, a successful chef with a chain of lucrative restaurants. Nina receives a sympathy note from a man who claims to have worked closely with Paddy in the industry, which leads to a robust online flirtation that moves into the real world about a year after her husband’s death. Ash is living at home, mired in grief as well as her own mental health struggles, and she’s none too happy to see her mom dating—but particularly this handsome, egregiously suave Nick Radcliffe. Ash begins to notice some inconsistencies with his stories and his past, so she enlists Paddy’s ex-girlfriend Jane to help her investigate. Meanwhile, Ash’s story continues to intercut that of the mysterious man who is now married to his former girlfriend—and still up to his old tricks. Jewell’s cutting between past and present certainly allows revelations to ooze out at a slow, controlled pace; even as the reader makes obvious connections, the full picture remains obscure. Jewell has written some incredibly engaging and strong female characters, Nina, Ash, and Jane foremost among them. What would it have been like to split the narrative between them instead of giving so much voice—and thus narrative power—to the male antagonist?

Jewell is absolutely a genius at building suspense, but the “man behaving badly” plot is getting tired.

Pub Date: June 24, 2025

ISBN: 9781668033876

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025

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