Guests
by Lynn, May 3, 2012 3:47 PM
I'm always thrilled when I find a writer that I've never read before, especially one that can keep me glued to the pages as adeptly as Ace Atkins does in The Ranger. With vividly drawn characters, a rich setting (the deep south of Mississippi hill country), and fast-paced action, The Ranger is what every thriller should be. The hero, Quinn, returns home after seven years as an Army Ranger to deal with the death of his uncle, the local sheriff. He discovers that his beloved uncle, who once saved Quinn's life, may not have been the hero he long admired. As Quinn wades through the detritus of his uncle's life, he finds himself drawn into a snake's nest of political corruption, meth dealers, and resentment, which he must unravel to find the
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Guests
by Lynn, January 4, 2012 1:17 PM
The Murder Room is an absolutely riveting story about the history of the Vidocq Society, a group of forensic scientists, cops, FBI agents, etc., that come together to solve unsolvable crimes. I'm not usually a fan of true crime, but The Murder Room is more than that. There are real heroes on these pages, and, once you open it, I dare you to put it down
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Guests
by Lynn, August 26, 2011 3:49 PM
Fallen proves again that Karin Slaughter is a master storyteller. The pace of Fallen never lets up, the characters and scenes are pitch-perfect, and the plotting so skillful that you are loathe to put the book down, even to
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Guests
by Lynn, August 26, 2010 12:40 PM
Julia Quinn's witty Regency romance novels are the perfect summer beach read. While I've yet to hit the beach this summer (well, here in Oregon, we call it the "coast"), I still enjoyed Ten Things I Love about You. A country girl, her betrothed — an over-eager gentleman who is three times her age — and the gentleman's nephew create a love triangle that results in an entertaining and pleasurable romp that is worth the
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Guests
by Lynn, August 23, 2010 2:04 PM
I'm a voracious reader, so finding new authors is like finding gold. One of my recent favorites is Linda Castillo, author of a mystery series set in an Amish community. Yes, an Amish community. I was skeptical at first, but Castillo turned me into a believer. In Pray for Silence, the second in the series, Castillo's protagonist, Katie Burkholder, a former member of the Amish community and current Chief of Police of her hometown, investigates the horrific murder of an Amish family, including the torture of two teenage girls. Calling on the help of her friend and lover, Ohio Bureau of Investigation agent John Tomasetti, Burkholder uses her ties to both the "English" and Amish community to solve the crime. Pray for Silence isn't for the squeamish, but Castillo keeps up the pace throughout, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the
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Guests
by Lynn, August 23, 2010 12:54 PM
Lisa Gardner just keeps improving as a writer, and Live to Tell is proof. With delicious suspense, intriguing characters, and an unusual plot involving psychotic children, this thriller is hard to put down. Live to Tell, the fourth in her Detective D.D. Warren series, involves the deaths of two families and a mentally unstable child. Gardner ratchets up the tension and throws in plenty of twists. Definitely one of my favorite reads of the
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Guests
by Lynn, August 3, 2010 12:18 PM
I'm a big fan of Ilona Andrews's Kate Daniels series, and I love the alternate reality she has create in "post shift" Atlanta. However, the latest book in the series, Magic Bleeds, is by far the best yet. Andrews pits Kate against her very powerful and evil aunt, who just happens to be a demi-god. "Aunt" Erra is bent on creating chaos, tearing Atlanta apart, and killing Kate in the process. Throw in the luscious romantic conflict between Kate and Curran, the Atlanta "Beast King," and this is a near-perfect book by a truly gifted
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Guests
by Lynn, July 13, 2010 2:45 PM
I read Ice Cold in one night. I literally could not put this novel down. Long a fan of Tess Gerritsen, I love her characters: Maura Isles, the cool, professional medical examiner, and Jane Rizzoli, the edgy Boston detective. In Ice Cold, Gerritsen takes both women out of their comfort zones, setting the story in the middle of a rural Wyoming winter. With Isles missing, Rizzoli searches frantically for clues to her friend's fate. In the meantime, Isles desperately fights to stay alive as she is chased by a group that seems to want her dead. When she is offered help by a young "mountain man," she must decide who to trust in a frightening wilderness where the challenges are far different than what she faces on the streets of Boston. Ice Cold is possibly the best thriller I've read this year. If you haven't read any previous titles in the Isles and Rizzoli series, Ice Cold does stand on its own and is an excellent introduction to these two classy female
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Guests
by Lynn, July 12, 2010 4:34 PM
In Broken, author Karin Slaughter returns to Grant County, where Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent is assigned to look into an unusual death. Sara Linton, ex-Grant County coroner and current Atlanta physician, is home for the Thanksgiving holiday, one she'd rather skip in order to avoid painful memories of her deceased husband, police chief Jeffery. Will sets out to get to the bottom of the murder and the subsequent suspicious suicide of the confessed killer while in police custody. As Will, with Sara's reluctant help, begins to unravel the mystery, it becomes apparent that something is very wrong in Grant County, particularly with the police department Jeffery used to head. Slaughter keeps up the tension throughout, making Broken a riveting story, and, as always, pushes her characters repeatedly to the edge. Be prepared to read this one straight
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Guests
by Lynn, July 12, 2010 4:16 PM
Jeffery Deaver is the master of plots, and his Lincoln Rhyme novels are the epitome of the police-procedural suspense novel. In The Burning Wire, Deaver is at the top of his game as Rhyme takes on an old nemesis while tracking a murderer who has an unusual and shocking method of killing. Rhyme is one of fiction's most unusual and mesmerizing characters: a world-renowned criminologist trapped in a wheelchair, unable to perform the physical functions of his job but with a mind that is brilliant at piecing together forensic puzzles. Despite his limitations, Rhyme is always a force to be reckoned with; his energy drives the story and his team as they race to find the pieces of each new puzzle before the killer strikes again. Of course, it would not be a Deaver novel without several plot twists and reversals, and The Burning Wire is no exception. Although, in this case, the final twist is definitely one you won't see coming.
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