Publishers Weekly
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Battles’s satisfying latest adventure for master of disguise Teddy Fay (after Golden Hour) opens with the ex-CIA operative undercover as Billy Barnett, second-in-command at Centurion movie studios, playing a round of golf in Palm Springs with fellow Woods hero Stone Barrington. On the green, the pair start squabbling over petty rule-breaking with Belarusian oligarch Victor Popov, who’s in town to stage a takeover of Richards Renewable Energy, a wind turbine business, and rake in billions in contracts for the Belarusian government. After finagling an invite to the lavish birthday party of his favorite actor, Victor again runs into and tangles with Teddy and Stone. At the end of the night, an actress turns up dead in the party’s swimming pool, prompting Teddy to investigate. Meanwhile, RRE’s chief engineer toils away on a breakthrough wind technology that’s in danger of being stolen by a scheming coworker. It’s a lot of plot, but readers can rest assured that Battles maintains full control, pulling everything together without skimping on suspense or amusing banter. Devoted series fans will be happy to hear that Battles remains a fantastic steward of Teddy Fay’s adventures. Agent: Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Assoc. (Dec.)

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A nothingburger tussle between two women at a Palm Springs birthday party lands one of them in hot water when she’s suspected of killing the other and dumping her body in lukewarm water. The victim, wannabe actress Katy Lane, hadn’t even been invited to Hollywood legend Damian Leon’s 70th birthday party. She only showed up in the eternal hope of attracting the attention of some movers and shakers. And she’s spotted early on by Ronan Davis, the ex-boyfriend who, as Damian’s personal assistant, has been in charge of party arrangements. But Ronan softens and lets her stay, leaving Katy free to push Ronan’s friend Emma Perez, head engineer at Richards Renewable Energy, into Damian’s pool (all right, the two women end up in the pool together). The next day, Katy is found floating in the pool, the victim of a lethal dose of knockout drugs administered offsite by an agent of Belarusian general-turned-oligarch Victor Popov, who’s been sniffing around RRE looking for a way to buy into renewable energy tech at way under market value—without alerting any potential witnesses like Katy. Popov has already leaned heavily on Martin Lundstrom, a second-rate RRE engineer who’s so convinced that he should’ve gotten Emma’s job that he’s more than happy to hurt her. And Capt. Warner Wilson, the publicity-hungry cop in charge of the investigation, dreams of headlines that would link him to A-list Hollywood figures invited to Damian’s birthday party, a beautiful corpse, and a slam-dunk conviction if only he can dig up evidence against Emma. Luckily, Billy Barnett, formerly Teddy Fay of the CIA, is on hand to throw one more monkey wrench into all these not very well-laid plans. As efficiently engineered as a toy train, though the franchise regulars have precious little to do. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.