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Review

The Bin Laden Plot

by Jeff Ayers

The USS Stethem is cruising in international waters when it is bombed and sunk by a torpedo. Evidence leads to the Iranians, but what Captain Murray Wilson of the USS Michigan is informed by his superiors is that the actual culprit is a top-secret unmanned vehicle. The vehicle’s programming has somehow been corrupted, and Wilson must take his team to destroy the craft before it does more damage. But what he’s been told is not the truth, instead, he’s embroiled in a conspiracy to murder the soldiers who were part of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. The assassin, who has personal motives, is pursued by Jake Harrison, a former CIA operative who wants nothing more than to stay retired and spend time with his family. That’s not going to happen. In this fast-paced thriller, Campbell juggles a large canvas and a fun cast of characters that pivots between being trustworthy and untrustworthy. Fans of the previous novels will be thrilled and upset by what transpires, while newcomers will have enough details to enjoy. Readers expecting a novel with a Tom Clancy vibe will discover this is more of a Brad Thor meets Yellowstone experience. Campbell needs to hurry and write the next one.

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Review

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?

by Brian Kenney

A richly drawn, deeply felt novel in which every one of its 544 pages is absolutely enthralling. It’s Alec Salter’s fiftieth birthday—just days before Christmas, 1990—and scores have come together to celebrate, dance, and drink the night away. All except for his wife Charlotte, who planned to attend, but never shows up. While Alec shrugs away her absence, anxiety takes hold of their four children, especially Etty, fifteen years old and the only girl. It’s largely Etty’s perspective we experience, as day follows desolate day and she searches the countryside for her mother. It just tears your heart apart. When, days later, the body of neighbor Duncan Ackerley is found floating in the river—he’s a good friend and possible lover of Charlotte—the police are quick to conclude that Duncan killed Charlotte and then himself. Jump ahead to 2022, when the two Ackerley sons are back home, busy making a podcast about the deaths, the Salters have returned to pack up the family home and put Dad in a nursing facility, and the police have reopened both of the cases. This second part of the novel is driven by Maud O’Connor, a brilliant, young detective inspector obsessed with finding the truth. It’s she who is able to put together the pieces and in turn, the characters as well. A powerful example of crime fiction at its best.

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Review

Death of a Master Chef

by Willy Williams

In his ninth outing, Commissaire Georges Dupin is reluctantly attending a team-building police seminar with his officious boss in the Breton port city of Saint-Malo, in France’s northwest. The packed four-day schedule, however, offers the consolation of a restaurant visit every evening, and Dupin uses his lunch hour to explore “the culinary heart of Brittany.” As he samples cheeses and sausages in the market hall of Saint Servain, bloodcurdling screams capture his attention. A woman has been stabbed to death in one of the stalls. Dupin quickly gives chase to the fleeing culprit, even “borrowing” a car from a local resident before losing the object of his pursuit. When he returns to the police station, Dupin learns that both the victim and the murderer have been identified: Blanche Trouin, a well-known chef and owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant, was killed by her younger sister, Lucille, also a successful chef. The two had engaged in a sibling rivalry that could outshine the famous Joan Fontaine-Olivia de Havilland feud in its vicious bitterness. When Lucille is quickly arrested, she refuses to confess or discuss a motive. Although Dupin’s colleagues back in Concarneau advise him to stay out of the case, the murder of Blanche’s husband indicates a second killer is at work, and the seminar participants are quickly organized into investigative teams. As Dupin probes with his teammates, the caffeine-addicted sleuth makes time to enjoy petit cafés and savor the beauty of the Emerald Coast. Once again Bannalec (the pen name of German-born Jörg Bong) has written an intriguing and tasty mystery with surprising twists in a beautiful, charming setting that will appeal to Louise Penny fans. It is also a good starter for readers new to the series. Do not read the mouthwatering descriptions of Breton delicacies on an empty stomach!

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Review

A Murder Most French

by Brian Kenney

Hard to imagine, but this sophomore offering in the American in Paris series, set in 1950, is even better than the debut (Mastering the Art of French Murder). It is wonderfully detailed in its description of Paris during the Occupation and subsequent Liberation; rich in characterization, especially of the larger-than-life Julia Child (Les oeufés brouilles with fresh tarragon! Magnifique!) and her buddy, the intrepid expat and amateur investigator Tabitha Knight; and driven by a strong mystery that takes us from L‘Ecole de Cordon Bleu to the unsettling world of the Paris catacombs. Did I forget the suave Inspecteur Merveille of the ocean-gray eyes, whom Tabitha is, I assure you, in no way attracted to? In this volume, the crime comes in the form of rare and expensive bottles of wine that have been poisoned with cyanide then delivered as presents to unwitting recipients. To unearth the criminal, Tabitha must learn about France’s wine industry and the efforts to hide the best vintages from looting by the Germans, all while managing to work with Merveille, who has little more than disdain for Mademoiselle Knight. The end comes as a quick surprise. A perfect match for fans of cozies, traditional mysteries, or fiction set in the post-war years.

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Review

Still See You Everywhere

by Jeff Ayers

Frankie Elkin finds missing people, most of whom are deceased. She is not law enforcement or a PI; her skills are merely a hobby. But she’s one of the best when someone wants to discover the truth and find closure. Frankie’s summoned to the prison where Kaylee Pierson, the so-called Beautiful Butcher, is on death row, scheduled to be executed in three weeks. The condemned woman asks Frankie to find her missing sister before the lethal injection is administered. The information Frankie receives from Kaylee and Kaylee’s attorney puts her on an undercover mission to a remote island south of Hawaii to work with a small team employed by a tech mega-billionaire. With no technology and no way to get immediate help, Frankie will be stretched to her limits, and what she uncovers will surprise even the most jaded thriller readers. Gardner has a gift for writing about the grim and dark world of crime while focusing on hope and humanity. Taken meets Glass Onion in this terrific novel, and holy cow, the ending! Still See You Everywhere is a perfect place to start if you are not familiar with Frankie, and a fantastic continuation of the series if you have already had the pleasure.

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Review

The Nature of Disappearing

by Henrietta Thornton

When Emlyn was a little girl and her father left, she dove into the dictionary, studying and learning words as a coping mechanism. Resilience and words are still at the heart of her life; after meeting a person, she works to find the single word that best embodies them. All the while, she’s pushing through a lonely life as a wilderness expert, one who repels the people around her since she broke up with Tyler, the love of her life, and lost her best friend, Janessa, to a bitter argument. Now her worlds are colliding as Tyler needs her help: both Janessa, who now works for Tyler, and Janessa’s renowned outdoorsman partner are missing. Tyler and Emlyn must face the Idaho wilderness to find the couple, a journey that becomes more treacherous as they encounter an unexpected and deadly situation. Social media fame meets the elements here as the past and future collide and form unexpected eddies. Who can be trusted, whether past goodness or evil can change, and how to accept love are dilemmas readers will enjoy facing with Emlyn, a downtrodden character whose troubles are relatable and whose grit when it matters is satisfying. Podcasts and other social media are having a moment in crime fiction now, and wilderness fiction is also big. Here’s a fast, suspenseful tale that combines both and even throws in some romance.

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Review

The Woman in the Garden

by Brian Kenney

Eustacia Rose, Professor of Botanical Toxicology, lives alone in London with just her extensive but exquisite collection of poisonous plants for company. She tends to her rooftop garden with meticulous care, buys the occasional rare specimen off the black market, and, Rear Window-like, follows the goings on of her neighbors through her super-powerful telescope. She even records the neighbors’ activities, giving it all the veneer of science. Until one day she hears a scream coming from across the street that is so terrifying it forces her to shift from voyeur to participant. The woman who screamed was the remarkably beautiful Simone, as Rose has named her, and days later, when Rose sees Simone being shoved into a car and driven off by a group of men, she becomes obsessed with saving the woman. But does Simone need saving? A fascinating novel that brings together the cops, friends of Rose from years ago, the use of toxins from poisonous plants, lost love, the nature of friendship, and the effects of the death of a parent. In the end, we see Rose begin to emerge from her cocoon and reenter the world around her, a transformation hugely satisfying to watch.

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Review

Day One

by Henrietta Thornton

There’s a moment in this story of an English village school shooting when a mother tries to call for her son. “[T]he space left by her inhale was filled with elbows, shoulders, and no words came out,” a description that’s just one of the shivers readers will get from Dean’s unflinching look at horror. But the book’s not really about the shooting itself, though that awful event gets its share of pages. Nor is it about the shooter, though he too gets his due, in a section that readers should know includes a horribly accurate look at a verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive man. Rather, Dean puts her magnifying glass on what happens after, when those who question everything except conspiracy theories move in with their claims that the massacre never happened and the victims never existed. A split-second decision by someone from the small town is later blown up by the right wing and adds interesting shadows to the killer/victims dichotomy. Those who wanted Alex Jones ground to dust will be intrigued by this fuller look behind his kind of rabid cruelty, and fans of Dean’s Girl A and of psychological thrillers are also a great audience for this. A realistic and absorbing look at media gone wrong and the lives it scorches.

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Review

Swiped

by Brian Kenney

Gwen has tossed aside her long-term boyfriend—why she dumped him is a bit of a mystery in itself—quit her lucrative job, and is now running a failing food truck. The plan was for her and the boyfriend to head off to festivals over the U.K., dispensing coffee. Instead, Gwen is moping about, drinking too much lousy wine, helping her roommate/best friend prepare for her wedding (barf!), doing absolutely nothing to prepare for living alone, oh, and dating guys off Connector, the “dating app du jour,” at a rather rapid pace. Gwen has a bit of an addiction to Connector, and her hilarious and droll take on men and dating is reminiscent of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character Fleabag. Until the most curious thing happens: there’s a series of murders in her town, all of 30-something year old males, and all—you guessed it!—former Connector dates of Gwen. In no time, the cops are in her face (and deep into her Connector account), observing her every move, and generally acting like she’s their number-one suspect. Pluckish Gwen does the one thing she can do: try to solve the murders herself. Anyone who’s taken a dip in the world of online dating will find much to enjoy here, while everyone will appreciate Chilton’s marvelous tone, dialogue, and humor. Take this wonderful debut on a date, you won’t be disappointed.

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Review

Diamond Cut

by Henrietta Thornton

They say you can’t go back, but what if the past won’t let go? That’s the case for Sandy Corrigan. She narrowly escaped sex work and now works for her brother as a private detective. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, with Sandy spending her days chasing cheating husbands and those seeking to milk personal-injury cases. But at least she’s safe—until her former life comes calling. A woman who works for Sandy’s old pimp begs for help when another sex worker, Naomi, goes missing. Naomi’s just a teenager and Sandy’s emotions kick in, as well as her desire for revenge against the abusive, disgusting pimp, Omar. She wraps up the initial part of the case quickly and her brother wants her back to her usual gigs. But Sandy can’t give in when she finds that Omar and his gang are up to much worse than pimping. Sandy is a gutsy but realistic hero, with chase scenes and literal near-death experiences alternating with bathroom breaks—a girl’s gotta pee!—and picking her child up from school. Fast action, snappy dialogue, and empathy galore add up to a quick read, and with an 11th-hour twist, this book keeps on giving right till the last page. I hope for more from PI Corrigan.

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