In a somewhat dystopian future, a DC couple grieving the tragic loss of their adult son heads to a protest of oil-favoring environmental laws downtown. Julian, a professor at Gettysburg College, is arrested and taken into custody. In the fracas, a mysterious man hands his wife, Anita, a one-time tech exec, a list of names to contact for help to find him, and urges her to disappear. One of the contacts leads her to a bed and breakfast in Newport, RI, operated by a secretly brilliant physicist with a revolutionary idea for clean energy. But soon the bad guys, set in motion by an evil oil tycoon, close in. They want to eliminate both the energy idea and anyone associated with it. Soon Anita contends with a violent, ruthless private investigator intent on making a name for himself in this frightening new world.

It's the kind of book that’ll make you clean your carbon footprint! Not only are the ideals for a carbon-free world there, but the actions to make it happen are also clearer than I’ve ever seen. For me, these are common-sense, but I was happy to hear the movement get some attention and description. Anita and Paul (the B&B owner / scientist), among others, share their vision in a very natural way, through dialogue and action. Sure, there’s an agenda here, and yeah, if you’re not a “green” person, you probably don’t bother with this. But if you have even a small interest in environmentalism, this is your book.

The action is swift and non-stop. There’s something happening on just about every page, nothing lost in inner monologue or thought. Mostly it’s told from Anita’s POV, although we often get a look inside the bad guy’s heads. That’s not as strong a narrative, as to me they seemed not so realistic. But I liked Anita: she makes for a good underdog protagonist.

The plot and storyline are interesting, not often bogged down in explanation, a pitfall into which other science or spy books often fall. It’s clean, easy to understand, and there aren’t any loose ends to tie. I enjoyed the chase to find Julian and the attempts to break him out. That said, I came across several moments I found hard to believe. The PI (Mike) struck me as amateurish, and some of Anita’s choices stretched the imagination a smidge. I liked the ending, but there were aspects that drew an incredulous grin. Perhaps it’s unfair, as I compare it to the seamless, polished, veteran styles of Le Carre, Forsyth, Follett, and Larsson (of the “Millennium” / Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series). But it has all the elements of a good thriller, and I ended with a REAL smile on my face, happy the story caught my interest for a few days.

The Shutdown List looks like Dukett’s first foray into this genre, and she gets points for an intense, intricate story, even with its minor flaws. It has all the edge-of-your seat action you want, while at the same time advocating for a cleaner, happier world. It makes for a great, quick, and fun beach read.

Loved this, pls see goodreads link for my review
I really appreciate the opportunity to read and review.

A climate activist disappears and his wife is warned to flee before the same thing happens to her. She has a list of contacts but isn't sure who she can trust. Will she find her husband and learn the truth about what he is involved in?

This book is well written and suspenseful. However, I could not engage with the main character, Anita, and so much of the early part of the books seemed so far-fetched to the point where my skepticism overrode my desire to find out what happened in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Shutdown List
By Sharon Durkett

This book has everything from the seat of your pants thriller, action, and opens your eyes to Climate activism and the a lot of secrets. Anita Forester has only breadcrumbs to follow and cryptic clues left by her husband when he is arrested at a protest for climate change. She travel from Vermont, Canada, Switzerland and back to the US again trying to find her husband and the detention center he's in. There old lovers and secrets but this book will have you looking at what if....and the dedicated folks fighting for a better planet.


Thank you to Victory Editing Net Galley Co-op and the author for producing a very thought provoking book.