Come Barbarians

This thriller is a dramatic departure from Babiak’s humorous and satirical novels (Toby: A Man). Christopher Kruse rejected his Anabaptist parents’ pacifism in favor of the violent arts and a career as a bodyguard; his skills prove woefully inadequate when his beloved daughter, Lily, is accidentally run down and killed by Jean-Francois de Musset, the charismatic leader of France’s far-right Front National party and a close friend of the Kruse family. News articles quoting an anonymous source subsequently link Christopher’s wife, Evelyn, romantically with his daughter’s killer; when de Musset and his wife are brutally murdered, Evelyn is the prime suspect and goes on the run. In a world where the sanctioned institutions operate hand in hand with criminal elements—and worse—the only hope for justice seems to be a talented vigilante. Aficionados of hypermasculinist thrillers like Taken, to which this work has some parallels, will love this glorious celebration of action-movie conventions. (Sept.)