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The Sentinel by Lee Child
Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
The Silent Conspiracy by L. C. Shaw
Assault by Fire by H. Ripley Rawlings
Dominic Martell by Kill Chain
The Unbroken Circle by Thomas Grant Bruso
Christmas Adventure by Strand Magazine
The Sentinel by Lee Child

The Sentinel by Lee Child

Some things don’t change, even when they do. That’s precisely the case with The Sentinel (Delacorte), latest in the Jack Reacher series that has become an iconic staple of pop culture. The difference is Lee Child has now been joined by his brother Andrew as co-author. The proof of that partnership, as they say, lies in the pudding.

Or, in any Reacher novel, the body count, which is typically high in the tandem’s debut effort. This time out, our nomadic hero lands in a small Tennessee town that’s been struck by the COVID-19 of computer viruses. No stranger to intervening to help someone in trouble, Reacher finds himself rescuing and then protecting the supposed IT wiz given the blame for the cyberattack. As usual, Reacher dispatches those who cross him with the kind of righteous aplomb that has come to define this splendid series.

Reacher books never disappoint, as our ageless, neo-Western hero once again goes toe-to-toe with all who have the misfortune of crossing him. His character has attained true mythic status and The Sentinel is a butt-kicking, take-no-prisoners thriller that satisfies on every page.


Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

I’m going to bet that Lisa Unger is a big Hitchcock fan, particularly of Strangers on a Train. That’s because her latest scintillating, sizzling success, Confessions on the 7:45 (Park Row), opens with a pair of, well, strangers striking up a conversation while their commuter train is struck on the track.

Chance encounters are normally just that, but not so here. Almost the moment she and her train mate part company, Selena Murphy’s life begins to systematically deconstruct, starting with the disappearance of the family nanny, who she was convinced had been having an affair with her husband. Oh, and did I mention that Selena confessed that very grievance to a fellow traveler who happens to be a psychopath bent on righting the wrongs in her life? The trouble being that her train mate doesn’t stop there.

This is psychological thriller writing of the highest order. A taut, timely and terrific tale that is exactly the kind of movie Hitchcock would be making today if he was still alive.


The Silent Conspiracy by L. C. Shaw

The Silent Conspiracy by L. C. Shaw

Journalistic power couple Jack Logan and Taylor Parks make a triumphant return to the page in L. C. Shaw’s riveting and relentless The Silent Conspiracy (Harper), and they’ve really got their work cut out for them this time.

Indeed, after tackling a potential brainwashing conspiracy in The Network, they’re facing a rash of murder-suicides that seems to suggest someone is turning ordinary people into homicidal maniacs. Before you can say “Stephen King,” Jack and Taylor have come to realize that this latest conspiracy bears a direct connection to a major case Taylor, an attorney, is bringing before the Supreme Court involving a nefarious insurance company.

The Silent Conspiracy is just credible enough to be dizzying in its message and prescience. A truly scary tale, the implications of which are even more dire because it’s grounded in reality.


Assault by Fire by H. Ripley Rawlings

Assault by Fire by H. Ripley Rawlings

H. Ripley Rawlings’s Assault by Fire (Pinnacle) has a been-there done-that feel to it, but in this case that’s a positive since this latest military thriller to feature Tyce Asher makes for a stellar addition to the subgenre.

This time out, Asher finds himself living out one of the world’s greatest nightmares: a Russian invasion of the Homeland. To say that the reinforcements he summons to beat back enemy forces converging from everywhere at once on American soil are out of the ordinary would be an understatement. Good thing Asher’s Magnificent Seven times several thousand or so proves up to the task.

Assault by Fire reads like Red Dawn for a more seasoned and jaded audience; it’s powerful thriller writing that’s not afraid to flex its muscles. Fans of mind snacks by the likes of Tom Clancy and Web Griffin, not to mention more modern masters of the genre like Brad Taylor, Mark Greaney and Jack Carr, will find plenty to chomp on here.


Dominic Martell by Kill Chain

Dominic Martell by Kill Chain

Speaking of facing down international threats, Dominic Martell’s long-awaited Kill Chain (Dunn Books) is one of those thrillers that sticks with you long after the last page is flipped.

That’s because Pascual Rose, who we last saw twenty years ago in a three-book series beginning with Lying, Crying, Dying, is finally back, only this time it’s personal. A former terrorist until he saw the light, he finds himself flirting with darkness again, only for the (questionably) “good” guys. Living outside Barcelona now, Rose is lured back into his old world, this time populated by a host of German and Russian bad guys with a plot to destabilize the world order.

This is a thinking man’s thriller, full of internecine conflicts, power struggles and conflicting agendas, but as smart as it is fast. Not to be missed for fans of serious-minded espionage thrillers. (Read BookTrib’s full review here.)


The Unbroken Circle by Thomas Grant Bruso

The Unbroken Circle by Thomas Grant Bruso

The Unbroken Circle (JMS Books) by Thomas Grant Bruso is one of those coming-of-age tales, this time coming out of the LGBTQ community, that works for all the right reasons.

While not a thriller, this heart-wrenching tale of rare depth and resonance has the thriller-like structure of a quest story, only with the characters trying to save themselves instead of the world. Jay Kirkman is heading off to college soon and trying to get all his ducks in a row prior to departing. Many of those ducks pertain to his best friend Rocco who isn’t going anywhere, except maybe into more trouble. Rocco’s self-destructive nature leads Jay to question where he can break the bonds holding him in place and save his best friend from himself.

Stitched with emotional texture and woven into a tapestry of adolescent angst, The Unbroken Circle is the LGBTQ equivalent of Catcher in the Rye blended with The Outsiders.


Christmas Adventure by Strand Magazine

Christmas Adventure by Strand Magazine

“Mr. Poirot, Mr. Poirot! Do wake up! Something dreadful has happened!”

As it often does in the works of the great Agatha Christie. The Strand Magazine has been doling out early Christmas gifts all year in the form of never-before-seen short stories by true literary masters like Louisa May Alcott and Raymond Chandler. Continuing on that trend, the magazine has unearthed a brand-new story by the grande dame of mystery called Christmas Adventure (Strand Magazine).

“I knew about your little plot, you see, and I arranged a little counterplot of my own,” says the unrivalled Poirot to the other guests at a house party where, not surprisingly, things have gone off the rails. Comprised almost entirely of dialogue, this brilliant short piece echoes of both Christie’s classic And Then There Were None and the John Collier masterpiece “The Chaser.”


Jon Land

Jon Land is the bestselling author over 25 novels. He graduated from Brown University in 1979 Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude and continues his association with Brown as an alumni advisor. Jon often bases his novels and scripts on extensive travel and research as well as a twenty-five year career in martial arts. He is an associate member of the US Special Forces and frequently volunteers in schools to help young people learn to enjoy the process of writing. Jon is the Vice-President of marketing of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) and is often asked to speak on topics regarding writing and research. In addition to writing suspense/thrillers, Jon is also a screenwriter with his first film credit in 2005. Jon works with many industry professionals and has garnered the respect and friendship of many author-colleagues. He loves storytelling in all its forms. Jon currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island and loves hearing from his readers and aspiring writers.

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