Mystery

Quick Review: THE SPY COAST by Tess Gerritsen (Thomas & Mercer/Bantam)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , ,

GerritsenT-SpyCoastUSHCIntroducing Maggie Bird and the Martini Club…

A retired CIA operative in small-town Maine tackles the ghosts of her past…

Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after a mission went tragically wrong. These days, she’s living quietly on her chicken farm, still wary of blowback from the events that forced her early retirement.

But when a body turns up in Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her. Maggie turns to her local circle of old friends — all retirees from the CIA — to help uncover the truth about who is trying to kill her, and why. This “Martini Club” of former spies may be retired, but they still have a few useful skills that they’re eager to use again, if only to spice up their rather sedate new lives.

Complicating their efforts is Purity’s acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau. More accustomed to dealing with rowdy tourists than homicide, Jo is puzzled by Maggie’s reluctance to share information — and by her odd circle of friends, who seem to be a step ahead of her at every turn.

As Jo’s investigation collides with the Martini Club’s maneuvers, Maggie’s hunt for answers will force her to revisit a clandestine career that spanned the globe, from Bangkok to Istanbul, from London to Malta. The ghosts of her past have returned, but with the help of her friends — and the reluctant Jo Thibodeau — Maggie might just be able to save the life she’s built.

This is the first novel in Tess Gerritsen’s new series, the Martini Club. It is also, somehow, the first of Gerritsen’s novels that I’ve ever read — not entirely sure how this happened, given that the Rizzoli & Isles series looks like it should definitely appeal. (I also enjoyed the first season of the TV adaptation). Anyway, I digress: The Spy Coast is a really good start to a series, which I really enjoyed, and it will definitely not be my last Gerritsen read. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: THE NINTH METAL by Benjamin Percy (William Morrow)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , ,

PercyB-CC1-NinthMetalUSPBThe first book in the Comet Cycle trilogy

IT BEGAN WITH A COMET…

At first, people gazed in wonder at the radiant tear in the sky. A year later, the celestial marvel became a planetary crisis when Earth spun through the comet’s debris field and the sky rained fire.

The town of Northfall, Minnesota will never be the same. Meteors cratered hardwood forests and annihilated homes, and among the wreckage a new metal was discovered. This “omnimetal” has properties that make it world-changing as an energy source… and a weapon.

John Frontier — the troubled scion of an iron-ore dynasty in Northfall — returns for his sister’s wedding to find his family embroiled in a cutthroat war to control mineral rights and mining operations. His father rightly suspects foreign leaders and competing corporations of sabotage, but the greatest threat to his legacy might be the US government. Physicist Victoria Lennon was recruited by the Department of Defense to research omnimetal, but she finds herself trapped in a laboratory of nightmares. And across town, a rookie cop is investigating a murder that puts her own life in the crosshairs. She will have to compromise her moral code to bring justice to this now lawless community.

I read Benjamin Percy’s The Ninth Metal little while ago, but somehow completely forgot to write a review! It’s the first novel in his Comet Cycle trilogy, and it’s quite the start, too: it’s the story of a devastating natural calamity, and its impact on the inhabitants of Northfall. Coupled with greed, small-town and national politics, this makes for a very intriguing start. I very much enjoyed this.

Continue reading →

Quick Review: ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , ,

CosbySA-AllTheSinnersBleedUSHCA Black sheriff. A serial killer. A small town ready to combust.

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.

Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon.

With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.

Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning.

I must offer a mea culpa, here: I read this a long while ago, but right in the middle of an incredibly busy couple of months. As a result, writing the review just fell off my radar, much to my shame. Especially as this is easily one of the best five books I’ve read this year. I’ve been reading Cosby’s novels since Blacktop Wasteland, and he immediately became one of my must-read authors. All The Sinners Bleed is superb. Continue reading →

Excerpt: SWEET THING by David Swinson (Mulholland Books)

Civilian Reader Excerpt , , ,

SwinsonD-SweetThingUSHCToday, we have an excerpt from David Swinson‘s Sweet Thing — one of my most-anticipated novels of the year. I loved Swinson’s Frank Marr trilogy (The Second Girl, Crime Song, and Trigger), and so this new novel went right on my TBR list as soon as it was announced. The publisher has kindly provided this excerpt to celebrate the novel’s release next week. First, here’s the synopsis:

Homicide Detective Alex Blum must answer a terrible question: ‘how far would you go to love the wrong woman?’

In a red brick house on a tree-lined street, DC homicide detective Alex Blum stares at the bullet-pocked body of Chris Doyle. As he roots around for evidence, he finds an old polaroid: the decedent, arm in arm with Arthur Holland, Blum’s informant from years ago when he worked at the Narcotics branch.

But Arthur has been missing for days. Blum’s only source: Arthur’s girl, Celeste — beautiful, seductive, and tragic — whom he can’t get out of his head. Blum is drawn to her and feels compelled to save her from Arthur’s underworld. As the investigation ticks on and dead bodies domino, Blum, unearths clues with damning implications for Celeste. Swallowed by desire, Blum’s single misstep sends him tunnelling down a rabbit hole of transgression. He may soon find the only way out is down below.

Set in 1999, Swinson, a former DC cop, offers a look back at a rougher, grittier, bygone DC replete with seedy strip clubs, pagers beeping, and Y2K anxiety. It’s here we’re taken inside sting operations, fluorescent-tinged interrogation chambers, and rooms that have seen irreversible mistakes. At once authentic, gritty, tragic, and profound, SWEET THING asks how far can you fall when the world teeters on the edge?

Now, on with the excerpt…!

Continue reading →

Excerpt: THE MURDER OF ANDREW JOHNSON by Burt Solomon (Forge)

Civilian Reader Excerpt , , , , ,

SolomonB-MurderOfAndrewJohnsonUSHCEarlier this month, Forge Books published the third novel in Burt Solomon‘s John Hay Mysteries series, The Murder of Andrew Johnson. To celebrate, the publisher has provided CR with the first chapter to share with readers. First, though, here’s the synopsis:

Andrew Johnson was called The Great Commoner, appealing to the masses, loathing the establishment and anyone he deemed elitist. Once Johnson made an enemy, you became his enemy for life. He saw insults where none were intended and personal loyalty meant everything…and his devoted fans would follow him into the depths of Hell. He was also the first U.S. president to be impeached.

Time however waits for no man and even the Famous (or Infamous) must leave this world eventually. But when a man has as many enemies as the Devil, what death could really be a natural one? From political opponents to most of his own family, the suspects are endless, and the truth not really wanted. John Hay, lawyer, sometimes governmental bureaucrat, and now journeyman investigative reporter, is set on finding that truth. And it may wind up killing him.

Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE HELSINKI AFFAIR by Anna Pitoniak (Simon & Schuster)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , ,

PitoniakA-HelsinkiAffairUSHCPitoniak’s engaging, gripping first foray into espionage fiction

IT’S THE CASE OF AMANDA’S LIFETIME, BUT SOLVING IT WILL REQUIRE HER TO BETRAY ANOTHER SPY — WHO JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE HER FATHER.

SPYING IS THE FAMILY BUSINESS. Amanda Cole is a brilliant young CIA officer following in the footsteps of her father, who was a spy during the Cold War. It takes grit to succeed in this male-dominated world — but one hot summer day, when a Russian defector walks into her post, Amanda is given the ultimate chance to prove herself.

The defector warns of the imminent assassination of a US senator. Though Amanda takes the warning seriously, her superiors don’t. Twenty-four hours later, the senator is dead. And the assassination is just the beginning.

Corporate blackmail, covert manipulation, corrupt oligarchs: the Kremlin has found a dangerous new way to wage war. Teaming up with Kath Frost, a fearless older woman and legendary spy, Amanda races from Rome to London, from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, unraveling the international conspiracy. But as she gets closer and closer to the truth, a central question haunts her: Why was her father’s name written down in the senator’s notes? What does Charlie Cole really know about the Kremlin plot?

I’ve been a fan of Anna Pitoniak’s writing for quite some time — I read an advance review copy of the author’s debut, The Futures, and have been a fan ever since. In The Helsinki Affair, the author offers her first espionage thriller. I really enjoyed this, and I hope it’s a sign of more to come. Continue reading →

Quick Review: KENNEDY 35 by Charles Cumming (Harper/Mysterious Press)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , ,

CummingC-LK3-Kennedy35UKHCKite and Co. confront a loose end from decades ago

1995: In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, 24-year-old spy Lachlan Kite and his girlfriend, Martha Raine, are sent to Senegal on the trail of a hunted war criminal. The mission threatens to spiral out of control, forcing Kite to make choices which will have devastating consequences not only for his career at top-secret intelligence agency BOX 88, but also for his relationship with Martha.

2023: Eric Appiah, an old friend from Kite’s days at school and an off-the-record BOX 88 asset, makes contact with explosive information about what happened all those years ago in West Africa. When tragedy strikes, Kite must use all his resources to bring down a criminal network with links to international terror … and protect Martha from possible assassination.

This is the third novel in Charles Cumming’s Box 88 series. I’ve been a fan of the author’s since Typhoon (2008), and each new novel has been superb and often better than the previous one. Kennedy 35 is no exception, and delivers everything one could hope from an espionage thriller (and, especially, a Box 88 novel). I really enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE FURY by Alex Michaelides (Celadon / Michael Joseph)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , ,

MichaelidesA-FuryUSHCThe Fury is the next novel from Alex Michaelides, the best-selling author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens. Strangely, I still haven’t had a chance to read the author’s first two novels, but the premise for his third book really caught my attention:

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex-movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind… and a murder.

MichaelidesA-FuryUKHCWe found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

I’m really looking forward to reading this, and hope to do so as soon as I can.

Alex Michaelides’s The Fury is due to be published by Celadon Books in North America (January 16th, 2024) and Michael Joseph in the UK (February 1st, 2024).

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

Upcoming: THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Stuart Turton (Raven Books / Sourcebooks)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , , ,

TurtonS-LastMurderAtTheEndOfTheWorldUKHCThe cover and details for Stuart Turton‘s next novel, The Last Murder at the End of the World were released a few days ago, and I for one am very much looking forward to reading it! Not only is the cover eye-catching,* but the synopsis also grabbed my attention:

Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island: it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.

If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it…

I really enjoyed Turton’s previous novels — The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and, especially, The Devil and the Dark Water — and I have very high hopes for this new book. I’ll be reading it as soon as I can.

Stuart Turton’s The Last Murder at the End of the World is due to be published by Bloomsbury’s Raven Books imprint in the UK (March 28th, 2024), and Sourcebooks Landmark in North America (May 21st, 2024).

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

* I couldn’t find any information about who the artist is: anyone know?

Quick Review: MOTHER NATURE by Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Goldman & Karl Stevens (Titan Comics)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , ,

CurtisJL-MotherNatureHorror meets environmentalism, against a backdrop of personal & family struggle

After witnessing her engineer father die in mysterious circumstances on one of the Cobalt Corporation’s experimental oil extraction projects, Nova Terrell has grown up to hate the seemingly benevolent company that the town of Catch Creek, New Mexico, relies on for its livelihood and, thanks to the “Mother Nature” project, its clean water.

Haunted by her father’s death, the rebellious Nova wages a campaign of sabotage and vandalism on the oil giant’s facilities and equipment, until one night she accidentally makes a terrifying discovery about the true nature of the “Mother Nature” project and the malevolent, long-dormant horror it has awakened, and that threatens to destroy them all.

This is Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis’s first graphic novel, co-authored by Russell Goldman, and with artwork by Karl Stevens. Adapted from a screenplay Curtis wrote, it’s an intriguing mystery/horror story about family, environmentalism, exploitation, and more. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I rather enjoyed this. Continue reading →