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The Glass Rainbow:  a Dave Robicheaux Novel

James Lee Burke

 

"MWA Grand Master Burke offers everything his readers expect--brilliant prose, prosaic situations that suddenly become mystic experiences, and a complex plot that repeatedly plumbs the depths of human depravity and the heights of nobility--in his superlative 18th novel featuring Iberia, La., deputy sheriff Dave Robicheaux (after Swan Peak). Robicheaux finds himself dealing with adopted daughter Alafair's attraction to novelist Kermit Abelard of the degenerate Abelard clan (who echo Faulkner's Snopses), as well as trying to avenge the sadistic murders of two young women, aided by best friend Clete Purcel. Evil comes in many forms, from the psychotic interloper Vidor Perkins to Robert Weingart, a convict turned author, whom Kermit has championed. The sights, smells, and sounds of the Louisiana bayous become sensory experiences in Burke's novels, and death is a constant presence that threatens to overwhelm his angels with ´tarnished wings.'"  Publishers Weekly

 

 

Waking the Witch:  Women of the Otherworld Book 11)

Kelly Armstrong

 

"Armstrong's 11th Otherworld urban fantasy, her first book for Penguin since 2003's Stolen, sends two paranormal investigators to the small town of Columbus, Wash. Savannah Levine, a 21-year-old witch from Portland, Ore., who's itching to pursue her first solo case, teams up with half-demon PI Jesse Aanes to look into three slayings with supernatural overtones. Savannah, who displays an appealing mix of toughness and vulnerability, figures she can blast her way to the truth, but matters get complicated fast when her powers keep deserting her at key moments and more bodies pile up. Armstrong skillfully juggles her twisty plot, weaving in characters from previous novels as she builds to a fast-paced conclusion. This supernatural mystery is unabashedly aimed at fans of Charlaine Harris and Stephenie Meyer, and may well hit the mark."  Publishers Weekly

 

The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing:  From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator

Tarquin Hall

 

"Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator, is hot on the trail of a killer in this second book in Tarquin Hall's winning new detective series. The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing is the perfect dog day novel for readers who like their murder mysteries spiced with unforgettable characters and a good dose of humor. As endearingly idiosyncratic as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, Hall's Vish Puri pursues the murderer of a scientist who made it his business to expose high-profile charlatan gurus, yet died in a spectacularly supernatural fashion. Along with his quirky investigative team, Puri works overtime to solve this baffling crime and keep readers laughing all the way through to the case's satisfying conclusion. Embrace the heat this summer in this vibrant (and flavorful) new murder mystery series set in New Delhi, India.  Lauren Nemroff, Publishers Weekly

 

 

City of Dreams

William Martin

 

"Peter Fallon and his fiance, Evangeline Carrington, return in another page-turning adventure that spans the centuries from the creation of the U.S. to the present. To help the cause of freedom, Alexander Hamilton and others issued a series of bonds called New Emission Money, most of which was either destroyed or used. In the present, during the height of the financial crisis, it appears that a stash of these bonds exists. If true, the value, with more than 200 years of compound interest, would be immense. Fallon and Carrington race to find the bonds by following the historical trail, while the contemporary Supreme Court makes a decision as to the true value of the currency. Martin has a winning formula, and it shines again here. Readers follow the money and get to travel back in time and meet fascinating characters, while, in the present, Fallon and his soon-to-be wife prove to be thoroughly compelling protagonists. Fans of Martin's previous works and readers of historical thrillers will find this one a worthwhile investment."  Jeff Ayers, Booklist

 

The Taken:  a Hazel Micallef Mystery

Inger Ash Wolfe

 

"Starred Review. Lovers of twisty but plausible plotting and an out-of-the-ordinary lead will embrace Wolfe's standout second police procedural featuring Canadian Det. Insp. Hazel Micallef (after 2009's The Calling). A bizarre case brings Micallef, who depends on her ex-husband and his new wife as she recovers from a serious back injury suffered in the line of duty, back into action sooner than planned. A body fishermen dredge up from the bottom of a lake in Port Dundas, Ont., turns out just to be a mannequin, but numbers on the dummy lead Micallef to a Web site streaming video that appears to show a man being tortured by his abductor. In a frantic search for clues, Micallef concludes that the kidnapping is somehow linked to a fictional story being run in installments in the local newspaper. It's a testament to Wolfe's storytelling gifts that her reveal of the criminal's identity about midway through heightens rather than diminishes the tension."  Publishers Weekly

 

The Burning Wire:  A Lincoln Rhyme Novel

Jeffery Deaver

 

"An explosion at a Manhattan electrical power substation that destroys a bus-followed by threats of much worse violence unless Algonquin Consolidated Power and Light meets virtually impossible demands-sparks Deaver's sterling ninth Lincoln Rhyme novel (after The Broken Window). Forensic expert Rhyme takes charge of looking into the fatal blast, aided by his partner and sometime lover, field agent Amelia Sachs, among others. Rhyme is able to glean many clues from the scant trace evidence left by the elusive killer at the crime scene. Meanwhile, Rhyme is also staying in close touch with Mexican army and police commander Rodolfo Luna, who's tracking dangerous assassin Richard Logan (aka the Watchmaker) in Mexico City. The twin investigations take an increasingly dangerous toll on quadriplegic Rhyme's precarious physical health. Not even the brilliant Rhyme can foresee the shocking twists the case will take in this electrically charged thriller."  Publishers Weekly

 

So Cold the River

Michael Koryta

 

"Award-winning author Michael Koryta's first foray into the supernatural genre is spellbinding and check-your-doors-and-windows scary, and it all begins with a check and a bottle of water. Filmmaker Eric Shaw had a knack for getting the exact right shot--an unexplained tug that unerringly put him on the right path--until his temper killed his Hollywood career. He gets a shot at redemption when a wealthy young woman commissions a video tribute for her father-in-law, a dying millionaire named Campbell Bradford. A man with a shady past, a town with a rich history, and an antique bottle of water claiming to "cure all ills" lead Shaw to small town West Baden, where things quickly go sideways. Shaw finds himself at odds with Bradford's only surviving family, a bitter and violent great-grandson named Josiah, and that once familiar tug of Shaw's becomes something darker and more dangerous. At its deliciously creepy core, So Cold the River is about two men facing down their demons, and what happens when those demons fight back." Daphne Durham, Amazon.com

 

The Rule of Nine:  A Paul Madriana Novel

Steve Martini

 

"Martini introduced Paul Madriani nearly 20 years ago, but if this latest novel is any indication, the likable criminal defense attorney is showing no signs of slowing down. The book follows closely on the heels of 2009's Guardian of Lies, in which Madriani was instrumental in averting a nuclear attack on U.S. soil. Here, an assassin, fast approaching obsolescence, takes on a risky assignment (sort of a murderous last hurrah); a corrupt politician is being blackmailed by a shadowy person who knows way too much; the American government's plan to locate and tax offshore bank accounts has a lot of people very upset; and caught in the middle of it all is Madriani, who will once again have to risk his life if he wants to save it. A solid, if perhaps slightly too intricate, legal thriller. Highly recommendable to the author's fans, but newbies might want to check out some of the earlier installments in the series to get oriented. David Pitt, Booklist

   

The Manual of Detection

Jedidiah Berry

 

"Set in an unnamed city, Berry's ambitious debut reverberates with echoes of Kafka and Paul Auster. Charles Unwin, a clerk who's toiled for years for the Pinkerton-like Agency, has meticulously catalogued the legendary cases of sleuth Travis Sivart. When Sivart disappears, Unwin, who's inexplicably promoted to the rank of detective, goes in search of him. While exploring the upper reaches of the Agency's labyrinthine headquarters, the paper pusher stumbles on a corpse. Aided by a narcoleptic assistant, he enters a surreal landscape where all the alarm clocks have been stolen. In the course of his inquiries, Unwin is shattered to realize that some of Sivart's greatest triumphs were empty ones, that his hero didn't always come up with the correct solution. Even if the intriguing conceit doesn't fully work, this cerebral novel, with its sly winks at traditional whodunits and inspired portrait of the bureaucratic and paranoid Agency, will appeal to mystery readers and nongenre fans alike."  Publishers Weekly

 

No More Heroes

Ray Banks

 

*Starred Review*  "There are PIs who feel fear, who take beatings, whose health is bad, who pop pills, drink, and smoke too much-and then there is Manchester, England's Cal Innes. Innes, returned from his unsuccessful sojourn in L.A. (Sucker Punch, 2009), is doing evictions for a slumlord when a rental catches fire with two tenants still in it. Acting on instinct, Cal rescues a young Pakistani child-the boy's grandmother dies-and is labeled a hero by the press. The good publicity rejuvenates his sideline as an investigator, so he quits the slumlord, who immediately hires him back: more arsons are threatened, and an anti-immigrant group offers the logical suspects. The third entry in this strong series may be the best yet, as Cal's investigation takes in white supremacists, student activists, and immigrants, all rushing headlong toward a fiery conflagration during a protest march on the so-called Curry Mile. In Cal's noir-torn world, choosing sides is problematic, so he instead chooses problems, pursuing them with dogged intensity. (In a nod to The Maltese Falcon, Innes thinks, "When someone beats the shit out of your partner, you're supposed to do something about it.") The real problem is, by not choosing sides, it's easy to live-and die-alone. Powerful stuff.  Keir Graff, Booklist

 

Never Look Away

Linwood Barclay

 

"Starred Review."  "Bestseller Barclay's outstanding thriller, his fourth stand-alone after Fear the Worst, opens with what should be a happy family outing-a trip to an amusement park. Shortly after newspaper reporter David Harwood; his wife, Jan; and their four-year-old son, Ethan, arrive at Five Mountains in upper New York State, Ethan disappears. A frantic Jan goes to find security, while David soon locates Ethan nearby asleep in his stroller. But now Jan is missing. What's more, the park has no record of selling her a ticket, and she doesn't show up on any security video. Nor is she at home in Promise Falls, N.Y. While the police suspect David killed Jan and concocted the park abduction story, he uses his reporting skills to dig into his wife's past and learns he never really knew her. The tension mounts as Barclay skillfully shows how even the most innocent action can seem suspicious. The surprising twists and appealing characters rank this among the author's best."  Publishers Weekly

 

A Dead Hand:  A Crime in Calcutta

Paul Theroux

 

"Jerry Delfont leads an aimless life in Calcutta, struggling in vain against his writer's block, or 'dead hand,' and flitting around the edges of a half-hearted romance. Then he receives a mysterious letter asking for his help. The story it tells is disturbing: A dead boy found on the floor of a cheap hotel, a seemingly innocent man in flight and fearing for reputation as well as his life. Before long, Delfont finds himself lured into the company of the letter's author, the wealthy and charming Merrill Unger, and is intrigued enough to pursue both the mystery and the woman. A devotee of the goddess Kali, Unger introduces Delfont to a strange underworld where tantric sex and religious fervor lead to obsession, philanthropy and exploitation walk hand in hand, and, unless he can act in time, violence against the most vulnerable in society goes unnoticed and unpunished. An atmospheric and masterful thriller from "the most gifted, the most prodigal writer of his generation" Jonathan Raban, Amazon.com

 

Rude Awakening:  (Sheriff Mitt Kovak Mysteries)

 Susan Rogers Cooper

 

"A small-town sheriff's department deals with a series of interconnected crimes. The girl of his dreams whom Deputy Dalton Pettigrew has traveled to Tulsa to meet turns out to be a man. Awakening in an alley sans pants and wallet, he lands in jail, too embarrassed to disclose his identity. When he calls his depressed sister Mary Ellen to spring him, she leaves Eli, her middle child, in the care of psychiatrist Jean MacDonnell, the wife of Prophesy County Sheriff Milt Kovak. But trouble looms in the person of Dr. Emil Hawthorne, who's awakened from a long coma with a keen remembrance of Jean's turning him in for having sex with his patients. His plan for revenge is to kidnap Jean's son, Johnny Mac, with the help of Holly Humphries, who thinks she's starring in a film he's making. Instead, however, he mistakenly snatches Eli. Realizing at last that the kidnapping is for real, Holly manages to escape with Eli, but they get lost in the woods. There they encounter Dalton, who's been equally lost since Mary Ellen left him asleep in her car while she attempted suicide. Unwilling to be left out, Dalton's controlling mother is harassing Milt over her missing son and grandchild. Though all the lost are eventually found safe, Hawthorne is shot dead, leaving it up to Milt and Jean to uncover clues from the past and identify the guilty party. A surprise ending caps this unusually amusing entry in Milt's ebullient series (Shotgun Wedding, 2009, etc.)."  Kirkus Reviews, 15th August 2009

 

The Mirror and the Mask

Ellen Hart

 

"Lonely Jane Lawless never seems to catch a break in the love department, as shown by Hart's twisty 17th whodunit to feature the Minneapolis restaurateur and part-time PI (after 2008's Sweet Poison). Jane gives a temporary job to bartender Annie Andrews, who's come from Colorado in search of her stepfather, John Archer, whom Annie blames for her mother's death years before. Jane, who's attracted to the bisexual Annie, discovers that John has changed his name to Jack Bowman, who owns DreamScape Builders in the Twin Cities. The mystery deepens after Susan, Jack's second wife, is found murdered by a blow to the head by Susan's depressed son, Curt, who's also attracted to Annie. Jane and her best friend, Cordelia Thorne, begin investigating Annie's troubled past. As Annie's search for answers hurtles to a close, the tragic deceptions concocted by John/Jack explode in a grand finale with disturbing consequences."  Publishers

 

There Goes the Bride:  An Agatha Raisin Mystery

M. C. Beaton

 

"Near the start of bestseller Beaton's splendid 20th Agatha Raisin mystery (after 2008's A Spoonful of Poison), the lovelorn middle-aged detective reluctantly attends the wedding of her ex-husband, James Lacey, in the market town of Hewes. But before James can tie the knot with the lovely, much younger Felicity Bross-Tilkington, the bride is shot to death. Felicity's mother hires Agatha and her young detecting associate, Toni Gilmour, to find the monster responsible, despite the disapproval of Felicity's real estate whiz father, George. As other corpses connected to George begin turning up, his visiting friend, the debonair Sylvan Dubois, flirts shamelessly with Agatha. Sylvan's deadly charm puts Agatha in harm's way after she figures out the Frenchman and George are involved in illegal activities. Some Beaton fans may wish her heroine will find lasting romance and happiness, but a closing twist or two suggests Agatha is unlikely to settle down with one man anytime soon."  Publishers Weekly

 

Second Sight:  a Novel of Psychic Suspense

George D. Shuman

 

"In Shuman's smooth fourth thriller to feature blind psychic Sherry Moore (after Lost Girls), Sherry, who can visualize the last memories of dead people, is exposed to radioactive cesium 137 while trying to discern what caused an outbreak of possible hantavirus in New Mexico. Back in Philadelphia for tests and treatment, she touches the body of mental patient Thomas J. Monahan, an army private during the Korean War who was used in a government mind-control experiment in 1950. Thomas's residual memories concern Area 17, a secret base in Mount Tamathy, N.Y., where a weapon was developed by Nobel Prize–winner Edward Case. Edward's handsome sociopath stepson, Troy Weir, sets out to dispose of Sherry and anyone else who might squeal about Area 17. While Sherry investigates Thomas's past, she becomes attracted to Troy, much to the dismay of her Navy SEAL fianc. Series fans will root for the likable Sherry, but they may find the ending too downbeat."  Publishers Weekly

 

Gone Tomorrow

Lee Child

 

"New York City. Two in the morning. A subway car heading uptown. Jack Reacher, plus five other passengers. Four are okay. The fifth isn't.

In the next few tense seconds Reacher will make a choice--and trigger an electrifying chain of events in this gritty, gripping masterwork of suspense by #1 New York Times bestseller Lee Child.

Susan Mark was the fifth passenger. She had a lonely heart, an estranged son, and a big secret. Reacher, working with a woman cop and a host of shadowy feds, wants to know just how big a hole Susan Mark was in, how many lives had already been twisted before hers, and what danger is looming around him now.

Because a race has begun through the streets of Manhattan in a maze crowded with violent, skilled soldiers on all sides of a shadow war. Susan Mark's plain little life was critical to dozens of others in Washington, California, Afghanistan . . . from a former Delta Force operator now running for the U.S. Senate, to a beautiful young woman with a fantastic story to tell–and to a host of others who have just one thing in common: They're all lying to Reacher. A little. A lot. Or maybe just enough to get him killed.

In a novel that slams through one hairpin surprise after another, Lee Child unleashes a thriller that spans three decades and gnaws at the heart of America . . . and for Jack Reacher, a man who trusts no one and likes it that way, it's a mystery with only one answer–the kind that comes when you finally get face-to-face and look your worst enemy in the eye."  Amazon.com

 

The Defector

Dnaiel Silva

 

"The ninth book in Daniel Silva's smart fast-paced series about enigmatic assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon begins with an epigraph courtesy of Machiavelli. A fitting start to a twisty spy thriller chock full of clandestine meetings, tenuous alliances, and ruthless men. The beauty of Silva's series is that it is easy on acronyms and byzantine operations (so you don't have to be a spy novel aficionado to enjoy it), and each book gives you a discreet rundown on familiar characters and back-stories (so you don't have to start at the beginning). In The Defector, the disappearance of Russian defector and dissident Grigori Bulganov draws Gabriel out of semi-retirement and into the path of Ivan Kharkov, the former KGB agent and Russian oligarch from Moscow Rules. Exotic locales, intriguing characters, and a breakneck pace make for a riveting summer read."  Daphne Durham, Amazon.com

 

The Language of Bees

Laurie R. King

 

In a case that will push their relationship to the breaking point, Mary Russell must help reverse the greatest failure of her legendary husband's storied past-a painful and personal defeat that still has the power to sting…this time fatally.

 

For Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, returning to the Sussex coast after seven months abroad was especially sweet. There was even a mystery to solve--the unexplained disappearance of an entire colony of bees from one of Holmes's beloved hives.

But the anticipated sweetness of their homecoming is quickly tempered by a galling memory from her husband's past. Mary had met Damian Adler only once before, when the promising surrealist painter had been charged with--and exonerated from--murder. Now the talented and troubled young man was enlisting their help again, this time in a desperate search for his missing wife and child.

 

When it comes to communal behavior, Russell has often observed that there are many kinds of madness. And before this case yields its shattering solution, she'll come into dangerous contact with a fair number of them. From suicides at Stonehenge to a bizarre religious cult, from the demimonde of the Caf Royal at the heart of Bohemian London to the dark secrets of a young woman's past on the streets of Shanghai, Russell will find herself on the trail of a killer more dangerous than any she's ever faced--a killer Sherlock Holmes himself may be protecting for reasons near and dear to his heart.