Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner
Lisa Gardner has penned the one of the best thrillers of the year so far with “Still See You Everywhere” (Grand Central), a game-changer of a tale that rewrites the rules for the psychological thriller by introducing the fabric of a mystery that pays homage to none other than the Agatha Christie classic “And Then There Were None.”
The set-up is pure gold. Our old friend Frankie Elkin, who specializes in finding missing persons no one else is looking for, takes up the case of Leilani Pierson, sister of a convicted serial killer currently on death row. Kaylee Pierson is going to be executed in three weeks for murdering eighteen abusive men who reminded her of the father who abused her. So the clock is ticking and Frankie finds herself desperate to find Leilani before Kaylee’s time runs out. To do that, though, she’ll have to venture to a little traveled island in the middle of ocean that’s hard to get to and even harder to get off of, especially when several of the dozen people she ends up stranded with aren’t what they appear to be.
Thrillers simply don’t get any better than this, as Gardner includes a new revelation or plot point seemingly on every page. Riveting, relentless and written to be read in a single sitting, “Still See You Everywhere” will make your blood run cold, even as it chills you to the bone.
The Truth About the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline
Speaking of one of the best thrillers of the year, here’s another in Lisa Scottoline’s terrific “The Truth About the Devlins” (Putnam), which finds her returning to her psychological thriller roots after a masterful foray into historical fiction.
First off, the book’s hero, or anti-hero as the case may be, is T. J. Devlin, the black sheep of an otherwise gilded family of lawyers. T. J. functions as a lowly investigator working for the family firm. We like and relate to him even before he comes to the rescue of his far more storied brother who might just be a murderer, self-defense or not. Only where’s the body? Where’s the victim’s car? Question after question piles up with no simple answers, because clearly something much bigger is afoot here and it’s up to black sheep T. J., of all people, to get to the bottom of things
“The Truth About the Devlins” is a twist-filled tale that never lets up or lets us down. Just when you think you’ve figured things out, Scottoline tosses yet another wrench into the works, spinning things in an altogether different direction. Her latest is like a masterclass on how a story should be told and what great storytelling looks like.
A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni
You hear all the time about writers finally getting to the book they were meant to write. I think I’ve said that several times about Robert Dugoni, but this time it’s really true thanks to the incredible accomplishment that is “A Killing on the Hill” (Thomas & Mercer).
This masterwork of quasi-historical fiction packs tells the tale of a 1930s murder set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and Prohibition that follows a nightclub owner’s apparent murder of an ex-boxer who never quite made the grade. But the real stars are the period-perfect settings and dialogue between gruff, broken souls seeking their own version of redemption or, in some cases, not seeking it at all. It’s a tale of both good and bad people skirting the line of what separates them until the distinctions blur enough to become irrelevant.
Though Dugoni is primarily celebrated as a thriller writer, “A Killing on the Hill” evokes comparisons with the likes of E. L. Doctorow’s “Ragtime” and Caleb Carr’s “The Alienist” in that it’s drawn on a broad canvas that weaves fact into the fiction. When Truman Capote coined the phrase “the nonfiction novel” this is what he was talking about and the result is one of those rare books that clicks on every level.
The Deepest Kill by Lisa Black
Lisa Black once again brings forensic expertise gained from her storied career as a criminologist to the page in “The Deepest Kill” (Kensington, 310 pages, $28.00), her most poised and polished book yet.
In large part that’s because of a great setup in which the pregnant daughter of multi-billionaire Martin Post turns up dead. The local coroner’s report ruled the death accidental, but forensic pathologists Ellie Carr and Rachael Davies of the Locard Institute think differently. So was the young woman’s death the result of a family squabble? A marital spat? Or, potentially, something politically oriented, given that Post’s defense contractors are frequent bedfellows with the U.S. government? Carr and Davies will leave no stone unturned in getting to the truth, even if it means running afoul of all that Post family power.
“The Deepest Kill” is a superb forensic thriller, featuring the perfect blend of science and story in a riveting read.
The Price You Pay by Nick Petrie
Nick Petrie is back with “The Price You Pay” (Putnam), the eighth book to feature his stalwart hero Peter Ash, who’s like Jack Reacher, only with a lot more baggage.
Ash is prone to dealing with the effects of PTSD from his combat experience as much as he is to dealing with bad guy bullies who prey on the innocent. This time out, the innocent victim turns out to be an old friend and reformed criminal who needs Peter’s help to avoid a return to the underworld he swore off years before. And that means recovering something a criminal kingpin is holding over the friend’s head and likely making plenty of enemies in the process.
Petrie excels at placing Ash on a figurative island where he alone can save the day and “The Price You Pay” is no exception in that respect. Although the stakes are a bit slighter than the author’s earlier efforts, the visceral impact and stunning visual writing are anything but, making Petrie’s latest a must-read for thriller aficionados.
Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow
Speaking of must-reads, if you’re a fan of historical thrillers, particularly World War II, then Simon Scarrow’s “Dead of Night” (Kensington) is for you.
Yet the subtle genius of this terrific tale lies in the fact that the war functions only as a backdrop. Instead the focus is on a murder and the dogged efforts of detective Horst Schenke to solve it that may bring him into the inner circles of the Third Reich. Schenke is neither a soldier nor a politician. He just wants to do his job, which means solving the apparent murder of an SS doctor the Reich considers suicide and is not keen on any truth beyond that coming out. That makes Schenke more likely to become the next victim than to solve the crime.
A scintillating and sumptuous journey into the past, where political pressures play the same role they do in the present, highlights this brilliantly researched and beautifully told mystery-thriller that makes “Dead of Night” the best book of its kind since Martin Cruz Smith’s “Gorky Park”
Black Wolf by Juan Gómez-Jurado
Let’s finish this column with the bold and ambitious international thriller “Black Wolf” (Minotaur) from Juan Gómez-Jurado, a stunning sequel to his “Red Queen” once again featuring forensic expert extraordinaire Antonia Scott.
Given the book’s international flavor, we open in Spain where a shipping container sent from Russia happens to contain the bodies of nine dead women. Somehow that’s connected to the murder of a Spanish underworld kingpin and the disappearance of his pregnant wife. Good thing crack investigator Antonia is on the case. A savant when it comes to seeing what no one else can, and reading between the lines of what people say, she’s probably the only one who can sort through the morass to find the truth, if she can stay alive long enough to do so.
“Black Wolf” is one of those books that screams classic from the first page. As blistering original as it is bracingly told.
