Saturdays With Kaye: Lockdown by Laurie R. King

Please welcome back Kaye George to the blog. Each Saturday look for another review from Kaye as we begin “Saturdays with Kaye.” This week she reviews Lockdown by Laurie R. King.

Lockdown by Laurie R. King

Lockdown, which deals with school violence, is timely in an unfortunate, familiar way. We know something terrible will happen. But how, to whom? Suspense builds, then builds some more, as the reader heads toward certain catastrophe. The tale is told through the viewpoints of those nervous about the upcoming Career Day at the California school, a place of violence and gangs. This year’s event is supposed to counteract what happened last year, an assault on one of the speakers, the shooting of a sixteen-year-old student, and the attempted murder of a police officer, Sergeant Olivia Mendez. All of this was perpetrated by Taco Alvarez, who is presently standing trial.

We first meet a father and son, Thomas and Brendan. Brendan is a jock who is obsessed with guns and who is planning something, while Thomas, a cocky self-made man, does his best to exert absolute control over his son. Next is Linda, the principal, worrying about the upcoming event, hoping everything will go well. She is new to the school and out to prove herself by changing the reputation of the gang-ridden institution. Then there are several students: Sofia, who seems to have it together, but is haunted by the murder of her sister; Mina; and Nick, all of whom are all hiding something. Chaco is a budding delinquent, the cousin of Taco, and he has plans, too. The most mysterious, in the beginning, is Gordon, the principal’s husband, who is not who he seems to be. Olivia, the cop there to give a presentation, knows Gordon’s life is a lie, but she doesn’t know who he really is. Maybe the most mysterious one is the janitor, known as Tio, but who isn’t anyone’s uncle.

In the center of all of their lives is the recent disappearance of a child named Bee Cuomo.

The action flashes back and forth to fill in the background of what’s happening, to uncover lurking secrets, and to propel us inevitably toward disaster.

Reviewed by Kaye George, Editor of,  Day of the Dark: Eclipse Stories, for Suspense Magazine.