Newest Thrillers Reviews
Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent
It's Ireland, it's the 1980s, and a young woman is dead. Whether or not she deserved to die is up for debate, but Lydia, our first narrator, certainly thinks she had it coming. By the end of the book, Annie will not be the only person in whom life is extinguished, and for all the characters life will be irrevocably changed. Full review...
The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
The Chemist is on the run. She's a former government employee who knows lots of classified information and this makes her a dangerous liability. But after 3 years on the run, a surprise offer lures the Chemist back home, could this be her salvation or put her in even more danger than before? Full review...
Under A Watchful Eye by Adam Nevill
Seb Logan is being watched. He just doesn't know who by. When a dark figure appears and shatters Seb's idyllic life, he soon realizes that the murky past he thought he'd left behind has far from forgotten him. What's more unsettling is the strange atmosphere that engulfs him at every sighting, plunging his mind into a terrifying paranoia. To be a victim without knowing the tormentor. To be despised without knowing the offence caused. To be seen by what nobody else can see. These are the thoughts that plague his every waking moment. And once his investigation leads him to stray across the line and into mortal danger, he risks becoming another fatality in a long line of victims. Full review...
Extreme Prey by John Sandford
Making a long running series evolve organically is a very tricky business; a character that has been around for 26 books, and nearly as many years, is not going to be the same person that started out. Age catches up with us all and many crime writer have come up against the problem of retirement; not their own, but that of their character. Why is a 70 year old still out chasing criminals and shooting things? Lucas Davenport is a character who has always been a maverick, doing what he wants, therefore quitting the police was never going to stop him. Full review...
The Ad Man by Timothy Dickinson
Tim Collinwood is single and so, working in Morocco as an advertising creative, he's free to enjoy all his host country has to offer: the expense accounts, the opulence and the women. Then it happens. He gets the contract of his life. He just needs to create a PR campaign that will reassure Morocco that French business has her best interests at heart. The truth may be otherwise but creating the façade is what advertising is about. Perhaps Tim should have noticed that there are clues from the beginning as to how shady this job is, including needing to work under an assumed identity. However, the secrecy becomes a side issue as something more important takes Tim's concentration: survival for him and those around him. Full review...
Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson
When Sally wakes up in a taxi in the middle of the night, miles from home, dazed, confused and dressed only in her nightie, she is terrified. And so are her friends and family. After the emergency services conclude she's not an immediate danger to herself (despite being found stumbling precariously close to a cliff edge) she's shipped off home where her husband, parents and mother in law rally round to help her care for herself and their two young children. Sally has a battle on her hands, though, as everyone is walking on eggshells, determined not to upset her and yet also unable or unwilling to believe her version of events that night. Full review...
Blood Lines (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons
Initially it looked like a robbery gone wrong, or possibly a carjack, only the car was still there and so was the expensive watch and the jewellry. Her wallet hadn't been taken either, but she'd been killed by a single, precise stab to the heart. There was no sign of anger: in fact there seemed to be a complete lack emotion and there was nothing to suggest that the victim had attracted the violence - she was a caring mother and dedicated social worker. D I Kim Stone wasn't alone in thinking that something didn't add up. Then a local drug addict was found with an identical wound. There's nothing to link the two cases other than the wounds and Stone's instincts. Full review...
Lost Girls (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons
Charlotte and Amy were best friends: they seemed to do everything together and the trip to the swimming pool was no different. It was all carefully planned - they were to stay in the building until one of the parents arrived to pick them up. Only, it didn't work out like that: the mother's car was disabled and before the pick up time both parents had received a text message to say that the girls had been abducted. It would get worse too - the next communication would tell them that they would have to bid for the life of their child. The parents who bid the most would get their child back. The other would not return. It sounds unbelievable, but it had happened before. One child was released, but not even the body of the other child had been found. Full review...
Achaladair: There Is More Than Gold, in Them Thar Hills by William S Young
It's 1962 and Frank Mulholland and Tom Sommerville are two MI6 agents posted to the Scottish Highlands. Fresh from a recent mission involving Russian agents and IRA gunrunners in which they thwarted an attempt on US president John F Kennedy's life, they are enjoying life at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel with friends - the rest of their MI6 team, members of the local constabulary, and the Irish girls who work at the hotel. But their downtime is shortlived... Full review...
Finisterre by Graham Hurley
The Second World War is almost lost but in a last, desperate roll of the dice the German High command launch Operation Finisterre. In America the apparent suicide of a scientist working on the atom bomb and off the coast of Spain the shipwreck of a German submarine, become catalysts as the plans spiral out of control, leading to a shattering climax. 'Finisterre' is a crime thriller packed with grit, suspense and style. Full review...
Tokyo Nights by Jim Douglas
Colin McCann, private detective, chronic smoker and dog lover, is charged with solving the mysterious death of the young and beautiful daughter of a wealthy businessman. The key facts of this case apparently hinge on the testimony of Charlie Davis, a ne'er do well dreamer with quick fists and a poet's heart. The only problem is that Charlie Davis has disappeared and appears to be unwilling to disclose his part in these tragic events. After some deliciously violent digging, McCann jets off to Tokyo and here is where the fun really begins… Full review...
Mr Churchill's Driver: A Murderer's Story by Colin Farrington
2014: 50 years since William Gilbey's father Herbert was hanged for murder. This anniversary is different from those in the past in that it's given William the impetus to go and find out more about two mystifying parts of his father's history. Firstly the oddity of the murder: why randomly kill two women in the street in daylight? Secondly, when William was a child, Herbert had told him a story about a meeting between Winston Churchill and then Irish Teasoch Eamon De Valera during World War II. There's nothing in the history books so did this actually happen? This is definitely a good time to investigate, especially as William has just been released from prison after serving a sentence for murder himself. Full review...
The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer
Eve Singer is a journalist stuck on the ‘meat beat’; she and her camera man Joe chase down every recent murder to get a shot of the gory body, determined to get the best viewings and move into reporting better stories. Eve soon learns to become careful what she wishes for when she begins to get her exclusives from the killer himself, a self-gratifying exhibitionist who is wooing her with a succession of gruesome murders. But how long will it be until he gets what he finally wants; to murder Eve? Full review...
Pendulum by Adam Hamdy
There's no time wasted with a gentle introduction: we interrupt an attempted murder. John Wallace - ordinary John Wallace - is about to be hanged by a man in a black mask who has invaded his apartment. The fact that it's happening is bad enough, but why is it happening, and to Wallace? It's fate which intervenes and Wallace escapes. He's going to keep escaping and I'm not going to tell you a great deal more about the plot: you're better off reading what Adam Hamdy has written than my version of it. It's sufficient to say that the pace and the action never let up and you're not going to get the answers until the final pages. Full review...
Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst
As a psychiatrist, Karen is never too sure who or what will walk through her door, but the variety keeps it interesting, and her years of training and experience keep her on track even when a statement from a patient seems to throw her off course. It's hard sometimes, because she can't really talk about work at home, but her friends and partner are supportive even when she's not able to share the details with them. Full review...
The Politician's Daughter by Marion Leigh
I had to feel sorry for Canadian Emily Mortlake, the titular politician's daughter. OK, so going off on a summer job on a mega yacht might have sounded glamorous, but even before she went there were indications that some quite personal services might be required. It didn't worry Emily, but when she went missing there weren't that many people who were worried about her. Her father didn't want anything made public as a scandal could damage his political career. The dean of her college didn't want the spotlight of publicity focused on the college: there'd been a lot of fuss about fees recently and he preferred to avoid the tabloid headlines. Even her friend Amy who reported Emily missing seemed most worried that she couldn't get on with her work. Petra Minx of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Marine Unit was in the UK on holiday and she was sent to investigate. Full review...
The Girl Before by J P Delaney
Jane is recovering from recent trauma and needs to change her life, starting with where she lives. After seeing the dives she can afford in central London on her salary, One Folgate Street seems like a dream come true. Ultra modern, smart technology living - a small haven in a big city... however, it comes with some very tight restrictions, rules that must be obeyed. Jane is ready for a big change in her life, so she accepts the conditions of the house and moves in. However, the longer Jane lives there, the more interested she becomes in the previous tenant, a woman named Emma who died there, Emma who’s life Jane’s is starting to mimic. Suddenly, this haven doesn’t feel so safe. Full review...
The Watcher by Ross Armstrong
Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can't help spying on her neighbours. Then one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly neighbour Jean is found dead. Lily, intrigued by the social divide in her local area as it becomes increasingly gentrified, knows that she has to act. But her interference is not going unnoticed, and as she starts to get close to the truth, her own life comes under threat. But can Lily really trust everything she sees? Full review...
Night School by Lee Child
The 21st Jack Reacher novel takes us back in time. Reacher is still an US Army MP. In the morning they gave Reacher a medal, and in the afternoon they sent him back to school. The medal was a Legion of Merit. Not his first, probably not his last, just another bauble to recognise what he'd done for his country and a plea for him not to talk about it. The 'it' in this case was some police work, in the Balkans, and a couple of shootings. Two weeks of his life. Four rounds expended. No big deal. Full review...
Chain of Custody by Anita Nair
After the success of A Cut-like Wound published in the UK in 2014, Chain of Custody sees the return of Inspector Gowda of the Bengarulu (rendered throughout in its anglicised version: Bangalore) police, called in when an affluent lawyer is found dead at his home in a prestigious and well-guarded gated community. However, that is the prologue jumping ahead of the story – as is the current vogue. Full review...
Tell Me No Lies by Lisa Hall
Steph, husband Mark and son Henry have just moved into a new house. That always leads to a fresh start, but even more so here as there are a few dodgy incidents in the past they are trying to move on from. Fingers crossed it’s all going to work out well. As a freelancer, Steph doesn’t have regular colleagues, but the neighbours seem nice enough even if some of the other mums at the school gate are a little stand offish at first. With Mark away a lot with work it’s up to Steph to make the house a home and get Henry settledin the run up to Christmas. Full review...
Home by Harlan Coben
Fresh from reading Fool Me Once – a stand-alone novel by Coben – I was offered Home, the latest in the Myron Bolitar series. Resistance is futile as someone once said. Coben is probably the best thriller writer in the market at the moment. It's not that all of his books are better than anyone else's – they're not. Lee Child on the top of his game is streets ahead of Coben's weakest offerings. Coben has the edge as writer because of his virtuosity. The Bolitar series takes its place around the other work, and even within the series you can't be guaranteed to get the same take every time. Full review...
Set Free by Anthony Bidulka
Within minutes of arriving in the exotic, enigmatic, sweltering city of Marrakech, renowned author Jaspar Wills is kidnapped, blindfolded, bound and beaten. As Wills struggles to survive, he recounts his rise to fame, and the tragic events that led him to Morocco. With the kidnapper's demands left unmet, Wills faces death with fear, grief… and guilt. What happened in his past that led to this? Is someone he loves responsible, or is this payback for past sins? Living with a loss far greater than that of his own life, Jasper yearns to be set free. Six months later, struggling reporter Katie Edwards travels to Morocco to investigate the disappearance – and discovers a shocking truth. With stunning revelations galore, the truth will set you free. Can lies do the same? Full review...
Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak
Her Darkest Nightmare has all the right ingredients for a crime thriller. Shrewd, intelligent, and hard-as-nails protagonist? Check. Fantastic setting? Check. A compelling mystery? Check! A thoroughly despicable villain? Check, and check again… and maybe check one more time… Full review...
The Widow by Fiona Barton
Newly widowed Jean Taylor is being interviewed by top investigative reporter Kate Waters. Jean sees that she's not like the other reporters, Kate's not battering down Jean's door, she's nice, patient, she feels like a friend. But Jean isn't completely fooled, Kate wants to know about her husband, about the terrible crime he was accused of, how Jean feels about him now and the most dangerous question of all… what Jean knows. Full review...
Never Alone by Elizabeth Haynes
Sarah lives alone in an isolated farmhouse on the North Yorkshire moors: she's widowed. Her daughter Kitty is away at university and her son Louis and she have lost contact: there's some animosity on Louis' side but Sarah can't quite understand what's behind it. She and Aiden reconnected on Facebook: he was a close friend of Jim, Sarah's late husband and Sarah when they were at university. He's coming back to the UK and impulsively Sarah tells him that he can live in the cottage on her land. She's always been drawn to him - they had a fling once before she married - and it's not long before they begin a sexually-charged relationship. But there's quite a bit about Aiden which Sarah can't understand: what exactly is it that Aiden does for a living? Can she trust him? Full review...
Triple Crown by Felix Francis
You couldn't say that Jeff Hinkley, a British Horseracing Authority investigator was having a midlife crisis, but now that he's not working as an undercover agent quite so much he's not getting the same satisfaction from the job. That was one of the reasons he was delighted to be seconded to the US Federal Anti-Corruption in Sports Agency where the Deputy Director is pretty sure that there's a mole in the organisation. Too many raids have been foiled by the target seeming to know what was going to happen and having the chance to clean up before the investigators arrived. There's not too much to keep Hinkley in the UK, apart from a sister with cancer who says that he should go. Full review...
All These Perfect Strangers by Aoife Clifford
How well do we know our neighbours? How well do we know our closest friends? How well do we know ourselves? A carefully constructed thriller, exploring what we human nature is capable of. Full review...
The Constant Soldier by William Ryan
Paul Brandt returns home to his village without the arm he left at the Russian Front in defence of Germany. The village looks pretty much the same as he left it, with the exception of the lack of young men and a new building. His home now boasts an SS rest hut, providing officers with entertainment and respite breaks from the fighting. As Paul passes the hut for the first time, he sees something… or rather someone… that will make him return to work for those he despises. The subject of his decision? A girl he once got into trouble with under different circumstances – before she wore the stripes of a concentration camp prisoner. Full review...
Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben
Joe was buried quickly. Only three days after his murder. For those of us who regularly watch the crime shows or even read the papers that might seem like indecent haste. His widow Maya isn't thinking like that, though. Through the service she's thinking about all sorts of other things. She's bringing her training to bear. Distraction. Get through this bit and then deal with what needs to be done. Full review...
The Gem Connection by Michael R Lane
In the beginning it was simple. C J Kavanaugh, formerly of the Drugs Enforcement Agency but now making a living as Private Investigator was employed to prove that a man was having an adulterous affair. Antonio Fahrletti had confounded half a dozen PIs who'd been unable to prove that he was being unfaithful to his wife, but CJ was determined to be the one who got the proof. Luck was on his side, but not, it would seem, on Fahrletti's. In the meantime Clinton Windell knew that luck was on his side: he'd brought home twenty million dollars of uncut gems. The board hadn't believed that he could do it and a large part of his pleasure was that he was proving them wrong. Full review...
Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica
Quinn is missing someone, and Alex has found someone. And both are a little confused (not to mention alarmed, cautious and a little uncertain). In Chicago, Quinn discovers her roommate, Esther, is missing. Vanished. Gone without a trace. It's extremely out of character for the girl Quinn knows, but as she starts to hunt down Esther's whereabouts, she has to question how much she does know the girl with whom she shares a home and a life. A little way away, Alex is working in a restaurant when a mysterious stranger comes in. He can't quite figure out why, but he's drawn to her. Who or what connects these two stories? Full review...
