Newest Thrillers Reviews
The Phoenix Year by David L Blond
I was really looking forward to reading this, marketed as a thriller that spans the globe and centres on rich, powerful individuals trying to change the world. The cover is reminiscent of the opening titles of House of Cards and Damages and the fact that each chapter bears a title was appealing to me as well. Full review...
The Clown Service by Guy Adams
If British Secret Intelligence Service operative Toby Greene worked for MacDonald's he'd be sacked for ineptitude. Unfortunately for the nation he cost thousands of pounds more to train than your average burger-flipper so he's off to Section 37 instead. The Section's label mentions anti-terrorism but, as his former boss told Toby If the security service is the circus, then Section 37 us where we keep the clowns. Meanwhile an old school Russian spy is coming to the UK with enough power to destroy London. This may only be Toby's first job for 37 and will include a touch of astral projection but what could possibly go wrong? Full review...
Acts of Omission by Terry Stiastny
In 1998 Mark Lucas was a recently-appointed minister in the Foreign Office, determined to do his best, but not yet long enough in the job to have abandoned his principles and beliefs. It's these that are tested when a disc containing the names of British informants to the Stasi has fallen into government hands. Understandably the Germans want the information back so that they can complete their opening up of the Stasi's archive. Lucas believes that the Germans should be accommodated on this: he was elected on a platform of transparency and openness - handing the information back seems right to him - but there are those within the government, both politicians and civil servants, who are determined that this should not happen. Full review...
A Kill in the Morning by Graeme Shimmin
The Nazis are amongst the most infamous group that has ever walked the planet. They may have been evil, but there was something pantomime about them that has made them the perfect foil for countless cheesy action films and pulp fiction. To enjoy these you have to disengage yourself from the history and see the Nazis of fiction as separate from those of real life. Can I enjoy a book like A Kill in the Morning set in an alternative 1950s were the Nazis have taken over mainland Europe and are building an ultimate weapon? Can a maverick secret agent take out SS Commander Reinhard Heydrich and change the tide of history? Full review...
The Spring of Kasper Meier by Ben Fergusson
Germany may be defeated as the embers of World War II grow cold but Kasper Meier is making the most of it. His trade in black market goods and casual private investigation work augment the meagre rations for him and his dying father. When a woman asks him to find a missing British airman he refuses – it's not really his line. She blackmails Kasper and still he refuses but then the note arrives: This is bigger than you. You don't have a choice. Queers still die in Berlin. Find the pilot. It seems that he's been seen with another man and now he has a decision to make that will either cost or save his life. Full review...
The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen
The professional criminal is the type of person who gets in, does the job and then gets out again. Sounds like the perfect way to stay undetected as a lifelong miscreant, but does not sound like the most exciting narrative for a story. Instead, take a bunch of young kidnappers who are drunk on their own success, whose racket goes wrong one day when they pick up the wrong mark. Watching their lives spiral out of control would be a much more thrilling read. A read just like The Professionals. Full review...
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin
Based on a true story, The Axeman's Jazz is scriptwriter Ray Celestin's debut novel. It tells of a serial killer in New Orleans in 1919 - the Axeman - who torments the city and has everyone talking; it seems that everyone has their theories and yet no meaningful leads are presenting themselves, as the police and citizens of New Orleans begin to despair of ever catching the killer. Full review...
Voyage into Limbo by Patricia Watkins
Colwyn Yeats, veteran of the war in Afghanistan and top-class sailor found himself at a loose end over the summer months. A planned research trip fell through when he'd already rented out his apartment. It seemed fortuitous when an acquaintance approached him to skipper himself and two friends across the Atlantic, in aid of a charity. Yeats had his doubts when he realised that his 'crew' weren't kitted out for the trip (flip flops? I mean, honestly!), they didn't appear to get on with each other particularly well and despite what he'd been told they didn't seem to know much about sailing. But - it was only a few weeks, when he'd nothing else to do, wasn't it? Full review...
DYFED ODYSSEY: Connell O'Keeffe and The Spider's Web by Patricia Watkins
Connell O'Keeffe looked to be settled. His stud was prospering. He was deeply, enduringly happy with his wife who was expecting their second child and despite the loss of his arm some years before which had put an end to his acting career, life was good. Then one morning Morgan, his manservant brought bad news before he was even out of bed. Khayri, one of his brood mares, was missing from her stable and there was a ransom demand. Reluctant to lose the mare - or to be beaten - O'Keeffe and Morgan set off to retrieve Khayri, hoping to be back that night, or - at the worst - the next day. Little did O'Keeffe know that it would be many months before he saw his home again. Full review...
Children of War: A Bruno Courreges Thriller by Martin Walker
Rafiq had phoned Bruno Courreges for help just a few hours before his tortured and mutilated body was found in the woods, but despite his being a policeman the Brigadier didn't see the case as a priority. He sees the wider picture, whilst Bruno is only the chief of police in a small French country town. A young Muslim by the name of Sami has turned up at a French army base in Afghanistan and he's keen to get home to St Denis and although it's possible to smuggle him back into the country, the FBI are not far behind him. It seems that Sami has been involved in bomb making in Afghanistan and has quite possibly been indirectly responsible for the deaths of soldiers of all nationalities. Full review...
The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker and Sam Taylor (translator)
Confession - when I chose to review this book, I had no idea it had made such huge waves worldwide. I chose it because I hadn’t read a thriller for a while and this looked like a good one. Before the book arrived, I heard all about it – and it was just as well as I had heard so much positivity, as I also hadn’t realised it was such a hefty tome. (I’m not intimidated by hefty tomes, but experience has taught me that they don’t always justify themselves). Full review...
The Ties That Bind by Erin Kelly
When writer Luke falls in love with Jeremy, the fact that Jem (to his friends) offers to support Luke, allowing him to write a book, is a bonus. As soon as Luke discovers an unsolved murder from around 50 years ago, the book's subject is assured. However both the subject matter and Jem's endless support will present Luke with problems (and not a little danger) that he couldn't have foreseen. Full review...
Vortex by Matt Carrell
Andy Duncan's father offered him the money to travel the world for a year, but first he must do a three-month internship with Berwick Archer, an investment company based in Hong Kong. It would be decent experience to put on his CV. But when Andy got to Berwick Archer he liked what he saw - and stayed. Before long he was second in command at the firm's new Bangkok office and had a talent for what he did. There was even a girlfriend, Caroline Chan, who seemed more permanent than those who had gone before her. Caroline was a dealer, but not in a big way - although she was well connected to a very influential businessman. Full review...
Can Anybody Help Me? by Sinead Crowley
Yvonne and Gerry are proud new parents. However, as they've only recently moved to Gerry's native Dublin, Yvonne mourns the lack of a support network. This all changes when she turns to Mammynet, a web-based online forum and chat room for new and soon-to-be mums. It works too - Yvonne quickly makes a local online friend but then the friend disappears without warning. Meanwhile Garda Sergeant Claire Boyle is investigating the murder of a young woman. There may be a connection but will Claire discover it before the killer strikes again? Full review...
The Abduction by Jonathan Holt
The teenage daughter of a US Army Major is kidnapped when off basecamp at a Venetian nightclub. She is abducted by a masked team during the carnevale celebrations, when people not wearing masks are more conspicuous than those whose identities are hidden. Everything about the abduction seems perfectly orchestrated leaving very little in the way of clues apart from the very fact that it is carried out with such military precision. Full review...
Solo by William Boyd
Like Sherlock Holmes, Alice, or even the characters from the Bible, James Bond is no longer just the property of its original author. Ian Fleming may have had the imagination to create Bond, but since Casino Royale rolled onto the scene Bond has been a changing man who mimics the times he currently finds himself in. William Boyd’s Solo reverts back to Fleming’s original timeline and continues the story of that Bond, but is this a reflection of the past or today? Full review...
The Book of You by Claire Kendal
Clarissa is 38, secretary to a university department head and just emerging from a broken relationship. Rafe also works for the university, wants Clarissa and Clarissa wants him. He's absolutely certain she does, no matter how vehemently she denies it, no matter how fast she runs. Full review...
The Atlantis Gene by AG Riddle
Clocktower agent David Vale is on the tail of a large terrorist organisation. He's been after them since 9/11, but the huge scope of the organisation makes them difficult to pin down or predict. His only leads are a few cryptic messages from the 1940s and research scientist Dr Kate Warner, who has become intricately connected with the terrorists without knowing it. Full review...
Phase by Adam Hamdy
It's ten years since Amber Schaefer was kidnapped and since that day Thomas Schaefer has devoted his life to finding his daughter and the people who abducted her. It's cost him everything - his marriage, his relationship with his son, his job and - in all probability - his sanity. He's reached the stage where - far from moving on - letting go is not an option and many of his actions are irrational. If any part of this can be described as having an upside it's that Schaefer has become an expert in finding missing people, particularly young adults who have become involved with cults. The tipping point is reached when an old friend refers to him a case which bears startling similarities to Amber's abduction. Full review...
A Love Like Blood by Marcus Sedgwick
One day towards the end of World War Two, Charles Jackson is dragged to a museum of antiquities just outside a newly liberated Paris by his commanding officer during their downtime. While the other looks at the unusual ancient artefacts, Jackson finds something much more horrific – a man in a wartime bunker in the grounds, squatting over a female figure, blood on his lips that could only have come from her neckline. Years later, Jackson returns to Paris for reasons to do with his medical career, and finds the same man in the company of someone who, were he only aware of the fact, is to become the first and possibly only love of his life. But that's not the only time the paths of Jackson and the mysterious male are destined to cross – the prologue was set in the late 1960s… Full review...
Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent
Oliver had expected more of a reaction the first time that he hit Alice, but she just lay on the floor holding her jaw. He was stunned that he could do this to his wife, but later that evening he returned and beat her so viciously that she lapsed into a coma. It was difficult to understand how this had happened - this was the man otherwise known as Vincent Dax, famous writer of children's books and he and Alice (she'd illustrated the books) had lived a life of ease and privilege. In the disbelieving aftermath Oliver tells the story of what had happened over the last five decades and how this had led to his becoming a monster. Full review...
The Madness of July by James Naughtie
A dead body is found in a Houses of Parliament broom cupboard on a hot 1970s summer day. A sinister enough event normally but for Foreign Office Minister Will Flemyng it heralds greater concerns. The fact the deceased has Will's phone number in his pocket triggers a series of events that not only tests his loyalty to work, country and family but will take Will from the everyday political cut and thrust to his old job. The job he hoped he'd walked away from: spying. Full review...
A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan
Estate agent William Heming has got it right. He owns a successful estate agency and yet isn't too noticeable. He's helpful, but not in a memorable way. A bit on the beige side perhaps but that’s just the way he likes it, living a life that assists society. Take the time he entered the home of the gentleman who refused to clear up his dog's leavings for instance. It's ok – Heming didn't break in. He already has the key as he once sold the house. How many of his former clients' keys has he actually kept, you wonder? The answer's easy: all of them. Full review...
Jawbone Lake by Ray Robinson
Rabbit is a young woman with plenty on her plate and New Year’s Day brings her a lot more worries. Rabbit witnesses a car careen off a bridge into a lake (with fatal consequences) whilst being pursued and is then seen herself by the pursuer. The victim of the crash was a larger than life man called CJ and we follow his son Joe as he deals with the event and attempts to rediscover who his father was. Full review...
The Atheist's Prayer by Amy R Biddle
I don’t shy away from a book with a little edge, in fact Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favourite authors and his books can be so sharp you can shave with them. On the surface The Atheist’s Prayer would seem to be courting controversy; why else have such a provocative title? But, is it really that shocking? Nope. This is a story about how people deal with the modern world and what happens when dangerous ideals infect a vulnerable group. Full review...
No Regrets, Coyote by John Dufresne
You may or may not be aware that there is a style known as the South Florida Noir. The action tends to take place in daylight, in the glare of the Florida sun rather than in nightclubs or dark alleyways. If you’re not familiar with South Florida Noir, No Regrets, Coyote is a good place to start. And if you are, well, be assured that it is a perfectly crafted example of the genre. Full review...
The Baby and the Brandy by Robert Parker
When we first meet Ben Bracken he's a free man, but it's the first time in many long months. Twenty minutes before he had escaped from HMP Manchester, better known to many people as Strangeways. He had been an army captain but he'd been forced into a situation where he felt that he had no option but to act against the law and this resulted in his dishonourable discharge and the prison sentence. It did nothing for his relationship with his parents either. Right now he's not got that many people he can call friends but he's buoyed by a feeling of patriotism, despite what's happened to him. Full review...
