July 18, 2016
Forensic psychology professor Jack Kale, a former FBI agent, and Det. Beth Sturgis of the Atlanta PD reunite in Daniels’s solid sequel to 2015’s Once Shadows Fall. A deadly assassin known as the Sandman has already killed Dr. George Lawrence, a key witness against chemical plant owner Sergei Borov, who’s suspected of terrorist dealings. FBI deputy director Janet Newton and special agent Todd Milner enlist Jack’s aid in catching the Sandman, who the FBI officials believe is gunning for two other witnesses, Lawrence’s widow, Dr. Rachel Lawrence, and their partner, Dr. Wilson Landry. Newton approves Kale’s request to add Sturgis and her partner, Dan Pappas, to the team. Daniels keeps the action moving as the Feds try to identify the Sandman; Kale thwarts several clever plots to attack the witnesses; Kale runs afoul of U.S. Attorney Carmine Donofrio, who objects to his methods; and the impulsive Sturgis survives an encounter with the killer. Some surprising wild cards enliven the mix. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel Goderich Literary Management.
July 1, 2016
Another serial killer, this time a professional assassin ready to murder anyone standing between him and his target, calls Atlanta profiler Jack Kale back to the FBI.Jack, last seen teaching forensic psychology at Georgia Tech, is initially standoffish about joining the investigation into the death of Dr. George Lawrence, who was killed by a bomb together with the six other people in his cable car four weeks after he, his wife, Rachel, and their partner, Dr. Wilson Landry, happened to see unsavory Sergei Borov pass a briefcase to a bank official tied to a money-laundering case. He doesn't care that Borov probably hired a killer dubbed the Sandman to eliminate all three witnesses to the transaction before they can testify--until his all-but-fiancee, Detective Beth Sturgis of the Atlanta PD, adds her personal plea to the FBI's full-court press. And it's a good thing Jack (Once Shadows Fall, 2015) is willing to go back on the job, because the Sandman isn't letting any grass grow under his feet. A dedicated professional, he methodically scopes out Rachel's house and the hospital where she works, arranges two separate killing scenarios that Jack foils, enlists an addled drug addict to help with a third, and leaves a mounting pile of bodies in his wake. True to convention though not to reality, he even meets Beth twice face to face, taunts her, then lets her off with a warning that he doesn't give many second chances. As if. Jack, fighting not only the Sandman, but his own panic attacks and his addiction to the prescription medication that controls them, still finds the time to pop the question to Beth. It looks as if they'll face their next monstrous opponent as a married couple, assuming that they survive their encounter with this one. Synthetic but highly effective thrills for fans who wish Jeffery Deaver, whose strengths and weaknesses Daniels follows as faithfully as the footprints in a dance lesson, would turn them out faster.
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June 1, 2016
At first blush, Daniels' new thriller looks to run on rails we've ridden before. There's the killer with the high IQ and the detective of phenomenal powers who's tracking him. Still, most readers will accept a familiar premise as long as there's action, good dialogue, and lots of deductive razzle-dazzleand Daniels delivers all three. Mostly. Two young marrieds, witnesses to something dodgy, are attacked before they can tell a grand jury. The wife survives, and to keep her alive to testifyand bag the killerthe authorities bring in retired FBI agent Jack Kale. He's so good he scares his fellow officers, even grasping the significance of the suspect carrying a file in his left hand. Impressive, but what comes next will puzzle readers. They know what will happen when the cops enter that empty house. Why doesn't Kale? The killer muses that maybe this great detective wasn't so great after all, and readers may agree. Is this intentional? It ratchets belief down a notch. Those who can get past it will find a fine, twisty plot and some really jarring surprises at the end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)