The latest, and surely the most confused, in a recent flurry of novels that seem to be competing for selection by the Jewish Defense League (JDL) Book Club. "The Fourth Reich's money is everywhere. . . . The Nazi cancer is everywhere. In the Middle East. In America. In Germany. . . where little blond-haired children are marching again." So a secret society of code-named militant Jews, "the first version of PLO's Black September," is working underground in 1980 to alert the world to the specter of neo-Nazism. How? Well, first, believe it or not, by pretending themselves to be neo-Nazis, murdering rich Elena Strauss of Scarsdale and proclaiming that "Dachau Two" is under way. But when Elena's grieving grandson David (his wife was also killed in the attack) starts to investigate in Europe, the second stage of the secret society's plan is revealed: they aim to turn the Moscow 1980 Olympics into a bloody warning about neo-Nazis as well as "the long-awaited revenge for the Holocaust." Even when David realizes that his supposed enemies are in fact super-Jews, he's reluctant to go along with them, but his new love, filmstar and concentration camp-survivor Alix Rothschild, is gung-ho. So it's on to Moscow, where the Jewish terrorists hold scores of athletes as hostages; and when their list of demands isn't met, they start micro-wave-ovening everybody to death. "Dachau Two" indeed, because, though hero David does ultimately prevent total carnage, the author clearly panders to paranoia and revenge-lust throughout; and this sort of junk hysteria can only be bad news for those with genuine, serious concern about today's anti-Semitism.
Pub Date: April 9, 1979
ISBN: 0345292413
Page Count: -
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1979
Categories: GENERAL FICTION
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Privileged 30-somethings hide from their woes in Nantucket.
Hilderbrand’s saga follows the lives of Melanie, Brenda and Vicki. Vicki, alpha mom and perfect wife, is battling late-stage lung cancer and, in an uncharacteristically flaky moment, opts for chemotherapy at the beach. Vicki shares ownership of a tiny Nantucket cottage with her younger sister Brenda. Brenda, a literature professor, tags along for the summer, partly out of familial duty, partly because she’s fleeing the fallout from her illicit affair with a student. As for Melanie, she gets a last minute invite from Vicki, after Melanie confides that Melanie’s husband is having an affair. Between Melanie and Brenda, Vicki feels her two young boys should have adequate supervision, but a disastrous first day on the island forces the trio to source some outside help. Enter Josh, the adorable and affable local who is hired to tend to the boys. On break from college, Josh learns about the pitfalls of mature love as he falls for the beauties in the snug abode. Josh likes beer, analysis-free relationships and hot older women. In a word, he’s believable. In addition to a healthy dose of testosterone, the novel is balanced by powerful descriptions of Vicki’s bond with her two boys. Emotions run high as she prepares for death.
Nothing original, but in Hilderbrand’s hands it’s easy to get lost in the story.Pub Date: July 2, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-316-01858-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2007
Categories: GENERAL FICTION
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Five friends meet on their first day of kindergarten at the exclusive Atwood School and remain lifelong friends through tragedy and triumph.
When Gabby, Billy, Izzie, Andy and Sean meet in the toy kitchen of the kindergarten classroom on their first day of school, no one can know how strong the group’s friendship will remain. Despite their different personalities and interests, the five grow up together and become even closer as they come into their own talents and life paths. But tragedy will strike and strike again. Family troubles, abusive parents, drugs, alcohol, stress, grief and even random bad luck will put pressure on each of them individually and as a group. Known for her emotional romances, Steel makes a bit of a departure with this effort that follows a group of friends through young adulthood. But even as one tragedy after another befalls the friends, the impact of the events is blunted by a distant narrative style that lacks emotional intensity.
More about grief and tragedy than romance.Pub Date: July 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-385-34321-3
Page Count: 322
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Categories: GENERAL FICTION
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