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Police Procedural

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

Village in the Dark

by Henrietta Thornton

Readers last visited the remote Alaskan town of Point Mettier in Yamashita’s debut, City Under One Roof, (Please note-the link is to a prior firstCLUE review) a title that perfectly describes the town that consists of a single apartment building with 205 residents, stores, and even a bar inside. This time, we are reintroduced to Cara Kennedy, a former Anchorage PD detective, as she’s having her husband’s and son’s bodies exhumed. She can’t stop suspecting foul play even though everyone is fed up that she won’t accept that they died of a hiking accident—she’s even lost her job because of her suspicions. But she’s now found a photo of her dead loved ones on a gang member’s phone. There’s no explanation for it, and her investigation is forcing her to visit the remote village of Chugach, with a trip through Point Mettier the only way in. Other wronged women are simultaneously facing pain and their paths are destined to meet: Ellie, owner of the Cozy Condo Inn in Point Mettier, gets a devastating call just as Kennedy’s on her way. We also meet Mia, a former Chugach resident who’s trying the outside world for the first time, meeting fears yet forging her way. These are fascinating characters and circumstances, and the story that brings them together and sees them struggling against inner demons, and very real danger, is gripping. For readers who enjoy offbeat tales and wilderness thrillers as well as for fans of the author’s debut.

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Review

The Hunter’s Daughter

by Henrietta Thornton

Subterfuge and supernatural elements infuse this dark, absorbing debut. Our protagonist is Midwestern police detective Anna Koray, who’s had a relatively staid career until she makes the mistake of confronting a violent perpetrator without backup. She kills him, but is shot herself in the process. When recovering, she’s required to undertake counseling; at the same time, she pushes herself into the investigation of a serial killer whose horrifying work resembles that of her father, who years ago was executed for his murder of multiple women as sacrifices to a forest god. Both Anna’s colleagues and the doctor she’s in a burgeoning relationship with have no idea that she spent her childhood in thrall to the Forest Strangler. Anna herself doesn’t even have all the details, which were sealed away in her subconscious by a manipulative therapist whom she now sees for the reverse process, setting in motion an emotional and dangerous roller coaster of unraveling secrets and treacherous confrontations. A cold-case podcaster adds a moral dilemma to the exciting tale—when is it better to leave the truth buried? Readers who enjoy a wilderness thriller, such as Elizabeth Hand’s Hokuloa Road or Paul Doiron’s Dead Man’s Wake, will appreciate this story.

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Review

The Hunter

by Henrietta Thornton

French made her name in crime fiction by exploring the underbelly of Irish life in her Dublin Murder Squad series, which blew the lid off any leprechauns in the mist-type views of Ireland. Here the little people are dragged back out, but for good reason: the locals in the west of Ireland mountain village of Ardnakelty lay the superstitions and rural naivete on thick when an Englishman comes to town and promises to make them rich. Meanwhile, their real game is, as the book says in a different context, “offensive and defensive weapons as well as broad-spectrum precautionary measures” (I’m from an Irish mountain area myself and French has us pinned to a board like a butterfly). Playing up the stereotypes is working great, with the Englishman, Mr. Rushborough, lapping up stories of his sainted ancestors while the locals plan to scam him. Come to find out, it’s not a one-sided game. There are three great characters here: Johnny Reddy, a local huckster who left his family for London and is now back expecting a hero’s welcome, with Rushborough in tow; Trey, his daughter, who has started to make an honest name for herself as a talented carpenter, and who is seething with rage against her father and the world; and Cal Hooper, a former Chicago cop who’s lived in Ardnakelty for a few years and is having none of Johnny’s bluster. French fans will love reacquainting themselves with these characters, whom they met in The Searcher (2020); newcomers to the author or this series will be glad they tried this emotional saga.

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Review

Paper Cage

by Henrietta Thornton

Rural New Zealand police records clerk Lorraine (Lo) Henry isn’t supposed to get involved in cases. But when children in her town start to disappear, and it’s clear that she knows more than the officers about local families and goings on, and cares more than her colleagues do, the big-city cops who’ve been deployed ask her to step in. It’s not a popular move, but Lo is determined, especially after her nephew becomes one of the missing. Complicating the investigation is town politics that pits poorer Maori residents against white or “Pakeha” ones. Family histories, the drug trade, and gang activity also muddy the case and keep Lo busy (“everything feels pushed together like too much washing in the machine”) as she doggedly tries to find the children. Things move fast but reach calamitous speed in the last quarter of the book, a gripping showdown leading to a last line that won’t leave a dry eye. Baragwanath’s language throughout just won’t stop with a verisimilitude that deeply immerses readers in small-town life and this particular town’s warmth, sadness, and terror. Paper Cage won the Michael Gifkins Prize for best unpublished novel by a New Zealand author and has been shortlisted for both the Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Fiction and the New Zealand Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. It’s no wonder.

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Review

Resurrection Walk

by Jeff Ayers

Connelly’s stellar effort, which brings together defense attorney Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer; and retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, explores a case of an incarcerated woman claiming innocence. She was coerced into a no-contest plea of a lesser sentence of manslaughter by her sleazy attorney, who told her if she didn’t agree to this deal, she would face life in prison for killing her sheriff’s-deputy husband. Every attempt by Haller and Bosch to find answers is met with either disdain or tainted evidence and testimonies. Connelly is a master of taking a straightforward case and compellingly revealing the details while throwing in a few twists and turns. Laws are questioned and Bosch and Haller soon determine they are David and this Goliath is too strong for them. Whether you are a fan of the books or the Netflix and Amazon Prime series, this latest entry is another gripping winner from the master of crime fiction, and with the great popularity of the TV series, expect huge interest in this title.

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Review

Sweet Thing

by Henrietta Thornton

Washington, DC homicide detective Alex Blum is an in-between sort of cop. He’s not jaded, but he’s used to the horror he sees on the job. He knows that, unsexy as it is, procedure gets things done, although he can cut corners when it suits. But after he’s called to a murder scene and finds that the dead man, Chris Doyle, knew one of Blum’s informants, Artie Holland, Blum throws procedure and even personal beliefs to the wind. The informant is missing—in his world as a drug dealer, probably dead, but we’ll see—but his girlfriend, Celeste, is still in his home. She and Blum take up a dangerous relationship, one that must be hidden from both his job and Artie’s cohort, who wouldn’t like a cop taking Artie’s place. Swinson’s dialog is a highlight here. The characters, from the medical examiner and cops to desperate Celeste and the dancers at a topless bar—one of Artie’s haunts—all talk us through seedy and horrible events while the rumored Y2K disaster looms and Blum edges further toward his own destruction. Swinson’s unusual ending tops the surprises in this rough, realistic noir.

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Review

Dream Town

by Jeff Ayers

Real life collides with reality television in a mega-rich section of Los Angeles in Goldberg’s latest thriller. Detective Eva Ronin investigates the discovery of bones found in a park outside a private and secure area called Hidden Hills. That cold case soon requires focusing on a current investigation when a reality star is murdered inside her home while her family sleeps nearby. Hooded thieves broke in and ran when the family awoke to the gunshots. The expected security of the community appears nonexistent. Eva knows about the world of Hollywood since her police role has become a TV series, so she’s used to what is factual being played up for entertainment value. But this case seems to defy logic as more deaths occur, and reality means nobody is safe. Goldberg has created a terrific character in Eva Ronin, and he knows how to write a fast-paced thriller mixed with humor and inside jokes with no fluff. Like Michael Connelly, Goldberg also utilizes the Los Angeles landscape effectively.

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Review

Extinction

by Jeff Ayers

Erebus is a resort for the extremely wealthy, and those who visit the sprawling grounds in the heart of the Colorado Rockies get to experience Earth’s distant past. Using cutting-edge technology, scientists have been able to de-extinct mammals like woolly mammoths and plant life from the Pleistocene era. A young couple pays for a camping trip in the sprawling complex and is kidnapped and killed by what appears to be a group of ruthless hunters. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash and county sheriff James Colcord lead the investigation. As the mystery creates national headlines, Cash and Colcord meet resistance from both the team at the resort and their own supervisors. What happened to the couple is only the beginning, and the shocking truth will threaten lives and the history books. Preston creates a Michael Crichton level of thought-provoking science and thrilling intrigue while avoiding writing a Jurassic Park clone. Extinction goes beyond the simple question of whether man should play God, and with a terrific cast of characters, Preston has a guaranteed bestseller.

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Review

Under the Storm

by Brian Kenney

It’s winter when a fire destroys a farmhouse in rural Sweden, burning it to the ground. With the parents out for the night, the only victim was the twenty-something daughter of the house. But she wasn’t killed by the fire; her autopsy reveals that she was murdered by blows to the head. Who would have wanted to kill Lovisa, who was loved by everyone? While the murderer is quickly identified, tried, and jailed, this story continues to expand in multiple directions, exploring the impact of a murder on a community, the families, even Edvard, the perpetrator. It’s also a coming-of-age novel as we follow Edvard’s nephew, who grows up in the shadow of his uncle’s acts, worrying that he too has a propensity for violence. But at its heart, this is the tale of Vidar Jörgensson, a young police officer who was one of the first officers at the fire and helped to solve it, but then spent years ruminating over the case. This is no less than a brilliant crime novel. Carlsson combines his deep knowledge of criminal motivations and trauma—he has a doctorate in criminology—with rich, compelling storytelling. Fans of the TV series Broadchurch and the works of Ann Cleeves will enjoy the deep community focus. Sure to be one of the big books of early 2024.

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