Deadly Decisions
by Kathy Reichs
Nine-year-old Emily Anne Toussaint is fatally shot on a Montreal street. A North Carolina teenager disappears from her home, and parts of her skeleton are found hundreds of miles away. The shocking deaths propel Temperance Brennan, a forensic pathologist, from north to south, and deep into a shattering investigation inside the bizarre culture of outlaw motorcycle gangs where one misstep could bring disaster for herself or someone she loves. Critics (and publicists) often compare Reichs to Patricia Cornwell, as both are women who write bestselling thrillers featuring a female forensic expert. Reichs brings a lot of scientific details into her writing and coupled with the plotting finesse of Cornwell, she’s a thrilling pleasure to read. Deadly Decisions is Reichs at her best.
The Missing
by Chris Mooney
CSI Darby McCormick finds an emaciated, terrified woman hiding in the shadows of a crime scene. A DNA search reveals the woman was abducted five years ago and, somehow, she’s escaped the dungeon in which she was caged. Then a teenage girl goes missing, and this woman is their only lead. A serial killer has been prowling America for decade, and Darby knows the killer – It’s the man with no face. The suspense and the twists are brilliant, making The Missing hard to put down once you’ve picked it up. The writing and pace of the story are fantastic, making it easy for you to picture yourself on the scene. This is one book, we guarantee, you’ll not be able to easily forget.
Scarpetta
by Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta, her forensic psychologist husband, and her niece, Lucy, who has recently formed her own forensic computer investigation firm in New York, undertake a harrowing chase through cyberspace and the all-too-real streets of the city in this latest installment of Kay Scarpetta series. Throughout, Cornwell, one of the best crime writers ever, delivers shocking twists and turns, and the kind of cutting-edge technology that only she can provide. Once again, she proves her exceptional ability to entertain and enthrall. If you’ve followed Kay over the years (read a book or two, or all 15 in the series) then you’ll find that she has changed quite a bit in Scarpetta and that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.
Living with fear
Count to Ten
by Karen Rose
Abandoned years ago to the foster-care system, two young brothers end up in an unimaginable hell and when one dies, the other vows revenge on those responsible. A young girl is found in the wreckage of an explosion. She was raped and murdered before fire ripped through the house. Together, Mia, a detective, and Reed, a fireman, race to stop a killer whose violence is escalating by the day. In a series of horrifying murders, they both know that the killer won’t stop until they stop him. Count to Ten is one of the best books in the thriller genre. It’s compulsive, gripping, and will make you draw the curtains and lock the doors when you are reading it and night.
The Snowman
by Jo Nesbo
A young boy wakes to find his mother missing. Their house is empty but in the garden he sees his mother’s favorite scarf wrapped around the neck of a snowman. Inspector Harry Hole and his team discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years. When a second woman disappears it seems that Harry’s worst suspicions are confirmed: for the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his home turf. Jo Nesbø knows how to grab you, by the throat and by the heart. And as Harry Hole is pitted against a brutal killer who will drive him to the edge, we guarantee you’ll also be on the edge of your seat.
Original Sin
by P.D. James
Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are confronted with a puzzle of impenetrable complexity. A murder has taken place in the offices of the Peverell Press, a venerable London publishing house located in a dramatic mock-Venetian palace on the Thames. The victim is Gerard Etienne, the brilliant but ruthless new managing director, who had vowed to restore the firm’s fortunes. Etienne was clearly a man with enemies—a discarded mistress, a rejected and humiliated author, and rebellious colleagues, one of who apparently killed herself a short time earlier. Yet Etienne’s death, which occurred under bizarre circumstances, is for Dalgliesh only the beginning of the mystery, as he desperately pursues the search for a killer prepared to strike and strike again.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
by Agatha Christie
This novel, written in 1927, is considered the best and most successful of the early mysteries. This is also the most controversial mystery novel of the 20th century but it is Christie’s best work ever. There is a full complement of characters populating the cozy English village of King’s Abbot: Major Blunt, Colonel Carter, Miss Gannett, the butler, the housekeeper, the narrator, Dr. Sheppard, and his know-it-all sister, and, of course, Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. The book is a first person account of a Hercule Poriot mystery, done by Doctor James Sheppard, a country doctor serving his community. He was there from almost the beginning, and his narrative provides a wonderful account of the murder of his friend, Rodger Ackroyd.
