Good Reads & Views

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
Fiction

What it's about: Bookseller and blogger Malcolm is contacted by the FBI, seeking his help. Years ago he created a list of literature's most perfect murders, and now someone seems to be using Malcolm's list as a playbook for unsolved killings. Twists and turns galore, and if you actually figure out the killer early on (I did not), then kudos to you.

Reviewers say: "Swanson will keep most readers guessing until the end. Classic whodunit fans will be in heaven" (Publishers Weekly); "The perfect gift for well-read mystery mavens who complain that they don't write them like they used to" (Kirkus).

Author Notes: Swanson is the author of six novels including The Kind Worth Killing for which he won the New England Society Book Award and Her Every Fear, which was an NPR book of the year.

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Conviction by Denise Mina
Fiction

What it’s about: True-crime fan Anna MacDonald’s quiet life as a housewife implodes when her husband leaves her for her best friend, Estelle. Grieving over the betrayal, she sets out on a wild adventure to uncover the real story behind a new true-crime podcast, which may have connections to her own secret past. She is joined by Estelle’s has-been rock-star husband Fin on a wild, fast-moving road trip.

Why you might like it: Good storytelling features a pair of reluctant heroes whose give-and-take relationship adds humor and heart. Anna is tough and endearing, and her back story is compelling and relevant to today’s “me too” movement.

You might also like: The intricately plotted and suspenseful thriller, Let Me Lie, by Clare Mackintosh, also stars a strong female character trying to solve a crime. Humor marks Olga Tokarczuk’s mystery, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, in which a woman fixates on a mysterious death.

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The Mausoleum by David Mark
Fiction

What it’s about: The year is 2010. Two old women are waiting for a dying old man to wake up so they can find out what he knows. The women’s story is told in alternating narratives and skips back to 1967 when the women first met in the graveyard of an isolated village by the Scottish border. WWII, espionage, POWs, Nazis, betrayal, they are all part of the story.

Reviewers say: “Deft writing, a plot filled with strange and unexpected twists, vivid characters, and a constant feeling of foreboding make this a gripping and unusual read” (Booklist). “Mark is writing at the top of his game” (Publishers Weekly).

Author notes: Mark is also the author of an excellent series of police procedurals, starting with The Dark Winter, which introduces DS Aector McAvoy.

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The Driver by Hart Hanson
Fiction

Read it for: The intensely sympathetic portrait of a band of wounded Afghanistan veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life while recovering from harrowing war experiences, as well for the rapid pace storytelling, which is suspenseful, blunt, and funny.

What it’s about: In this debut thriller, former Special Forces sergeant and current limo driver Michael Skellig foils an assassination attempt on his client, Bismark Avila, but in the process a bodyguard is killed and Skellig is suspected in the death. Avila blackmails Skellig into becoming his permanent driver by helping to exonerate him. While working for Avila, Skellig and his “team”—his former Afghan interpreter and two other wounded vets—become embroiled in a violent race to locate some mysterious barrels.

Reviewers say: “Readers of Scott Turow and Harlan Coben will appreciate the intricate plot and rich character development. Although there is a fair amount of violence, loyalty and "doing the right thing" are the main themes of this novel.”—Library Journal.

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The Outsider by Stephen King
Fiction

Starring: Ralph Anderson, Flint City detective, and Holly Gibney, former assistant to Bill Hodges of Mr. Mercedes fame.

What it’s about: It looks like an open and shut case when Terry Maitland, local coach and all-around great guy, is arrested for the brutal murder of an 11-yr old boy. There were reliable witnesses who saw Maitland, and his DNA and fingerprints are all over the evidence. Ralph Anderson is sure he has the right guy and arrests him at a public event. But then Maitland produces an iron-clad alibi that has witnesses and DNA evidence putting him in a different place when the murder was committed. The contradictory evidence is grounds to bring in investigator Holly Gibney, who played a crucial part in King’s Bill Hodges trilogy. This being Stephen King, the supernatural eventually finds its way into the plot and if you have a phobia about worms you may want to let someone else recap the last part for you.

Audio note: This is a great experience on audio; Will Patton does an excellent job voicing all the characters, with much emotion and expertise, as he did for King’s Bill Hodges trilogy.>

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Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Fiction

A private corporate jet crashes into the ocean shortly after take-off from Martha’s Vineyard. The only two survivors are J.J.,  the 4-year old son of a media millionaire, and Scott, an artist who was an acquaintance of the boy’s mom and a last-minute passenger. Scott manages to swim to shore with the boy and is at first hailed as a hero, but then some in the media start hounding him and he comes under federal suspicion as the crash is being investigated. Each passenger’s back story is told in flashbacks as the investigation proceeds. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it “a gritty tale of a man overwhelmed by unwelcome notoriety, with a stunning, thoroughly satisfying conclusion.”

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All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer
Fiction

Think: Gone Girl with spies. In this short, twisty espionage thriller, a man and a woman—once a couple—meet for dinner to discuss old times. They had begun their relationship when working together as spies overseas, and old habits die hard; the conversation quickly devolves into a game of deception, power plays, and covert alliances. As the narrative ricochets between his voice and hers, the reader learns each person’s secrets. But who to trust…?

Alex by Pierre LeMaitre
Fiction

In this US debut of French author LeMaitre, a young woman is kidnapped and forced into a cage whose origin dates from an 18^th century design that was meant to deliver maximum torture (there are rats involved). Diminutive Police Commandant Camille Verhoeven reluctantly takes on the case and races against time to find the kidnapping victim, and now hostage, before it is too late. Graphic, dark, and gory, this book has plenty of twists and turns and zigs when you think it will zag. A bestseller in Europe, it is actually the second in a trilogy (Irène being the first, Camille the third) but can be read as a stand-alone. In a starred review, Kirkus calls it “An eloquent thriller with a denouement that raises eyebrows as it speeds the pulse.” 

The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison
Fiction

Todd and Jodi live an affluent life in their Chicago lakeside condo. Businessman Todd is a chronic philanderer and part-time psychologist Jodi believes there is “no need to stare reality in the face if there’s a kinder, gentler way.” But reality she must face when Todd gets his current girlfriend pregnant and decides to make some changes in his life that don’t sit too well with Jodi. Everything snowballs from there and Todd ends up dead. Library Journal calls this fiction debut “at once coolly detached and heartbreakingly accurate.” If you’re a fan of psychological suspense then chances are you will enjoy this book.

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill
Fiction

Wolf Hadda has it all: money, success, prestige, a beautiful wife and a daughter he dotes on. Then the police arrive at his doorstep with a search warrant and arrest him. Trying to escape from custody, he ends up in a traffic accident that leaves him badly injured and in a coma. After serving years in jail for pedophilia and financial shenanigans, and having lost his business, his money, and his wife, he convinces the prison psychiatrist that he should be released. Back in his father’s house in Cambria, Wolf plots revenge on the people who put him in jail and destroyed his life. This suspenseful stand-alone psychological thriller - by the author of the Dalziel and Pascoe detective series – might appeal to fans of Minette Walters and PD James.