Review of Red Hot Summer

[Ngozi Onyibor]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Red Hot Summer" by Elaine Nolan.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Red Hot Summer is a crime thriller/espionage novel hinged on the premise of a dystopic America brought to its knees by climate change. It revolves around diverse characters with unique motives whose lives converge in interesting ways.

After the murder of her parents, Leigh had a rebellious phase. Thanks to her father's friend, Tom, she got her life back on track and became a successful and highly sought-after IT consultant and business owner. One day, she got a call from her father's lawyer to come and pick up a package her father left for her. She was surprised because she thought she had already received everything he left her. However, this was a special package that could upend her life and everything she knew about her father. The package turned out to be an encrypted journal that left more questions than answers. When she decrypted its message, she realized that there was more to her parents' death than she was told, and the only way to find out the truth was to plunge herself into the very lifestyle that her father wanted her to stay away from.

Elaine Nolan writes suspense well and knows how to keep her reader invested in the world she has created. But the glue that holds her story together is the characters. Each of the main characters brought something unique to the plot. Leigh is smart and fierce, Karl is shrewd and strong, Jake is persistent and perceptive, while Senator Wilma's intelligence and subtle manner soften the story's intensity. Best of all, I loved that no matter the relationship the characters had with each other, they were still focused on their respective end goals.

However, some of the characters' intimate relationships proved to be a weakness. I found the jumping in and out of each other's bed and the bisexual relationship spin gratuitous and not impactful to the story. The misunderstanding between Karl and Jake being a case of one friend betraying another would have had more heft without the romantic angle. I suppose it makes the novel seem more diverse. Still, considering the genre and the book's premise, I think little to no romance would have suited it better.

Also, the absence of appropriate descriptions of the characters' physical features bothered me. The author dropped a few hints here and there, though. Still, I constantly struggled to picture the characters in my mind. The scattered nature of the clues made them hard to piece together while reading.

Despite its flaws, the story was worthwhile. The narration and characters held my attention throughout. Also, the editing was pretty clean as well. Hence, I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

Red Hot Summer has enough intrigue to interest readers with a penchant for espionage/crime novels. However, it contains graphic violent scenes, torture, and physical abuse, as well as allusions to adult intimate scenes. Readers sensitive to such content should proceed with caution.

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Red Hot Summer
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[Paul Link]

Thank you for your detailed and informative review. Your analysis of the plot and characters was thorough and made me want to read the book. I was impressed that you highlighted the strengths of the book, as well as the few weaknesses that may turn off some readers.

[Amy Luman]

Great review! I really like the espionage aspect of the book and dealing with climate change made this something I would like to read. I agree with you about the romance. Though, if it were up to me, there wouldn’t be romance in any of the books.

[James Williams Uzo]

I'm not a fan of crime fiction so I'll pass on this one. You delivered a great review by the way. Well done.

[NetMassimo]

This novel contains some brutal scenes and I hope they're not gratuitous. I'm curious to see where Leigh's search for the truth about her parents' death will lead her. Thank you for your great review!