Keeping Watch

Starred review from February 3, 2003
Versatile and prolific, King not only finds time for two successful mystery series but also manages to produce the occasional stand-alone gem. Fans will discover that this gripping tale shares certain locations and characters with Folly
(2001), but her hero and subject are unique to this novel. At its simplest, this is the story of a man who helps rescue women and/or children from dangerously abusive men. King's lengthy, brilliantly executed backstory of Allen Carmichael's experiences in Vietnam, his disastrously unhappy return home and his eventual discovery of his "calling" showcase some of her finest writing. Now in his early 50s, Allen is ready to retire from his dangerous vocation, to settle on his remote island and perhaps serve as a consultant to those who continue the struggle. But his last rescue, that of a 12-year-old boy trapped in a horrible situation, continues to haunt him. And when reports reach him that loose ends from that case may be unraveling, he's compelled to check it out since his actions may have endangered others. King captures perfectly the contradictions of combat: the exhilaration and the horror, the isolation and the camaraderie. The niche Allen eventually finds, the one that allows him to function more or less successfully, offers almost the same mix of extreme emotions. This novel of harrowing suspense and wrenching resolution should earn King plenty of accolades. (Mar. 4)Forecast:National print advertising in the
New Yorker and the
New York Times Book Review, plus sponsorship announcements on public radio, should help ensure a run on genre bestseller lists.

November 1, 2002
Alan Carmichael, who has devoted his life to rescuing abused children, takes on one last case-with devastating consequences. The latest from multi-mystery-award winner King.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2003
Some stories scour the soul. This one is full of things that hurt: scary, horrible, humiliating things. It is also an exquisitely wrought exploration of the many different kinds of love. Twined around one another are the stories of Allen Carmichael, now in his fifties, who is the man that Vietnam made him, and Jamie O'Connell, who loves and hates the father who tortures him. Carmichael rescues abused children and their mothers in a number of patient and inventive ways, using skills and the emotional tools he learned during his searing time in Vietnam in the late '60s. The details of Jamie's father's psychological abuse of him will make readers dizzy and breathless; how Allen and his cadre of associates reintroduce Jamie to the simple tasks of daily living is heartbreakingly tender. Along the way, King, in her excoriating, gorgeous prose, ignites the jungles of Vietnam, the sly worlds of computer gaming, life in the Pacific Northwest, and the kind of offhand devotion brothers can give each other. King works layers within layers like carved ivory spheres and makes a tale that holds one taut on every page.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)