Tag Archives: Crime

Broken Harbor by Tana French

Irish Literature July 28, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Detective Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy has a spotless record of solves, but when he’s partnered with a street smart rookie on the murder of a family in a boom economy development turned recession slum outside of Dublin, the ghosts from his past threaten his ability to play by the straight and narrow. Review: I am a huge fan of Tana French and Broken Harbor definitely lived up to my expectations. First of all, her sense of mood and place is just brilliant. She sets the…

Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers)

American Literature July 19, 2012 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: When an FBI agent’s undercover contact is killed in a seemingly random accident, the presence of a striking young woman leads him back into the world of profiling, possible on the trace of a rare female serial killer. Review: I have long been a big fan of Alexandra Sokoloff‘s paranormal thrillers, and was excited to see what she would do with a different genre. Huntress Moon is a pitch-perfect serial killer thriller, with a riveting, suspenseful plot enhanced by vivid descriptions and truly fascinating…

The Face of Trespass by Ruth Rendell

British Literature July 19, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A poverty-stricken writer flees a failed affair, but things may have already gone too far. Review: The Face of Trespass is an early novel by one of my favorite writers, Ruth Rendell. It’s a short book and a quick read, yet packed with psychological complexity and fascinating characters. I loved the hermeticism of Gray’s world and his believably strange relationship with his French stepfather HonorÃ©. Not as transcendent as some of her best works (Judgment in Stone in particular) but well worth the read.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

American Literature July 16, 2012 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: When his wife goes missing, an angry writer-turned-bar-owner struggles with feelings of guilt, as the circle of suspicion hones in on him. Review: Gone Girl is the kind of thriller I swoon for–a killer hook, messy interpersonal dynamics, and the kind of twists that feel inevitable and fresh at the same time. I was definitely drawn into the game in a big way, and was glad I didn’t know much about the book beyond the blurb. I am not sure it ever hit the…

Big Machine by Victor LaValle

American Literature March 29, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A brokedown junkie, ex-cultist and mass murder survivor gets a mysterious invitation to become an Unlikely Scholar investigating odd phenomena across America. Review: Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Big Machine rocked my world. Stylistically, it’s a mash-up of Haruki Murakami and Stephen King, with a bit of Ralph Ellison for good measure. When junkie Ricky Rice becomes an Unlikely Scholar under way mysterious circumstances, he finds himself scouring newspapers for stories that give evidence to The Voice. His journey grows ever more wild, and…

The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver PÃ¶tzsch

German Literature February 12, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: When a child turns up gruesomely murdered, the midwife is accused as a witch, and the local hangman must turn up the real culprit or else torture and execute his innocent friend. Review: The Hangman’s Daughter seems to be one of those books that everyone is talking about, probably because the price on Amazon is so low. I enjoyed the historical detail from 17th Century Germany but the plot really let me down. It became a rather run-of-the mill thriller of the kind that…

The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman

American Literature January 18, 2011 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: On bed rest and housebound, detective Tess Monaghan gets concerned and starts an investigation when she stops seeing a stylish woman walking her dog. Review: I do love Laura Lippman, who sets her stories in Baltimore, where I was born and raised, but haven’t lived since 1991. Reading her books is at once nostalgic and fresh, and I enjoy trying to figure out the geography and have a thrill when I recognize a reference. The Girl in the Green Raincoat was a satisfying entry…

This Glittering World by T. Greenwood

American Literature December 28, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: After the body of a badly beaten Navajo man is discovered in the snow outside his home, Ben Bailey takes the investigation into his own hands, with devastating consequences for his own disordered life. Review: With every book of hers I read, I become convinced that T. Greenwood is my favorite contemporary author. This Glittering World is one of her best yet, achieving the same level of intensity and feeling as her second novel (and my favorite) Nearer than the Sky. Protagonist Ben Bailey’s…

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

British Literature December 4, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: As she dies, a former lady’s maid reflects on the scandal that ended the family she served and reveals the truth that only she knew. Review: Kate Morton is rapidly becoming my latest favorite author. With her thrilling blend of Gothic melodrama and intricate plotting, she hits all my favorite buttons, much like her self-proclaimed influences Daphne DuMaurier and Barbara Vine. In The House at Riverton, Morton presents Grace, a lady’s maid who spent her youth in service with a titled family haunted by…

The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold

American Literature October 4, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Infected with the spirit of a wolf, an otherwise ordinary man finds himself at the center of a kingmaking conspiracy that requires him to become a shaman or lose his soul forever. Review: The Hallowed Hunt is Lois McMaster Bujold’s third novel set in a world ruled by five capricious and demanding gods. As in the other two books, Bujold melds epic fantasy with a forensic plot and more than a trace of magery for an utterly suspenseful and compelling read. This one also…

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