Imperfect but enjoyable and nonviolent.
A feisty Western newspaper sheds light on eco-terrorists.
In Elkhorn Canyon, Oregon, a man explodes a small bomb that temporarily disrupts power in the area. The ominous note he leaves behind reads, “We bring you an hour of darkness.” This is the work of the Jack Frost Collective, a small group dedicated to stopping development of a new ski resort in a forested area where a lynx is rumored to live. Damage and disruption are minimal, as intended. Although local citizens call the group members eco-terrorists, they have no intention of harming anyone, ever. That’s a dramatic lowering of the stakes, which is fine for the locals but deflating for readers. Almost no one is ever in physical danger, not even Tish Threadgill, editor of the Flyer, the underdog daily newspaper scrambling to scoop the more powerful Bulletin, nicknamed the Bully, to get to the bottom of the story. Meanwhile, the Collective’s tactics are curious. For example, they burn a man’s house only after ensuring that no one is inside. In fact, they remove all furniture and personal belongings and set them on the lawn out of harm’s way. Inspired by the 1971 novel A Screwdriver in the Gears, these people want to hurt no one, so “terror” overstates the case. The stakes are high for the Franklin Skiing Co., of course, but also for Tish, the protagonist, and her hard-working staff. Not only must they fight to get the story, but she must also fight to make payroll in the light of pressure from the bank. The Flyer’s very existence could be on the line, which for the story outweighs the ski resort controversy. The dedicated employees and the constant pressure they face offer a glimpse into the realities of a small-town newspaper. Tish is an admirable person, but the solution to her financial woes is no surprise and recalls the deus ex machina of ancient Greek plays.
Imperfect but enjoyable and nonviolent.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781954600263
Page Count: 288
Publisher: DoppelHouse Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
Soapy, suspenseful fun.
A remembered horror plunges a pregnant woman into a waking nightmare.
Tegan Werner, 23, barely recalls her one-night stand with married real estate developer Simon Lamar; she only learns Simon’s name after seeing him on the local news five months later. Simon wants nothing to do with the resulting child Tegan now carries and tells his lawyer to negotiate a nondisclosure agreement. A destitute Tegan is all too happy to trade her silence for cash—until a whiff of Simon’s cologne triggers a memory of him drugging and raping her. Distraught and eight months pregnant, Tegan flees her Lewiston, Maine, apartment and drives north in a blizzard, intending to seek comfort and counsel from her older brother, Dennis; instead, she gets lost and crashes, badly injuring her ankle. Tegan is terrified when hulking stranger Hank Thompson stops and extricates her from the wreck, and becomes even more so when he takes her to his cabin rather than the hospital, citing hazardous road conditions. Her anxiety eases somewhat upon meeting Hank’s wife, Polly—a former nurse who settles Tegan in a basement hospital room originally built for Polly’s now-deceased mother. Polly vows to call 911 as soon as the phones and power return, but when that doesn’t happen, Tegan becomes convinced that Hank is forcing Polly to hold her prisoner. Tegan doesn’t know the half of it. McFadden unspools her twisty tale via a first-person-present narration that alternates between Tegan and Polly, grounding character while elevating tension. Coincidence and frustratingly foolish assumptions fuel the plot, but readers able to suspend disbelief are in for a wild ride. A purposefully ambiguous, forward-flashing prologue hints at future homicide, establishing stakes from the jump.
Soapy, suspenseful fun.Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781464227325
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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