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Treasure State by C. J. Box
Talk about an embarrassment of riches, as C. J. Box returns with a new entry in his second spectacularly successful series, Treasure State (Minotaur Books), featuring Cassie Dewell.
Cassie’s now a private detective working out of Montana, where her latest case puts her on the trail of a con man. That trail takes her to an off-the-map town where little is as it seems, leading Cassie to wonder if she’s the one being conned. Meanwhile, a deadly treasure hunt is underway in Big Sky Country, deadly because five of those after that treasure have already died. And a second client has retained Cassie’s services for reasons directly connected to their deaths.
Treasure State feels lighter and fresher than the fabulous entries in Box’s Joe Pickett series. The same undercurrent of violence and deadly secrets hidden within nature, though, hit just the right note while achieving a delicately perfect balance in a fast-paced, one-sitting read. The perfect book to crown your summer reading list.
Desperation in Death by J. D. Robb
J. D. Robb is back with an especially pointed thriller in Desperation in Death (St. Martin’s Press), her latest in the series featuring stalwart New York City homicide detective Eve Dallas.
But murder is only part of Eve’s investigation this time out. That’s because the body of a young woman found near the waterfront leads her to a child abduction ring known as the Pleasure Academy straight out of Taken. Eve does a splendid job of standing in for Liam Neeson in doing whatever is necessary to shut the Pleasure Academy down and bring those behind it to justice, even it means breaking the rules as well as the law.
Desperation in Death wondrously exploits the all-too-current theme of child exploitation, delving deeply into the monsters behind it. The fun lies in watching Eve bring them down, while we cheer for her every step of the way.
Oath of Loyalty by Kyle Mills
The pop culture fluff, assassin-laden John Wick movies seem to have conjured a comparable trend in books. For proof of that, look no further than the latest from Kyle Mills standing in for the late, great Vince Flynn in Oath of Loyalty (Atria Books).
Our old friend Mitch Rapp is back, though a bit worse for wear. Duplicitous double-crosses and constant strife between him and the current presidential administration have driven the weary Rapp into exile. That is, until he learns a secretive cabal of assassins has been retained with his partner Claudia Gould marked for death. Pity all of them, even the deadliest known only as Legion. Pity, too, the forces in Washington, DC responsible for unleashing the maelstrom of violence that has begun. Rapp may not have started it, but he intends to finish it, one body at a time.
Oath of Loyalty is a muscular thriller of the highest order, as Mills continues to channel the master of the action sub-genre with skill and aplomb. And his latest is relentlessly paced and entertaining from the first page to the last.
A Simple Choice by David Pepper
Hardcore political thrillers remind me of the great line from Samuel Johnson about a dog walking on its hind legs: “It is seldom done well, but you are surprised to see it being done at all.” David Pepper, though, does far better than well in A Simple Choice (Putnam).
Political thrillers almost invariably rely on conspiracies for fodder, and Pepper has come up with a deeply rooted and deadly one here. A powerful senator’s suicide is the first sign that something is amiss. Leave it to intrepid network TV news reporter Palmer Knight to begin unraveling the mechanizations of a sinister and complex plot that has more victims yet to claim. He’s joined in the investigation by Army veteran Amity Jones, who’s pursuing something entirely different that turns out to be intrinsically connected.
Pepper has made himself heir to the throne forged by the likes of Alan Drury, Richard Condon and James Grady. A Simple Choice reads like a modern-day version of Advise and Consent, as gripping as it is on point.
Amy Among the Serial Killers by Jincy Willet
New Bedford native and Brown University alum Jincy Willet has crafted a terrific satiric crime tale in Amy Among the Serial Killers (St. Martin’s Press), her third tongue-in-cheek tale to feature erstwhile writing instructor-turned-sleuth, Amy Gallup.
The setting, appropriately enough, is a writing retreat that feels more like a prison. That metaphor gets extended a bit when Carla Karolak, suffering from a terminal case of writer’s block, finds the body of her murdered therapist. She summons Amy for help, leading to a gathering of amateur writers who double as amateur sleuths. But this time they’re dealing with a serial killer more than happy to add more victims to his list.
Amy Among the Serial Killers is culled from the same pop culture sensibility that spawned TV hits like Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building. Call it mystery done light — but in an extremely fun and satisfying fashion that reads like a cross between Carl Hiaasen and Edna Buchanan, with a touch of David Baldacci’s Camel Club series thrown in for good measure.
Magic is Murder by Chesapeake Crimes
Magic is Murder (Wildside Press), an every-other-year anthology put out by Chesapeake Crimes, features some terrific offerings among its sixteen entries.
“The Thirteenth Hour” was particularly fun in its moody, atmospheric, post-modern take on haunted house tales. “A Touch of Magic,” meanwhile, brings just that to the mix in a splendid neo-gothic tale, and the eerie “What Goes Around” adds the paranormal in a tale featuring two boys coming of age who will never be quite the same. And if you like cats, look no further than “Whiskers McGruff and the Case of the Missing Clue.”
No, not every one of them will be for you, but plenty of the entries will make you feel like you’ve entered The Twilight Zone or stoke memories of the “Funeral March of a Marionette” theme that opened Alfred Hitchcock Presents. High praise deservedly won by this terrific mix of captivating tales.
Bad Day Breaking by John Galligan
Count me a fan of John Galligan whose terrific hero, Heidi Kick, returns in Bad Day Breaking (Atria Books).
This time out, the sheriff of Bad Axe County, Wisconsin finds herself dealing with problems both professional and personal. On the professional side, a religious cult is looking to establish roots in the area, bringing with it a not-so-hidden, thinly veiled desire to take over the county government in what amounts to a hostile takeover. Speaking of hostile, Heidi’s bad boyfriend, a relic of the past she’d rather forget, gains early release from prison with a promised return in the offing.
The political overtones, together with Wisconsin trend lines, lend Bad Day Breaking a rare societal resonance and prescience. At its heart, though, this is a tight, twisty, superbly written crime-thriller in the tradition of Craig Johnson’s Longmire and C. J. Box’s Joe Picket series, and it might well lead to Galligan joining them as a household name.
Shadows in the Night by Thomas Grant Bruso
Thomas Grant Bruso is back with Shadows in the Night (JMS Books), a splendidly dark tale featuring an especially captivating hero.
That hero is Jack Ballinger, a cop besieged by problems both normal and paranormal. The things he’s seen on the job have led Jack to withdraw into a kind of moral netherworld. As he struggles to navigate a new boss, fellow officers he neither likes nor trusts, and a boyfriend he’s not sure he really wants, Jack is confronted with a dark world he thought he’d left behind. Facing demons both real and metaphorical, he finds himself in a struggle for mental and spiritual survival, as well as physical.
Shadows in the Night might best be described as psychological horror in the tradition of older tales like Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw and newer ones like Robert R. MaCammon’s Usher’s Passing or Stephen King’s Joyland. An ambitious, introspective tale of the highest order from an author who keeps getting better.
