Better Off Dead by Lee and Andrew Child
To the list of certainties in life, death and taxes, I think it’s safe to add Lee and Andrew Child’s Jack Reacher, and he’s a lot more fun to boot. That’s on display front and center in the blistering Better Off Dead (Delacorte), in which this generation’s greatest series hero lays out bad guys with his usual wit and aplomb.
The story from Lee, and now Andrew, Child, is textbook Reacher. He’s heading west with no particular destination in mind when he happens upon a car crash. Turns out it’s an FBI agent, Michaela Fenton, behind the wheel. Turns out she’s following up something deeply personal as opposed to professional, something Reacher can relate to. Turns out she needs his help to bring down all manner of bad guys in a town on the US-Mexican border that’s controlled by a villain straight out of a classic Western.
And, true to form, he’s met his match in the postmodern gunfighter Reacher who rides a bus or train instead of a horse. There’s not a lot new in Better Off Dead, just everything we expect from a no-holds-barred, butt-kicking entry in this terrific series.
Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger
The date-from-hell is hardly unusual in the psychological thriller form. But Lisa Unger’s cyber-date-from hell tale, Last Girl Ghosted (Park Row) is something altogether new, packing more than enough punch to make even the savviest Web devotee rethink all those dating apps.
Talk about looking for love in all the wrong places! Mia Thorpe believes she’s found romance with a man she met while trolling cyberspace. All seems well until he, along with all traces of his existence, vanish into thin air. In the wake of that, Mia is cast in the role of cyber sleuth, following a digital trail aimed at finding the one that got away — the very definition of “be careful what you wish for.”
The genius of Last Girl Ghosted lies in its classic reinvention of the investigative form, swapping the dark noir of back streets for the equally dark world of cyberspace. Mia does much of her work from behind her laptop, which ultimately proves no less dangerous in a thriller that never lets up or lets us down.
Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg
Lee Goldberg aims high and hits the mark in Gated Prey (Thomas & Mercer), a book that takes us inside those gated communities normally viewed only from the outside.
Also on display is the tortured psyche of our old friend, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective Eve Ronin, who’s still smarting over tackling corruption in her own department. This time out, a home invasion gone wrong lands her on the hot seat yet again, with new enemies and new challenges to boot. Those challenges include a deeper investigation into what’s happening behind those hallowed gates, running her afoul of her superiors yet again.
Not since Roderick Thorp practically reinvented the crime story with The Detective has interdepartmental politics been used so effectively as a plot point. Goldberg is every bit the equal of Michael Connelly when it comes to pulling no punches and packing a wallop on every page, so it’s superb reading entertainment.
Echoes of the Dead by Spencer Kope
I’m tempted to compare Spencer Kope to C. J. Box, Tony Hillerman and other mystery masters whose chosen literary tapestry is the great outdoors. But Kope’s latest, Echoes of the Dead (Minotaur), renders him worthy of a category all to himself.
In large part, that’s thanks to hero Magnus Craig’s ability to track fugitive suspects and victims alike, no matter how elusive the trail they’ve left might be. Echoes of the Dead, though, presents him with what might be the biggest challenge he’s ever faced: the inexplicable disappearance of four powerful men while on a fishing trip. The Sierra Nevadas form the backdrop for a quest that unearths shattering truths as well as bodies in a tale where the truth becomes even more elusive than the missing men.
No pun intended, but Kope owns this literary territory: lock, stock and barrel. His approach is a welcome breath of fresh air (pun intended this time) in a genre lately confined to suburban domestic fare that feels claustrophobic by comparison. It’s starkly original and as riveting as it is relentless.
The OC by D.P. Lyle
Here’s a little secret: Some of the best and most fun books out there are written by authors who are anything but household names. Count D.P. Lyle among those, and the reasons why he deserves far more readers are clearly on display in The OC (Oceanview).
This light mystery with a sharp edge stars series hero, and former pro baseball player, Jake Longly. Trouble always seems to find Jake, even when it’s the last thing he’s looking for. That’s exactly what happens when a vacation to Southern California’s Orange County pits him and longtime girlfriend Nicole Jamison against a stalker who’s targeted Nicole’s celebrity pal. A solid supporting cast is there to aid their efforts in a book that gets better and better as the pages fly by.
The OC is the most ambitious and beautifully realized effort in the series so far. Call Lyle’s latest Carl Hiaasen-light as channeled through Harlan Coben’s superb Myron Bolitar series. Call the book whatever you want so long as you don’t miss it. Read BookTrib’s review here.
Our Trespasses by Michael Cordell
Given that this is Halloween month, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include at least one entry appropriate for the season, and I found just that in Michael Cordell’s Our Trespasses (TCK Publishing), a paranormal thriller with echoes of both Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
A psychic connection between twins sets the tale off when Matthew Davis’s brother Jake is murdered. The problem here is that the haunting connection continues to plague Matthew into the afterlife, sending him on a quest to find Jake’s killer. But that’s just the beginning of his problems once an unstoppable evil force intrudes on the psychic space between the living and the dead.
Our Trespasses isn’t quite as polished as the horror masters at their best, but Cordell presents us with a steadily escalating plot where both the stakes and the suspense continue to ratchet up. A solid horror tale from a bona fide up-and-comer.
Strand Magazine
Seems like every time I pick up the Strand Magazine, there’s an undiscovered story by a true American master. And the latest issue was no exception, leading off with “The Summer Woman” (Strand Magazine) by none other than the legendary playwright Tennessee Williams.
Here, the man responsible for The Glass Menagerie and Long Day’s Journey into Night serves up a sparse but supremely effective tale of Korean War vet Roberto, currently a professor and writer, struggling with his memories and searching for the kind of meaning that will alleviate the emptiness he feels inside. He believes he has found just that in Mariella, and she becomes as much muse as romantic interest.
Freed of the dialogue-dominated bonds of the stage, Williams stretches his literary legs by filling “The Summer Woman” with beautifully descriptive language that proves him as much a master of prose as the kind of biting dialogue that has long defined him. The protagonist isn’t quite as lost as the decadent denizens of his plays but is just as haunted.
Summer Storms by Thomas Grant Brusco
Thomas Grant Brusco’s Summer Storms (NineStar Press) isn’t a thriller per se, but the sexual tension between two teen boys striving for an against-the-odds romance nonetheless makes it a page-turner with deep layers of emotion and subtext.
Earl Layman and Rex Chambers are united by the actual, and metaphorical, storms from which the title gets its name, drawn into an uneasy relationship that starts out as an awkward teen dalliance but grows into something far more complex and emotive. The story unfolds from Earl’s point of view, his voyeuristic musings rendering him a kind of Holden Caulfield for the LBGTQ community.
At its best, Summer Storms reads like a gay teen version of the classic John Knowles tale “A Separate Peace,” tender, bracing and wholly realized.
Great list, Jon.
Lisa Unger’s and Doug Lyle’s books are already on my Kindle list, and now with your endorsement I have more to add.
(When will we see a Jon Land entry? I miss Caitlin.)
Best,
Mike