"Harrowing…stunning…the riveting tale of a sickly city brought to its knees
by self-serving, immoral politicians."
by Fred Leebron

"The traditional Washington novel is yielding to a different and far more interesting
depiction of life in this part of the world…. [Chaos Theory] can be read as a thriller, and as such it reads quite well, but it is also about larger subjects: the complex interaction between the city of Washington and the suburbs that surround it, the disarray that descended upon the city during the catastrophic mayoral regime of Marion Barry, the fragile balance of relations between blacks and whites…. But in the course of saying some things about the place in which we live, Krist is also in the business of entertainment, which he handles with brisk skill."
by Jonathan Yardley
(Read the full review here)

"Spinning a plausible situation into an extraordinary story while training a marksman's eye on character, Krist has conceived a sleek and thoughtful thriller set on the streets of Washington D.C.... Krist swiftly twists his white-knuckle story into a frenzied manhunt...Along the way, Krist shows his flair for portraying characters under extreme emotional pressure. Among his best here is Rourke's father, Graham, a man wracked by guilt about his wife's suicide and about his crumbling relationship with his son. Rourke and Monroe are sharply drawn naifs, who act tough but are really smart, resourceful middle-class kids who care about their friendship and their college futures. Their adolescent naivete provides a clean contrast with the complicated outlook of the adults in the story, ultimately commenting on the resiliency of youth."
(starred, lead review)