In Twelve Days by Steven Barnes, an anonymous group vows death to all, starting with one person on the first day, then doubling until all humans are dead, and naming certain world leaders to die on specific days. True to their word, unexplained deaths begin to occur and targeted individuals are dying. No one is sure if other deaths are occurring among the non-famous, but based on the documented ones, people begin to wonder about the end of the world.

Against this backdrop, Olympia Dorsey is trying to raise her autistic son Hannibal and teenage daughter Nicki. She takes Hannibal to an unusual school where they show a great interest in him, but her life begins to change when she meets Madam Gupta, the school’s leader. After attending an amazing martial arts display, accompanied by her on-again off-again boyfriend ex-Special Forces Terry Nicholas, Olympia’s son starts to show incredible progress and Terry’s abilities increase exponentially. Olympia is thrilled until she realizes that everything is not as it seems.

Action, intrigue, and an end-of-days scenario mixed with a bit of romance make Twelve Days one hell of a read. Characters are well-developed and heavily nuanced from Tony and Olympia to Hannibal and sister Nicki. Barnes combines fantasy and thriller into a well-made book.