Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2012)

Starred Review Daniel has a special relationship with his grandfather, a retired government worker who was always fuzzy with his job description. The fact that Da's mind is beginning to go, other than being a sad portent of life's inevitable twist, wouldn't be cause for much alarm. But slicing up sausages over cereal instead of bananas is one thing; the stories Da begins to let slip about covert missions to mutilate enemy scientists with nothing but a paper clip is a whole new universe of looniness. Or is it? Da's old cronies begin to loom just threateningly enough to lend credence to the crazy, especially when Da claims they plan to "octo-shush" him (the highest level of shush that never works out well for the shushee). Accompanied by Daniel's stoner cousin, who plays the comic-relief bit with dopey aplomb, they hit the road as Da has no intention of going quietly into any sort of good night. What's so exhilarating and disorienting about this book is that just about anything could happen next. Maybe it's an impromptu Wiffle ball game. Maybe it's an assassination. Maybe Da's trying to teach Daniel important life lessons. Maybe he's grooming him for a career as a government spook. Lynch's writing, parched with desert-dry humor, is so fine that a breakfast-table conversation is just as gripping as the paranoia-laced scenes of the trio evading a shadowy doom. A compact, frayed-nerves bundle of brilliance.

Horn Book

Daniel's grandfather, Da, retired from his government job, begins hinting at former involvement in political intrigue, coups, and assassinations. When old "friends" begin showing up, worried that Da might reveal past deeds, Daniel and Da hit the road. The premise is great, developed with brilliant prose and featuring characters who are sympathetically and vividly evoked.

Kirkus Reviews

An Alzheimer's-fueled thriller fizzles. Daniel Cameron, better known as Young Man, is getting ready to leave home and head off to college, leaving behind his dementia-afflicted grandfather. His grandfather, Da, has begun making radical claims about trips he's taken, cars he's owned and espionage missions he's carried out--things that aren't usually included in the job description of a former agriculture-system analyst. After Da steals a car and is sent to the hospital for observation, Daniel breaks him out on an impromptu road trip in order to quell Da's paranoia that shadowy figures are going to permanently silence him. Lynch's characters and narrative never quite sync, leaving large gaps in motivation and personality that rattle about in the story. Daniel's emotionally numb dialogue coupled with his near-infallible faith in his deteriorating grandfather cause him to become something of a puppet, both for his grandfather and for the author. The vaguely sinister government agents are such a generic plot device as to be forgotten, making Daniel's ultimate confrontation with the agents simultaneously horrific and bland. Lynch's normally exciting work is apparently deep under cover on this mission. (Thriller. 13 & up)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Lynch (Angry Young Man) mixes tragedy, psychological drama, and action to tell a story about testing the bounds of family loyalty. Daniel loves Da, his grandfather, and is heartbroken over Da's increasing memory loss and dementia. He's also surprised when Da-who has supposedly never left the country-mentions having visited Cardiff and Tel Aviv. Daniel assumes it's a symptom of dementia at first, but soon becomes convinced that Da was not only involved in covert operations, but also that Da's former employers might be trying to silence him. Soliciting the help of a stoner cousin, Daniel hides Da on a college campus, where Da reveals more of his violent past and Daniel begins to feel the unsettling impact of Da's volatility. Lynch's taut writing is often witty (Da "just forgot to forget" some of his secrets) and develops the central characters through sharp dialogue and focused interactions. The narrative's meandering style and emphasis on emotional undercurrents over plot may perplex readers expecting a spy thriller, but in exchange, Lynch creates a suspenseful exploration of human relationships and the capacity to commit acts of brutality. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)

School Library Journal (Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2012)

Gr 8-10 Daniel has always had a friendly, joshing relationship with his irascible grandfather, so it pains him to see the man slipping into more frequent bouts of memory loss. In the summer before he starts college, Daniel becomes his Da's companion and watchdog, shooing away his former work associates from the Department of Agriculture who seem to turn up at odd times. But Daniel soon learns that people are not always who they appear to be, and that his Da's references to escapades in Angola and Tel Aviv and Dubai may not be the crazy talk of an old man losing touch. After Da takes a joyride and has a run-in with the police, Daniel calls a usually stoned cousin, and the three set off on a road trip, looking for a safe place to hide while they get things sorted out. Kill Switch has very little violence for a novel about a possible assassin. The focus of the story is on the relationships and what might drive a seemingly quiet person to become a killer and, tangentially, where cousin Jarrod can score some weed for himself, and the memory meds Da needs. Has Da committed murders? What is Daniel's potential for violence, if his "kill switch" is tripped? The story throws in a couple of red herrings, but overall it provides a psychological exploration that leaves readers with just as many interesting questions as answers. Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX