An unputdownable, deliciously twisty mystery.
Family secrets make for dangerous dealings in the latest from acclaimed mystery/thriller writer McManus.
At the tender ages of 4 and 5, Kat and Liam were thrown together during their parents’ ill-conceived whirlwind Vegas marriage. After the divorce just two days later, neither expected to see the other again. Twelve years later, Kat’s living with her mom, Jamie, and her jewel thief grandmother figure, Gem. When Jamie decides she wants out of the family business, Gem talks her into participating in one last heist at the ritzy Sutherland compound, and Kat sneaks along for the ride. Meanwhile, Liam has been stuck living with his con artist father, Luke, since his mother’s death six months prior. After Luke scores an invite to patriarch Ross Sutherland’s birthday party through his new girlfriend, Annalise Sutherland, Liam tags along and finds himself reunited with Kat at the estate. But when the party turns deadly, Liam and Kat, along with their new friend Augustus (Ross’ grandson), find themselves entangled in a game of cat-and-mouse with a ruthless killer. Everyone seems to be hiding something—but which of these secrets are lethal? The main and side characters alike are nuanced and wholly realistic. The dual-narrative structure adds important context and perspective to Kat’s and Liam’s struggles, both past and present. The dialogue is snappy and sharp and melds well with the tight plot and quick pacing of the story. Most characters are coded white; there’s some diversity in sexual orientation.
An unputdownable, deliciously twisty mystery. (Mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593485057
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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