Crime/Mystery

Crime/Mystery

Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs

Reviewed by Rod McLary Kathy Reichs has now written twenty-three novels featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.  Aficionados of the Brennan novels would be very familiar with Temperance, her daughter Katy and her long-standing lover Andrew Ryan Lieutentant-détective, Section de Crimes contra la Personne, Súreté du Québec.  Retraité [or retired].  It is a pleasure to again

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Crime/Mystery

You Like It Darker by Stephen King

Reviewed by Ian Lipke I was quite disappointed in this latest publication by Stephen King. This author has created a reputation for fine, extended writing, of best quality, and of mind-blowing uniqueness that is not represented in the present volume. One can speculate over reasons why these stories fail to meet the level of satisfaction

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Crime/Mystery

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham

Reviewed by Rod McLary One of the common tropes of crime fiction is the quirkiness of the key protagonist – whether a detective or police officer or private investigator.  The protagonist in this book – Detective Sergeant Declan Miller – bemoans the fact that he doesn’t have any quirks; quite overlooking the fact that he

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Crime/Mystery

Camino Ghosts by John Grisham

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Camino Ghosts is the third book in the Camino series by renowned writer John Grisham – Camino Island (2017), Camino Winds (2020). At the centre of all that happens in these stories is the local bookseller, Bruce Cable. In Camino Ghosts as well as in his usual role Bruce is the

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Crime/Mystery

The Miller Women by Kelli Hawkins

Reviewed by Rod McLary Kelli Hawkins’ novels are without a doubt very good psychological thrillers and her latest novel is no exception.  The title refers to three generations of Miller women – Joyce [grandmother], her daughter Nicola and grandaughter Abby.  As well as their blood connection, they have something else in common which is not

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Crime/Mystery

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Blending elements of mystery, science, psychology and a world threatened by approaching doom, Stuart Turton has produced a near masterpiece of thriller writing. The planet has been overcome by a lethal fog harbouring clouds of voracious insects and the only remaining life is a settlement of 122 people and three scientists

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Crime/Mystery

The Accident by Fiona Lowe

Reviewed by Rod McLary The Accident begins with a car crash – and the effects of which reverberate through the subsequent events in the novel.  Jamie McMaster – fiancé to Hannah Simmons – is killed while driving on an unsurfaced country road in a red Porsche.  When the initial shock of his death fades a

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Crime/Mystery

Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey

Reviewed by Rod McLary This is the fourth book by Sarah Bailey featuring Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock but the first one which I have read – an oversight which I intend to rectify as soon as possible. DS Gemma Woodstock is an engaging, multi-dimensional protagonist who is balancing the demands of a baby daughter, a

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Crime/Mystery

The Consultant by Im Seong-Sun

Reviewed by Ian Lipke Imagine a young writer who never writes that one smash hit. He’s bored and disaffected. He knows his writing is not substandard but can never write that elusive bestseller. Employed by ‘The Company’ in the position of ‘The Consultant’ he is tempted to write using his employer supplied materials. Tempted further

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Crime/Mystery

The Silence in Her Eyes by Armando Lucas Correa

Reviewed by Rod McLary Leah is twenty-eight and for the past twenty years – since a childhood accident at age eight – she has suffered from akinestopsia.  This is a rare condition affecting the brain and consequently sufferers are unable to detect motion even though they can see perfectly well.  Moving objects appear much as

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Crime/Mystery

The Beacon by P. A. Thomas

Reviewed by Rod McLary The Beacon is the debut novel of P. A. Thomas and what a debut it is.  Set in Byron Bay with a cast of colourful – and some not-so-colourful – characters, it is an exciting read from beginning to end. Jack Harris – son of Malcolm Harris the all-powerful owner of

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Crime/Mystery

The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath

Reviewed by Rod McLary Parents at a dinner party, their children left at home alone: what could go wrong?  Well, almost everything. One evening in December 1979, four couples in a brand-new suburb gather together for their weekly dinner party.  Those who have children are comfortable with leaving them at home as the neighbourhood is

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Crime/Mystery

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Jean Kwok is an award-winning, New York Times and international bestselling Chinese American author. She immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was very young and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood while living in very impoverished conditions. Because of this, she is well positioned

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Crime/Mystery

The Professor by Lauren Nossett

Reviewed by Rod McLary Readers familiar with the author’s first novel – The Resemblance ­– will immediately recognise Marlitt Kaplan who was the protagonist in that novel.  Marlitt appears in the author’s latest book although she is no longer a police officer with the Athens PD.  At the end of the first book, Marlitt was

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Crime/Mystery

Paradise by Patricia Wolf

Reviewed by Rod McLary There are many crime novel series – some now classics of the genre – in which there is a continuing protagonist and the reader can enjoy reading about his or her exploits from one book to the next.  The protagonist may be a detective like Commander Adam Dalgleish, a forensic pathologist

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