An uneven but enjoyable debut that should appeal to faithful thriller aficionados.
In Williams’ gritty debut thriller, the lives of drug dealers, organized criminals, political revolutionaries and marketing executives intertwine in spectacular fashion.
In the novel’s opening, the Eighth Precinct police department in the fictional city of Salento is making security preparations for a parade to honor billionaire Russian Pyotr Ptushko. Ptushko successfully smuggled American soldiers out of a dangerous region in South Central Asia, yet his motives are dubious. At the same time, several grow houses operated by ruthless marijuana magnate Otis M. Gaverill are pilfered by a mysterious team of seven men who act with stealth and military precision. Det. Sgt. Sal Mitchell and his partner Eddie “Sandman” Sandovan are the lead investigators in the fallout of the ensuing encounters between the factions. In an adrenalin-fueled subplot, Mitchell’s girlfriend, Mya Laing, a high-level marketing executive at a prestigious advertising firm, is tasked with creating a brilliant yet inexpensive word-of-mouth campaign for a designer jean label. Mya and her team develop an intricate alternate-reality game to garner attention for the brand—a tactic that’s at the forefront of contemporary advertising strategy. This subplot provides entertaining respite from the graphic violence and language in the main storyline, yet readers may wish the two narratives intersect earlier and more completely than they do. Williams also offsets his explicit depictions with well-placed humor that only occasionally leans toward the prosaic. While this may distract some readers, the overall effect, especially in combination with the bright, lively dialogue, is refreshing. There is a well-articulated juxtaposition between the honor and restraint of the military team and the repulsive bloodlust of Otis’ group. Williams’ main characters are engaging, but, with the exception of Otis, they fail to reveal flaws or make mistakes, an omission that challenges believability. Williams leaves unanswered questions and more than hints at a sequel (a sample chapter of his next book is included). Devotees of the genre may conclude that he has provided enough to entice them back into his vivid universe.
An uneven but enjoyable debut that should appeal to faithful thriller aficionados.Pub Date: July 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-1461044840
Page Count: 458
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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