Mystery Novels, Part 2

 

Mysteries are one of the most beloved genres in literature. It is second only to romance novels. They are favorites because most people have an innate sense of curiosity when posed with a problem be it a murder, a theft or assault.  Most people find looking at the clues and trying to figure out who did it to be fun and exciting.  The only harm that may befall a mystery novel lover is the moment when the story ends and it is the wee hours of the morning,...their trip up the dark stairwell may be quite exhilarating. In part 1 of my mystery series I covered locked room puzzle mysteries and cozy mysteries. Now I want to talk about some of my favorite sub-genres of mysteries, the thrillers.

 

There are medical thrillers, suspenseful thrillers and legal thrillers. These novels  are all fast paced and filled with action. Even the suspenseful thrillers are heart palpitating stories that keep readers on the edge of their seat trying to guess whodunit and why. Here are some new and old thrillers that I am sure will keep you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning.  Here are some of the newest and a few of the oldest thrillers that are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

 

Medical Thrillers

Resuscitation by D.M. Annechino

Coma by Robin Cook

Sphere by Michael Crichton

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

A Circle of Wives: A Novel by Alice La Plante

Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane

Stress Test by Richard Mabry

Spiral by Paul McEuen

The Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons (new debut novel)

 

Legal Thrillers

 

First Family by David Baldacci

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson

The Gods of Guilt: A Novel by Michael Connelly

Primal Fear by William Diehl

The Client by John Grisham

Defending Jacob by William Landay

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Proof Positive by Phillip Margolin

Unleashed by David Rosenfelt

Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

The Seven Minutes by Irving Wallace

 

Suspenseful Thrillers

Deception Point by Dan Brown

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver

Act of Treason by Vince Flynn

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Tell Me by Lisa Jackson

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

The Inner Circle by Brad Metzer

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Amazonia by James Rollins

Beautiful Lies: A Novel by Lisa Unger

Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

 

 



Not all angels are Divine

The weather is cooler. The nights grow darker and it's time for tales of suspense and thrills. The kind of story that makes you want to cover your head and hope that you are no longer home alone. Let's be honest October is the time for all things spooky and suspenseful. So naturally I found three novels that fit perfectly into the suspenseful, thriller, murder mystery whodunit category. Don't read them too late at night or you may not sleep very well. Not all angels are divine and the story of the black angel is revealed during an exciting new novel by Julie Kramer.

Killing Kate by Julie Kramer is a thriller. This is the 4th in a series, but it can stand alone. The plot twists and turns and when you suspect you have it, you don't. The novel begins with Kate's death. Riley, a newspaper reporter, speaks with her former friend. She just happens to be Kate's sister. While speaking to her friend in Kate's home, Riley notices a chalk outline on the ground and assumes the police placed it there around the fallen Kate. She can't figure out why they made Kate's arms look misshapen. It appears almost as if she had wings. Riley is tenacious and wants to solve this crime. She is sure there is more to the story, but between her boss and her boyfriend, can she find the truth? The story is told from Riley and the killer's point of view. As Riley fits the pieces together you wonder will the killer let her live or will the angel of death take Riley to her final resting place?

 Before I Go to Sleep by Steven J. Watson is truly a chilling story.  It's the story of Christine, a young woman, who has an accident and recovers. The tragedy is that although she has physically recovered, her memory is impaired. Once she goes to sleep she forgets who she is and everything about her life. Each day begins anew with untold challenges. Her doctor has her keep a journal privately and tells her not to let her husband, Ben know. Who can she trust? Is her doctor her friend? Why doesn't he want her to trust her husband? Christine wants her life back, but what kind of life did she have and can she have it if she remembers nothing about her former life? A story of terror unfolds and keeps you hanging on til its gripping conclusion. When you are sure you have figured out what is happening the author twists the plot again and takes you for another spine tingling ride. 


The Accident by Linwood Barclay fits perfectly in our recession centered world. Everyone is hard hit financially in this novel. Glen's business is failing.  He is a builder and one of his homes had a fire that destroyed everything and worse yet his wife just died in a car accident that she may have caused.  The police believe Sheila (Glen's wife) was driving drunk.  Can things get worse? Why of course they can.  His daughter is having trouble in school, his mother-in-law blames Glen for Sheila's death and things in Milford keep getting more bizarre.  Strange deaths are occurring and  it all seems to lead back to Sheila.  Can Glen prove her innocence or was Sheila living a double life.  This is an exciting fast paced whodunit that will keep you riveted to your seat.  Just when the mystery appears solved, is it? If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers this is a must read.

The Next Great Crime Series!

There is no doubt that crime fiction is hot! Just look at Stieg Larrson's Millennium trilogy that most libraries can't keep on their shelves. Here is 
the next great crime series by Zoe Ferraris. Her first book Finding Nouf led off the series. However, when I picked up City of Veils I didn't realize it was a sequel. Fortunately this novel is so well written it stood alone and is creating A HUGE SENSATION! Now I have to go back and read the first one in the series.

Ferraris creates a realistic murder mystery set in Jeddah. Her story is multi-faceted and weaves a tale that shows us a social mosaic of Saudi Arabian culture and the role of Islam in their world.  She combines this cultural education with an intriguing murder mystery/who done it, that made me 
want to know....what HAPPENS NEXT! Just when I thought I knew who did it and why,...she presented another angle and I had to reevaluate my thoughts.


The tale begins as a young woman's mutilated body is found on the beach. In this country where women must wear a burqa in public and are not meant to be seen or heard (by men outside of their immediate family) investigating a crime surrounding her death can be difficult. Most women's faces are never seen and in fact the viewing of a woman's face and hair can lead to their imprisonment by the regular or even the religious police.


As the story unfolds we learn more about Islamic culture and women's rights through Katya and Miriam. Katya is a forensic scientist who works in a crime lab (quite unusual for most women in Saudi Arabia) and Miriam is an American woman whose husband is a bodyguard working in Saudi Arabia. Her husband disappears and she is left bereft in a foreign culture where women have no voice and should not be seen. She unwittingly becomes acquainted with a devout Muslim, Nayir, who breaks conventions to help her.


Ferraris shows us the male perspective of this culture through the eyes of Nayir Sharqi. He struggles throughout the book to understand the changes in his own culture/religious beliefs and his own concerns about the changes. He doesn't understand his motivation to help Miriam or understand his attraction to Katya. Katya after all is an 'infidel' who shrugs off convention by working outside her home and she speaks to men who are not from her family.

City of Veils is so much more than a criminal fiction story it opens your eyes to cultural differences around the world, gives you a straight look at gender segregation and asks how you are going to cope with the changes when they come.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a riveting mystery that has a rich background.

Legal Thrillers

John Grisham's newest tale, The Associate, was the subject of one of our posts a month ago. With that book being released, you may want to read some more legal thrillers. You're in luck! The genre has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade and there is no shortage of popular authors writing legal thrillers.

Steve Martini often centers his stories around a compassionate lawyer fighting for the common good. His Paul Madriani series is one such example. Lisa Scottoline offers stories that are similar in pace to many of Grisham's books. She often includes humor in her stories, but with similar, suspenseful situations. Brad Meltzer follows the pattern of many of these writers by centering his stories on young attorneys fighting powerful entities. The underdog overcoming a forceful opponent makes for satisfying story-telling. Also, try David Baldacci if you prefer legal thrillers that include several plot twists. David Ellis often writes from the perspective of the accused. Despite being the new kid on the block of this list, Ellis brings with him his vast knowledge from being a Chicago attorney.

The Associate

John Grisham will release his twenty-first work of fiction on January 27th. The Associate follows Kyle McAvoy, who is fresh out of law school with a dark secret to hide, as he is blackmailed into taking a job at a prestigious firm. He quickly finds that he is being used and forced to do things there that are highly illegal.

Grisham's last work of fiction was The Appeal, released last year. This legal thriller author has an impressive list of fiction works. Many of these items are available at the library in book or audio form. Click here for a list of Grisham's works available at the library.

For you true-crime fans check out The Innocent Man, which is Grisham's only work of nonfiction. This book tracks the trial of a small-town murder and the numerous problems that came up, leading to the imprisonment of the wrong man.