Book reviews for print
Evan Smoak is known by many aliases, including Orphan X and the Nowhere Man. In “Hellbent,” the latest novel by Gregg Hurwitz featuring the former government assassin turned vigilante, a call for help quickly turns personal.
When Smoak receives a phone call from a particular number, he knows the person on the other end needs his help. He’s shocked to receive a video message from Jack Johns, his mentor and the man who recruited him into the elite Orphan program. He watches as Johns, a man he cherishes almost like a father, is brutally thrown out of an airplane in midair. Torn apart by his sudden death at the hands of another Orphan who wants nothing more than to eliminate all the others in the program, Smoak knows he has to stop a man named Van Sciver once and for all. It doesn’t help that this man responsible for Johns’ death is also the new head of the Orphan program.
Smoak retrieves a package that Johns left for him and is brutally attacked by a teenage girl. She has elite skills that show Smoak that she had also been trained by Johns. It soon dawns on him that the package is this young girl and he has to protect her from the killers closing in on both of them.
Hurwitz is a terrific thriller writer, and with this series he gets better with each installment. Amid the mayhem, he crafts a tender tale of what it truly means to be a parent and the importance of family. He also has a knack for moments of sheer fun and humor mixed with the action, making the characters believable.
‘Killer Choice’
Gary’s pregnant wife, Beth, has a brain tumor. It’s going to take $200,000 they don’t have to save her. Fittingly, that’s how much a drug dealer across town is willing to pay Gary for committing murder. Author Tom Hunt immediately thrusts readers into the conflict in “Killer Choice.”
We meet Beth in the hospital, and when she receives what equates to a death sentence from the doctor, the scant details we know about the unlucky woman include little more than her hair color and marital status. Her 17-year marriage to Gary is given a few paragraphs of history, and after that Beth loiters largely in the background of the story, hanging out with her friends from yoga class and updating Gary on the lackluster progress of her fundraising website. Meanwhile Gary, intent on saving his wife’s life, enters an underworld and attempts to keep his excursions under wraps.
The price tag for Beth’s only chance of survival originates from a clinical trial in Germany and stands at the forefront of every chapter. However, readers may be left wondering if the couple would be better served by searching for cheaper accommodations in Europe, as the $200,000 includes airfare and lodging (and was casually estimated by a doctor, not a travel agent). The treatment’s lackluster odds – thus far it’s worked on 40 percent of a 25-person sample – also dampen the mood.
Hunt employs familiar backdrops. Grislier scenes take place in basements or abandoned buildings, and Gary passes much of his time plotting in his suburban home.
Despite the color-by-numbers feel to much of the read, the author delivers some surprises. As our hero burrows into a life of crime, his unfamiliarity with violence provides plenty of opportunities for failure.
With uncomplicated prose, simple setups and straight-forward characters, plot drives this thriller.
‘Black Nowhere’
Meg Gardiner’s follow-up to her best-selling “UNSUB” novel continues the riveting adventure of FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix.
Saturday nights in southern Texas have become dangerous as a result of a killer who appears to use charisma to charm his victims into letting down their guard. Women have been abducted in plain sight, and one person was abducted from a crowded movie theater. When two of the victims are found wearing a white nightgown and surrounded by Polaroid photos, the evidence suggests there are more victims than first thought. Before Hendrix can truly profile the killer, a possible suspect is revealed. Now she must prove her suspicions.
What starts as a forensic gathering of evidence turns into a deadly game, and Caitlin channels the TV detective Columbo as she frequently questions the suspect while waiting for him to slip or reveal his killer instinct. But is he really the culprit?
Novels that deal with serial killers have a tendency to dive into depravity and gruesome violence to tell the story. It becomes about the shock rather than the law enforcement path to justice. Gardiner doesn’t fall into that trap with “Into the Black Nowhere,” and when it comes close to that line, she veers away.
This series is all about Caitlin’s character and the collection of facts and uncovering of clues to stop the madness. She is also a strong female character who is never the victim, and that is rare in this genre.
‘The Wedding Date’
If you’ve ever met someone and felt an instant connection, you’re not alone. It happened to Alexa Monroe, who was visiting her out-of-town sister at San Francisco’s Fairmont hotel.
Shortly after she walked into the elevator, it stalled. Conversation ensued with the disabled lift’s other rider, a hot doctor named Drew Nichols. This is the premise of “The Wedding Date,” Jasmine Guillory’s debut novel.
Readers are taken on a journey following the main characters’ relationship. The elevator pair start by sharing cheese and crackers and a bottle of champagne originally meant for Alexa’s sister as they wait for a repairman.
Drew is in town from Los Angeles for an ex-girlfriend’s wedding. He has no date. After a drink and light flirting, he asks Alexa to accompany him to the soiree, to be held the next day.
“I am a dateless groomsman in the wedding of my ex-girlfriend and former best friend,” Drew says. “My date bailed on me last-minute, so I’m going to look pathetic, and I’ll probably get drunk and hit on a bridesmaid – the whole thing is going to be a nightmare.”
“The Wedding Date” is a romance story with plenty of sex, though not on the scale of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Guillory, whose writing is clean, yet elegant, does a fine job of leaving much of the sexual content to the reader’s imagination.
The book also explores, on a surface level, interracial relationships. Alexa is black; Drew is white. They have plenty in common: they’re both highly educated, have successful careers and live in big coastal cities. Some modern dating themes are also explored.
The novel is a light-hearted and quick read with fully drawn characters, and it’s likely to resonate with many readers.
‘Still Me’
In 2012, author Jojo Moyes introduced readers to delightful caregiver Louisa Clark in the best-selling novel “Me Before You,” followed by the sequel “After You.” Moyes’ latest installment continues the story line across the pond in America, where Louisa learns what it takes to survive navigating the intricate rules of New York high society.
Louisa is ready for an adventure and nothing seems more exciting than saying “yes” to an opportunity to live with the ultrawealthy Gopnik family as a personal assistant to Leonard Gopnik’s second, and much younger wife, Agnes. Although she will be thousands of miles away from her boyfriend Sam, Louisa remembers her first love’s advice to live boldly. She promises not to let the long distance ruin her relationship, hops on a plane and eagerly anticipates seeing her new home on New York’s Fifth Avenue.
Living a life of luxury proves to have its perks. Since she’s determined to squeeze every bit of experience out of her time in the city, Louisa throws herself into Agnes’ life. Agnes comes to trust Louisa and a friendship is born. However, being in a position of privilege often comes with baggage. The more Agnes lets Louisa into the intimate parts of her life, the more secrets are revealed. Will remaining faithful to Agnes prevent the man paying her salary from trusting her?
To make matters worse, handsome Joshua Ryan runs in the same social circles as the Gopniks and often sweeps Louisa off her feet like a captivating knight in shining armor. Although Louisa refuses to cheat on Sam with the man who reminds her so much of someone from her past, her personal mandate to keep her old life separate from her new life continues to be a struggle.
“Still Me” is full of all the charming antics you’ve come to expect from Louisa. Moyes once again pulls at the readers’ emotions in a variety of entertaining ways, reminding us that sacrificial love may be painful, but it’s the most rewarding in the end.