Tag:

Thrillers

Review

And the Lake Will Take Them

by Danise Hoover

This is not an easy time for Sheriff Red Hammergren. She’s a widow in the job her husband once held, with the purse strings held by a toxically masculine board. It’s January in Minnesota, snowing with more predicted, serious drug problems in the town, and the comic relief of an insulting new webpage done by a leading citizen’s nephew. An elderly man with dementia has wandered off without his coat, there is a missing teenage girl, and the snowplows can’t keep up with what’s coming down. Red locates the man, but Missy, the teen, has reasons for running that are unclear. The danger Missy is in comes not only from the weather but from some really bad individuals. Red has to connect all the pieces—information from cold cases of the past, secrets in the present—while trying to keep everyone safe from the weather and from the danger she senses but can’t define. Red is a wonderful character, fighting to save her town with loyal deputies and a group of retired nurses. She succeeds in the end by her ability to listen. It seems we will see more of Red, one would hope in a more pleasant season.

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Review

French Windows

by Brian Kenney

A delightful, quirky, and comic foray into Parisian life that’s a clear homage to Hitchcock’s Rear Window (and the even earlier short story of the same name by Cornell Woolrich). Here, the dynamics include Nathalia Guitry, a successful photographer who, having witnessed a murder while taking pictures, is unable to work. She seeks help from Doctor Faber, who assigns her a creative task: to record the lives of the people in the apartment building across from her. Nathalia sends the stories to Doctor Faber via mail (she claims she can’t bear to watch him read them), vignettes that many readers will find to be the most fascinating parts of the novel. Eccentricity abounds as we encounter a lyricist, a life coach, and a well-known cartoonist; in its own surprising way, the Parisian building is reminiscent of Whitter, Alaska, where all residents live in one building, keeping a watchful eye on one another. Even the doctor has his own odd interests, from smoking to collecting keys. But what about that murder? Readers will appreciate racing through this brief novel to get to the other—very rewarding—side.

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Review

The Understudy

by Willy Williams

It’s loathing at first sight when trained opera singer Kit (stage name Katerina) Margolis meets her understudy, the sexually alluring Yolanda Archambeau, on the first day of rehearsals for Barbarella, a new opera based on the 1968 film. Kit, struggling to prove she is right for the titular role, her first leading part, is taken aback when her director introduces Yolanda to the cast, something not done until later in the rehearsal process. “I felt a flash of irritation, uncharitable yet valid. She didn’t need to be there. She shouldn’t be there.” Kit’s unease rises when Yolanda yawns during Kit’s big aria and later confesses her operatic ambitions, despite her lack of training. Regarding underhanded scheming, Eve Harrington (of the film All About Eve) has nothing on the ruthless Yolanda, whose weapons against Kit include poisoned tea and dead rats. But before her plotting can escalate to a deadlier level, Yolanda is fatally stabbed in her apartment. Kit, who briefly falls under suspicion because of a violent incident in her past, turns sleuth to uncover her late rival’s dark secrets and identify her killer. Offering an entertaining look at the backstage world of New York City opera, Richter’s second novel (after The Divide) skillfully mixes the tropes of a psychological thriller with the conventions of an amateur sleuth mystery. Especially compelling is Kit’s growing self-confidence as a singer and a woman as she pursues the truth.

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Review

Nobody’s Fool

by Jeff Ayers

Coben (Think Twice) brings back former Detective Sami Kierce from Fool Me Once (the book and the NetFlix series) as his past crashes into his simple life. Sami works as a private investigator, doing jobs that embarrass him. He teaches a true-crime class at night school and lives with his wife and year-old son. Sami might want answers from past events in his life, but thinks he will never learn the truth until a woman he recognizes arrives in his class. When Sami graduated from college, he met Anna on a trip to Spain, and for days their lives were bliss until she ended up dead. But the woman Sami sees in his class is Anna, and Sami stumbles into a larger mystery that seems unrelated to his time overseas. To add to the investigator’s increasing stress, the person responsible for killing his partner when he worked in law enforcement is released from prison and asks Sami to reinvestigate the case to prove his innocence. Then Sami’s wife, Molly, thinks she is being stalked, and the lurid texts proving she’s right begin popping up on Sami’s phone. Coben juggles several complex stories, each one of which would be compelling by itself but that together create a page-turning experience that will leave fans and newcomers to Coben enthralled. The twists are shocking, and Sami; his wife, Molly; and the supporting cast are so much fun. Coben would be foolish not to bring them back for another story.

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Review

6:40 to Montreal

by Brian Kenney

Kudos to Jurczyk (The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, That Night in the Library) for providing a closed circle mystery that avoids the tropes of the subgenre while still offering some charming nods to closed trains of the past. Here, bestselling author Agatha (albeit suffering a bit from writer’s block) is sent off by her husband on a roundtrip from Toronto to Montreal for the sole purpose of finishing her new novel. With a first class ticket in hand, and only a few residents in her car, Agatha is slightly optimistic, imagining the train as a writers’ retreat and with the hope of turning out a few pages. But then she discovers a woman lurking about the train—someone, it turns out, whom she knows all too well—who believes that Agatha stole her success. As the snow thickens, the train slides to a halt somewhere in the Canadian wilderness, and then the passengers discover the horrifying news: one of their own has died. It’s brilliant how much Jurczyk packs into the book, moving back and forth between the present and Agatha’s personal history, while always sustaining a steady pace. But by the time the 6:40 makes it to the Montreal area hours later, it’s pure carnage.

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Review

Kill Your Darlings

by Brian Kenney

Here are two people I certainly will never invite to Thanksgiving. Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over 25 years. Academics, they’ve long been settled in Updike territory along the North Shore of Boston with a cat and a nearly full-grown kid. She’s barely published as a poet while he is an English professor and full-on drunkard. The two might seem a bit dull were it not for how sinister we slowly come to realize they actually are. Swanson (The Kind Worth Saving, Nine Lives) gradually unveils their marriage by going backwards, all the way back to the tragic incident the two plotted and committed in their early twenties. But years of secrecy have taken their toll, and not everyone is willing to keep up the original bargain. Swanson can always be trusted to deliver novels that are rich in intellectual suspense and provide a narrative that is refreshingly new. Here he delivers on both.

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Review

Plays Well With Others

by Brian Kenney

You won’t find any members of organized crime here. Nor are the characters locked on a Scottish island or seeking a cozy murderer who has their community petrified. In fact, men have practically no roles in this book. And who needs them? The small group of suburban women who populate this novel are terrifying enough. Let’s start out with Jake, who a year ago endured her then-bestie posting their most intimate correspondence on social media. The result? Jake lost everything: job, house, and, most importantly, her husband. After a bit of sulking and trying to live down her past, Jake is back—she settles into a charming bungalow—and gets ready to retaliate. But this time she has a new friend with her, Mabel, who has her own set of problems. The two join up to seek revenge, although the real victims turn out to be the kids, who find themselves in the cross-fires (for real!). Is anyone in this terrifying community without a grievance? A compulsive domestic thriller that is as dark as it is dangerous.

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Review

Hidden in Smoke

by Henrietta Thornton

Whip-smart, odd-couple arson investigators Andrew Walker and Walter Sharpe are back, this time probing a string of fires across LA. The worst is a blaze that has taken out part of a major highway. In a city that lives in its car, traffic that’s even more snarled is a disaster, and the investigators relish the chance to travel by helicopter while they sniff out—sometimes literally—clues and, at least on Sharpe’s part, exasperate all around them. Fans of the series will enjoy reacquainting themselves with a lovable criminal from the previous books (Ashes Never Lie, 2024; Malibu Burning, 2023), Danny Cole, who is continuing his revenge against a corporate monster. Tense scenes, some (awesome!), Mission Impossible-type capers, and the wonderful arson-fighting duo of Walker and Sharpe make this an exciting, absorbing addition to the series. Readers need not have read the previous books, but it adds to the experience.

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Review

South of Nowhere

by Jeff Ayers

Colter Shaw takes on a mission to find a missing family swept away by a flood in Deaver’s latest thriller. They don’t have much time to survive, so Colter’s efforts and utilizing his skill set come with a ticking clock. A levee near a small California town has overflowed, and that raging water is merely the beginning of a possible catastrophic event that could decimate the town if the barrier fails. Colter and his sister, Dorion, work with the police and emergency personnel to evacuate everyone before what seems to be an inevitable breach occurs. When they uncover evidence of sabotage, it becomes a race to find who and why someone would want to destroy the town and its citizens. Deaver is a master in misleadingly utilizing readers’ expectations and perceptions, so every revelation is a surprise. The ending hints at a terrific next adventure, and it can’t come soon enough. Fans of the CBS series Tracker already know Colter Shaw, and this great thriller highlights why he’s such a wonderful character. Deaver has done it again.

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Review

Ruth Run

by Jeff Ayers

Ruth has an unconventional way of making money, and her method of robbing banks through a code in a hacked chip has finally caught up with her in Kaufman’s debut thriller. Taking cash in small amounts from transactions has made her a very rich cybercriminal. When alarms signal she’s been discovered, she grabs her accomplice, and they take off. A government agent named Mike has been watching her for some time and knows everything about Ruth since he feels he launched her career. Mike has planted tracking devices in her home, car, and a bag that never leaves her side, so he knows her every move. When his superiors want her eliminated since her bug is inside the government’s network, Mike agrees to help. However, he seems to have feelings for the woman he considers his protégé, so what is his objective? When Ruth realizes that the authorities are close and her usual tricks won’t be enough, she must improvise. But even though she is elusive and clever, her methods might put her in even more danger than she’s in from the law. Kaufman has created a compelling and complex character in Ruth, and watching her outwit and coordinate her surroundings to stay alive while being in control will endear her to readers. The motivations behind the people after this protagonist, and her inability to trust those she enlists for help, keep the paranoia above a level ten. Hopefully this terrific debut will launch a series featuring Ruth and her adventures.

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