Fairy Tale by Stephen King
The great Stephen King headlines a month of big bestseller releases with Fairy Tale (Scribner), a coming-of-age tale extraordinaire.
The teen in question is Charlie Reade, a terrific athlete and all-around good kid who lost his mother to a hit-and-run accident and his father to alcoholism. Charlie finds himself doing odd jobs for an elderly neighbor who, stop me if you’ve heard this before, is harboring a long-held secret. When the old man dies, Charlie becomes the recipient and caretaker of that secret, specifically the way into a secret world that becomes both the boy’s salvation and proving ground for the ultimate rite of passage.
King is no stranger to opening doorways to new worlds or writing beautifully about the complexities of childhood. But he takes his penchant for the latter to a whole new level here. Reminiscent of The Talisman, which King wrote in tandem with the late Peter Straub, Fairy Tale features a not-so-brave new world all onto itself that metaphorically mirrors our own. And Charlie is a fantasy version of Holden Caulfield, on his own magical quest to find the most elusive treasure of all: himself. A wondrous tale beautifully told.
No Plan B by Lee Child
The incomparable Jack Reacher is back and as good as ever in No Plan B (Delacorte) from the equally incomparable Lee Child and his kid brother Andrew.
Their latest has echoes of “Gone Tomorrow,” my personal favorite series entry that’s rumored to be the source material for the next season of “Reacher” on Amazon Prime. That’s because “No Plan B” opens with what may or may not be a suicide that sets our stalwart, modern-day gunfighter on the trail of the kind of bad guys Reacher revels in bringing justice to. As per custom, there’s a conspiracy afoot with a bevy of powerful people behind it he will take great pleasure in bringing down, restoring order before hopping back aboard a bus to his next adventure.
The series is now twenty-seven books in and shows no sign of slowing. Reacher remains the quintessential American hero, unaffected by the shifting winds of politics or the latest cultural trends. No Plan B is storytelling at its level best.
Livid by Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is back with a new Kay Scarpetta mystery, Livid (Grand Central), and it’s one of her best ever.
The stalwart pathologist is none too happy about being a lead witness in a tabloid-type, paparazzi-fueled murder trial. But that turns out to be the least of her problems when the judge’s sister is found murdered. That judge happens to be Scarpetta’s friend and law school roommate, further complicating things even before she makes a shocking discovery at the crime scene. That discovery leads to the realization that an enemy from her past has resurfaced, meaning more bodies are almost sure to fall.
To her credit, Cornwell’s books have lately placed less emphasis on the forensic elements and more on character, which makes those forensic elements shine even more. Livid is the most personal title in the series yet, a terrific crime-thriller that doubles as a deep dive into a hero that we’re still learning about.
The Maze by Nelson DeMille
It’s easy to make the argument that Nelson DeMille is the most influential genre novelist of the past fifty years, short of the aforementioned Stephen King. And his latest, The Maze (Scribner), only strengthens the case for that.
Our old friend John Corey is back, none the worse for wear. No longer attached to a Homeland Security task force, Corey finds himself a man without a cause until his former lover and current homicide detective Beth Penrose throws him a lifeline. A serial killer, with a penchant for burying his victims beneath the sand on a local beach, is at large. Corey’s investigation unearths a web of either incompetence or potential corruption and conspiracy. When the latter proves to be the case, Corey proves to be just the man for the job of not only catching the killer, but also sorting through the morass involving the forces apparently determined to protect him.
As usual, Corey’s sharp wit and acerbic humor are keenly on display, driving the action in a tale elegantly written from his point of view. The stakes may be lower than in the terrorist-themed tales featuring him, but The Maze is as twisty and labyrinthine as the title indicates. No other modern novelist has penned more seminal tales than DeMille and his latest adds another to the list.
Long Shadows by David Baldacci
DeMille brings out a book every couple of years or so. David Baldacci releases two or three per year from the various series he’s got going that include the books featuring Amos Decker, the latest of which is the spectacular Long Shadows (Grand Central).
Sherlock Holmes was known for his astute powers of observation. Decker, aka “the Memory Man,” is known for remembering everything he learns or encounters, thanks to a brain injury incurred in an especially painful investigation years before. His latest assignment as an FBI consultant is the murder of a federal judge in Florida, rooted in a massive conspiracy. That alone would make for great story fodder, even before adding the fact that the case is somehow connected to the very investigation he only wishes he could forget. Paired with a new partner, Decker finds himself chasing demons both new and old with his own sanity, and life, hanging in the balance.
Simply stated, nobody does it better than Baldacci. He is this generation’s premier storyteller, never letting up or letting us down. And Long Shadows is another in a long line of riveting and relentless tales.
Suspect by Scott Turow
Scott Turow rocketed to literary fame thirty-six years ago with the publication of Presumed Innocent, which pretty much gave birth to the legal thriller genre. There’s barely a lawyer to be found in Suspect (Grand Central), but his latest is still one of his best books ever, ripe for the times.
Clarice “Pinky” Granum, a private investigator who worked under her grandfather, Turow’s greatest creation Sandy Stern, is now in the employ of a far less polished lawyer named Rik Dudek. All the same, she’s inherited plenty of her grandfather’s savvy and instincts, which she’s going to need to get to the bottom of a case involving a female police chief falsely accused of sexual harassment by some of her male officers. Watching Pinky work her way to the truth is great fun, as is her unique voice and persona.
Suspect is great reading entertainment from first page to last, a terrific thriller that sprinkles in just enough legalese to please Turow’s most ardent fans. Here’s hoping we hear from him again soon and that he brings Pinky along for the ride.
Flight Risk by Cherie Priest
Cherie Priest hits all the right notes in Flight Risk (Atria), her latest zany addition to the Booking Agents comic crime series.
Travel agent and occasional psychic Leda Foley finds herself on the trail of a missing woman who has no shortage of enemies or cash, after she ripped off her boss. Somehow her disappearance is connected to Seattle police detective Grady Merrit’s dog finding a human leg in Mount Rainier National Park. The rest is a ribald ride in which the Pacific Northwest proves a worthy stand-in for Carl Hiaasen’s Florida.
Priest’s light touch is deft and exhilarating. Flight Risk lacks the sardonic, on-point humor of Hiaasen, but Priest is treading very close to the master’s hallowed ground. She’s the best at this kind of book since Donald Westlake’s fabulous John Dortmunder series.
Real Bad Things by Kelly J. Ford
There’s been quite a bit written lately about the Southern noir crime novel. Like me, you don’t have to know exactly what that means to thoroughly enjoy a prime example of it in Kelly J. Ford’s Real Bad Things (Thomas & Mercer).
It’s been a long time since Jane Mooney returned to her hometown of Maud Bottoms in rural Arkansas — ever since she confessed to the murder of her abusive stepfather. Without a body, though, she was never charged. When the body shows up in a river twenty-five years later, it leads to a homecoming that will force Jane to confront her past at long last.
Fans of the brilliant Netflix show Ozark will devour this book filled with quirky characters, dark secrets and misplaced motivations, all laced with Southern swagger. An outstanding literary crime thriller in all respects.
