Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown
I’ve lost count of Sandra Brown’s amazing string of bestsellers, and she just keeps getting better. For proof of that, look no further than the outstanding Out of Nowhere.
Call this latest effort her foray into a Hitchcockian nightmare that begins with a random occurrence. Children’s author Elle Portman and high-powered consultant Calder Hudson are drawn together in the wake of a mass shooting at a local carnival. The incident’s aftermath leaves both suffering the classic symptoms of PTSD, their remedy to which is to track down the shooter who got away. The terrible truths they unearth along that quest are matched only by the gradual surrendering of their own souls that evokes the classic Friedrich Nietzsche teaching that in hunting a monster, one must avoid becoming one themselves.
This is psychological thriller writing of the highest order, a penetrating probing of the limits of the human psyche and how far we will go in a potentially misguided attempt to heal ourselves. With Out of Nowhere, Brown has swung for the fences and hit a grand slam with this blistering and bracing tale.
Tides of Fire by James Rollins
Like Sandra Brown, perennial bestselling author James Rollins is at the top of his game in the timely Tides of Fire, bringing Gray Pierce and Sigma Force along for the ride.
The tides of fire referenced in the title threaten the world with the mother of all ecological disasters. At the center of the tale is the Titan Project, the kind of remote scientific station that has long been a thriller trope since the days of Alistair McClean. Hope gained by an impossible discovery is quickly dashed when the loss of a cutting-edge submarine reveals something that poses the ultimate threat to humanity’s existence and sends Pierce and his stalwart Sigma Force into unchartered waters (no pun intended!), even for them. This as they race to save the world from a catastrophe unleashed by man toward our own potential destruction.
A cautionary tale dressed in the fabric of an impossible-to-put-down disaster tome, Tides of Fire showcases Rollins at his best level. Riveting, speculative fiction extraordinaire that is not to be missed.
After That Night by Karin Slaughter
Karin Slaughter, also hardly a stranger to bestseller lists, has penned her first Will Trent thriller since the debut of the TV series featuring him. And After That Night showcases all the reasons why ABC put the series on the air.
Sara Linton is a successful doctor about to start a family and put her tortured past behind her, a past dominated by a brutal assault at the hands of a man who was never caught. She’s finally put that experience in the rearview mirror, when a victim around the same age as she was then is brought into the emergency room. Realizing that the culprit is at it again forces Sara to confront her past anew and deal with it once and for all with the help of Trent and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Slaughter was a master of writing about victimhood long before it became fashionable to do so. In After That Night, she wraps the message inside a taut and terrific story as well conceived as it is brilliantly realized.
Dead Mountain by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Speaking of #1 bestselling authors, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are back with Dead Mountain, featuring the return of archaeologist Nora Kelly who is forever uncovering danger alongside historical finds.
This time out, Kelly is called in to investigate the bizarre disappearance of nine mountain climbers from their out-of-the-way camp in 2008. Back then, only six of their bodies were ever recovered, but now two more have surfaced. The mystery Kelly is charged with unraveling is not only what was behind their deaths, but also what led them to flee their campsite in the first place. And what about the still missing climber? In order to solve the mystery, though, Nora will have to survive the killer her investigation has caused to resurface.
Dead Mountain, at its heart, is part brilliant forensic mystery, part psychological thriller and part adventure. All told, those parts add up to a smashing, splendid whole that defines what great storytelling is all about.
North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan
Speaking of great psychological thrillers, we need look no further than Allison Brennan’s latest stunner in North of Nowhere.
What would you do if your father was a murderous criminal kingpin? That’s the dilemma facing siblings Kristen and Ryan McIntyre who’ve been hiding from their dad in an off-the-map Montana town. Their past, though, comes calling and forces them to flee again alongside the man who’s been raising, and protecting, them ever since they arrived. Their plane ends up crashing in the wilderness, leaving them stranded with an ex-Army aunt who’s serving as their lone hope to avoid their dad Boyd McIntyre’s clutches.
A storm as savage as Boyd himself adds brilliantly to the conflict, and showcases Brennan at her level best. She reaches for more with North of Nowhere and closes a sure, steady hand around it in this torrid tale of desperation and second chances.
Ricochet by Taylor Moore
Let’s face it. There are successful authors out there prone to coasting from one book to the next. Not Taylor Moore, though, who ramps up the octane in the relentless Ricochet, again featuring former special operator Garrett Kohl.
Kohl has returned home to Texas, like the classical gunfighter ready to hang up his guns. As fans of Westerns know well, though, those guns don’t stay hung up for long, and when Kohl straps his back on, it’s to hunt down murderous Iranians intent on pilfering nuclear secrets through any means necessary. In the isolated swath of land where he’s come to seek peace, Kohl ends up standing alone against a gang that seems metaphorically drawn from the likes of classic westerns like Shane, High Noon, and The Magnificent Seven.
Moore may not have invented the modern take on this tried and true genre, but he displays a mastery of it here on par with Lee Child’s similarly protective figure, Jack Reacher. To that, he adds a dash of Brad Thor to the mix in fashioning a tale that will leave you longing for the next entry in the series.
What Harms You by Lisa Black
Lisa Black is back with the latest installment in her ambitious and sprawling forensic thriller series featuring Dr. Ellie Carr, What Harms You, which proves to be a stunning success.
This time out, crime scene analyst Ellie is joined by pathologist Dr. Rachael Davies, who also happens to be her superior. The setup is pure gold. Ellie is speaking at a noted forensic research center when one of the sponsors/patrons turns up murdered. Of course, such an expert setting evokes the notion of a potentially perfect crime. Good thing Ellie and Rachael are on the scene to offer attendees a bird’s eye view of what a real investigation looks like, until a second, connected murder spins the story in a new direction.
Lisa Black writes from her own experience as a forensic scientist, instilling What Harms You with the perfect blend of technical accuracy and polished storytelling. Kathy Reichs and Jeff Lindsay have claimed this turf as their own for years, but Black is every bit their equal.
Deadlock by James Byrne
James Byrne is back with Deadlock, once again featuring Dez Limerick.
But don’t let the name fool you, because Dez is a tough-as-nails former special operator turned personal avenger — or, should I say, dispenser of justice for those who don’t know where else to go. And in Deadlock he’s back at just that before you can say, “Equalizer.” This time out, he’s on the trail of whoever’s behind the attack on a business journalist who uncovered all sorts of shady doings associated with a shadowy mega-corporation whose global footprint suggests their global ambitions. Running afoul of Dez threatens to upend all their plans, leading to the kind of war he never loses.
This is action-thriller writing par excellence. Deadlock is a seminal, rip-roaring tale that is both wondrously paced and beautifully told.
