Debut novelist T.M. Goeglein hooks readers with his fugitive-slash-vigilante heroine, who's trying to rescue her parents and brother from her crooked uncle--with the help of a powerful hereditary phenomenon.
After her family goes missing, Sara Jane Rispoli, a 16-year-old boxer with braces, finds herself on the move, with a steel briefcase containing $96,000 in cash, a Sig Sauer .45 conceal-and-carry, and an old leather notebook that holds the secrets to potenza ultima--ultimate power. It turns out the family business, Rispoli & Sons Fancy Pastries, was a front for the Chicago Outfit, a criminal organization that traces back to Al Capone. This was one of many secrets harbored from Sara Jane, the other being a family trait called "il ghiaccio furioso," loosely translated as "the cold fury," an attribute once exclusive to the Sicilian men in the Rispoli family until Sara Jane channels it.
Fueled by cold fury, Sara Jane overcomes her anxiety about the upcoming spring dance--an anxiety with seemingly no roots in reality, given that Max Kissberg is charming and shares similar interests to hers. Sara Jane focuses on rescuing her family from their questionable fate. Goeglein brings chills with his psychotic ski-masked assassin and thrills with corrupt cops chasing Sara Jane. This will appeal to Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider readers, especially those who cheered for the hero's pursuit of retribution. The cinematic writing, mesmerizing twists and turns, and rivalries within one family make for a fascinating adventure. --Adam Silvera, former bookseller and reviewer