Tag: FBI

Badlands by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Thriller2 Comments

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Audiobook – 3 June 2025)

Series: Nora Kelly – Book Five

Length: 10 hours and 45 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for a crazy and highly entertaining crime fiction thriller as the superstar team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child continue their amazing work with the fantastic novel Badlands.

Last year I had the great pleasure of reading the awesome thriller Extinction by Douglas Preston. A cool novel that saw strange murders occur within a park filled with cloned prehistoric animals, Extinction proved to be a ton of fun, especially with some of the entertaining and over-the-top twists that Preston threw into it.  As such, I was keen to read more from Preston going forward, and I decided to see what other books he wrote.  Naturally that took me into the orbit of his partnership with fellow thriller author Lincoln Child.  Together, the two have written an insane number of unique crime fiction reads, often featuring an exciting science fiction twist, including big series like their Agent Pendergast novels and Gideon Crew series.  Due to how fun this partnership sounded, I decided to try out one of the pair’s newer works, with their 2025 release, Badlands.  The fifth book in their Nora Kelly series, Badlands had a really interesting plot behind it, which panned out into an exciting and captivating read.

Plot Synopsis:

In the New Mexico badlands, the skeleton of a woman is found—and the case is assigned to FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. The victim walked into the desert, shedding clothes as she went, and then died in agony of heatstroke and thirst. Two rare artifacts are found clutched in her bony hands—lightning stones used by the ancient Chaco people to summon the gods.

Is it suicide or… sacrifice?

Agent Swanson brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate. When a second body is found—exactly like the other—the two realize the case runs deeper than they imagined. As Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation into remote canyons, haunted ruins, and long-lost rituals, they find themselves confronting a dark power that, disturbed from its long slumber, threatens to exact an unspeakable price.

Badlands proved to be a very entertaining novel from Preston and Child that I had an outstanding time getting through.  Featuring a compelling and twisty mystery that went in some very fun directions, Badlands was an exciting and well-written read that was hard to put down, especially when the authors decided to make things a little crazy and over-the-top.

This new Nora Kelly book starts off strong and fast, bringing the protagonists into the case and setting them onto the course of a strange series of deaths throughout New Mexico desert.  Primarily focused on FBI agent Corrie Swanson, archaeologist Nora Kelly, and Nora’s brother, who goes off on his own side quest with a rich collector, the plot soon takes shape rather nicely, especially with the case clearly tied around the mysterious artefacts the victims were holding.  Preston and Child soon set up quite a compelling mystery that forces the protagonists to dive into ancient Native American myth, unhealthy academic relationships and other dark secrets, all to uncover why several young women are committing suicide out in the desert.

The plot moves along at a mostly smooth pace, minus one or two unnecessary shortcuts, and it proved fun to have Corrie examine the criminal aspect of the case while Nora dove into the myths and history that seemed to dominate the deaths.  It all leads up to an outstanding final third, with the main storylines all coming together in an intense, expanded sequence, where the protagonists are forced to confront the people responsible for the mystery in a dark and violent way.  While certain twists about the main antagonist and the method needed to save the day are well telegraphed, Preston and Child overcome this by making things as crazy as possible, and the sheer tension the authors manage to generate here is very impressive.  I particularly loved the ending of Badlands, which nicely blended the crime fiction and more occult elements of the story together in a cleverly ambiguous way that leaves you wondering about what exactly happened well after you finish the book.

Preston and Child pulled together an outstanding novel in Badlands, and I enjoyed how their combined writing brought this entertaining story together.  The plot of Badlands itself is quite fast-paced and exciting, as the primarily investigative narrative follows much of the classic crime fiction conventions.  However, the authors do an outstanding job of twisting the story around, with a compelling focus on Native American history and archaeology, as well as some very amusing depictions of academic relationships.  Preston and Child’s love of history and archaeology is quite evident throughout the course of Badlands, and I loved how the various myths and sites of the past played into the modern crime fiction narrative.  Combine that with the vivid depictions of the New Mexico badlands as a major setting, which is loaded with hoodoos, rock spires, and other ancient secrets, and Badlands has a very distinctive feel to it that Preston and Child use to enhance the story and give it some entertaining and over-the-top tweaks.

While part of a larger series, Badlands works extremely well as a standalone novel, and new readers can come into this Nora Kelly book really easily thanks to the author’s open style.  Indeed, I personally was able to slip into this series quite easily, and there wasn’t a single second that I felt I was missing out on key plot or character details from not having read the previous books.  Each of the key recurring characters is expertly re-introduced in this new novel, and it honestly doesn’t take you too long to fully appreciate their respective storylines and the role they play in the book.  As such, I feel that Badlands is a book that will appeal equally to new readers looking for an unusual thriller as well as established fans of either author, who are curious to see how their new novel turned out.

I ended up grabbing the audiobook version of Badlands, which I felt was an excellent format that added a lot to the reading experience.  Coming in with a runtime of just under 11 hours, Badlands was a relatively quick audiobook to get through, and I liked how well the entertaining story was read out.  Narrated by Cynthia Farrell, a veteran audiobook narrator with a lot of experience in the thriller space, this format of Badlands moves at a quick pace, and listeners are easily able to absorb the unique narrative and all it’s cool details.  Farrell excels at showcasing all the key parts of the plot, from the intense action scenes, the dramatic investigation sequences, and even a few moments that are supernatural in nature, and I really enjoyed how easily I got drawn into this compelling audiobook.  There are also some great voices for the various characters featured throughout Badlands, and Farrell ensured that each character got their own, unique and fitting voice, that allowed the listener to relate to them.  This ended up being a great audiobook, and I think I will utilise this format going forward with Preston and Child’s work, especially if I decide to read more Nora Kelly novels.

With some unique twists and turns and a truly crazy ending, Badlands was an outstanding novel that I had a brilliant time with.  I ended up being really impressed with the cool team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and their new Nora Kelly book was a fun novel with some fantastic moments behind it.  A highly recommended read and one of the more distinctive thrillers of 2025.

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Grave Danger by James Grippando

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Thriller3 Comments

Publisher: Harper Audio (Audiobook – 14 January 2025)

Series: Jack Swyteck – Book 19

Length: 10 hours and 53 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars

Amazon

One of the top authors of intense legal thrillers, James Grippando, returns with another outstanding entry in his long-running Jack Swyteck series, Grave Danger, which places the titular protagonist in the middle of a particularly captivating case.

Of the various crime fiction subgenres I have the pleasure of reading, one of my favourites is the legal thriller.  There is just something exciting and addictive about well-written and thrilling books set around the courtroom, especially if they feature complex or life-altering legal cases.  While there are several great authors who specialise in legal thrillers, one of the more intriguing ones I have come across in recent years is veteran author James Grippando, who has been writing compelling novels for over 30 years, with a combination of long-running series, including his main Jack Swyteck series, and other gripping standalone reads.  I personally only started reading Grippando last year when I had the opportunity to read his latest Jack Swyteck novel, Goodbye Girl, a fascinating read that saw the titular Miami lawyer attempt to save a glamorous popstar from several music piracy-related lawsuits.  Goodbye Girl was one of the more entertaining and memorable legal thrillers I read last year, and I was keen to try out the next book in the series, Grave Danger, especially as it had an intriguing plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

Bestselling author James Grippando’s legendary criminal defence attorney Jack Swyteck is back to defend a single mother accused of kidnapping her own child in a perilous case involving politics and international diplomacy that will test his legal expertise and his marriage.

Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter, and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. The seasoned attorney must not only plan a winning defence. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk.

But everything in this case isn’t what it seems, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case?

Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is. As politics threatens to derail the case and compromise the best interests of the child, Jack and Andie find themselves on opposite sides—with their marriage hanging in the balance. For their relationship to survive, the couple must navigate a treacherous web of deceit that extends from a Miami courthouse to the highest echelons of Washington DC, and spells grave danger at every turn.

James Grippando continues to impress with this fantastic and exciting new legal thriller.  Cleverly set around some unique legal circumstances and compelling world-politics, Grave Danger had an outstanding plot loaded with a ton of drama that is guaranteed to hook you all the way to the end.

I felt that Grippando pulled together a very interesting and emotionally charged narrative for Grave Danger, which quickly drags you in with its unique and powerful elements.  The main story primarily involves protagonist Jack Swyteck choosing to defend Iranian refugee Ava Bazzi in a custody case around her daughter Yasmin, with the Iranian government backing Yasmin’s father Farid in the case.  However, as the case proceeds, it becomes clear there are more angles to the story, mostly related to whether Jack’s client is Yasmin’s mother, and whether the real Ava Bazzi is alive or has been killed by the Iranian morality police.  At the same time, Jack is dealing with deeper personal issues as his career has put a strain on his marriage with Andie, who once again is facing pressure from her bosses to influence Jack’s case.  As the various trials continue, both Jack and Andie uncover deeper lies and conspiracies from all the participants in the case, including the United States government influencing events from behind the scenes, and Grave Danger’s narrative goes in some very interesting directions.  Grippando wraps the story up with some excellent twists, which includes some tense action and danger, and readers come away satisfied with the conclusion and curious where certain long-running story points in the series will go next.

Grave Danger was another well-written novel from Grippando that provides readers will all the entertaining legal thrills and courtroom drama you could want.  Serving as the 19th entry in the Jack Swyteck series, Grave Danger works well as a continuation of the series, especially when it comes to the personal drama of the protagonists.  At the same time, Grippando has an accessible style which allows new readers to enjoy this novel without any prior knowledge of his previous books.  There are a lot of great elements to this new novel, although I personally enjoyed all the outstanding courtroom sequences, which prove to be a true highlight of the book.  The author clearly puts a lot of care, attention and personal knowledge into all the legal aspects of Grave Danger, and you really get drawn into the complex aspects of the case and the protagonist’s attempts to help his client.

I personally enjoyed how Grippando featured a complex, international custody case in this book, which gave Grave Danger a very distinctive edge, especially as it features some obscure bits of law.  The author’s intriguing dive into US-Iranian relations and how this would potentially impact a case like this was also very fascinating, especially with certain recent real-world events happening around the time I was reading this novel.  Grippando covers all these events in a measured and thoughtful manner, and the underlying political and diplomatic elements of the plot added a lot of fantastic tension to the overall narrative and helped turn Grave Danger into a particularly compelling read.

One of the more interesting elements of Grave Danger are the compelling or relatable characters featured within the plot.  Primarily focused on Jack Swyteck, a lawyer struggling with draining personal battles on top of his own legal case, the book has some interesting sequences with the protagonist, especially as he deals with the lies of his client and the emotional strain of the case on his marriage.  The rest of the cast was quite entertaining or complex, including Jack’s client,  Ava Bazzi, who has escaped from Iran with her daughter/niece, and who seeks to keep custody no matter the cost.  Ava’s various secrets add some deep intrigue to the plot, and Grippando builds some intricate storylines around her, especially with the reveal of who she is and the greater history behind Ava’s treatment by the Iranian morality police. The opposing client, Farid, Ava Bazzi’s husband and the father of Yasmin, proves to be an interesting semi-antagonist in the novel, especially with his alternating motivations and a particularly vindictive lawyer in his corner.

While I enjoyed all these characters, I must say that I had issues with how Grippando utilised Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, in this novel.  Despite being Grave Danger’s secondary protagonist (and the titular protagonist of another series), Grippando somehow manages to make Andie into one of the most annoying figures in the entire novel with her unreasonable requests around her husband’s work, constant combative nature, and sheer determination to get her way.  The author compounds this further by portraying her in this book as being particularly naïve, constantly ignoring several obvious conspiracies and lies actively working against her husband, despite her status as an FBI agent.  I honestly felt that Grippando’s portrayal of Andie was a real weak point of Grave Danger, and I struggled a little bit with her scenes.  Hopefully the author will utilise her a little more effectively going forward, as her appearance here just added way too much unnecessary drama to an otherwise excellent book.

After enjoying Grippando’s previous novel on audiobook, I made sure to get Grave Danger on the same format, primarily because it once again featured the narration of Jonathan Davis.  One of my favourite audiobook narrators, Davis is probably best known for his work voicing various Star Wars audiobook, including Kenobi by John Jackson Miller, Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber, Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray, Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp and Brotherhood by Mike Chen, just to name a few.  This excellent voice work translates across to the Jack Swyteck series extremely well, and I deeply enjoyed his work on Grave Danger.  Not only does he bring the perfect pace to the court cases and other high-intensity parts of the plot, but he also provides some great voices to the varied characters featured within.  I ended up breezing through Grave Danger’s near 11-hour long runtime because of this great narration, and the audiobook version comes very highly recommended as a result.

Overall, Grave Danger was another excellent novel from James Grippando, who continues his excellent Jack Swyteck series in impressive fashion.  Featuring a particularly compelling legal centre, as well as some great thriller elements, Grave Danger was an amazing read from start to finish, and I fully intend to read more novels in this series going forward.  Indeed, the 20th Jack Swyteck novel, the extremely interesting sounding The Right to Remain, is coming out in early 2026, and I cannot wait to read it.

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Think Twice by Harlan Coben

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller4 Comments

Think Twice Cover

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 14 May 2024)

Series: Myron Bolitar – Book 12

Length: 419 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Legendary thriller author Harlan Coben returns with another outstanding and twisty read that forces his longest running protagonist into a dark and deadly adventure with Think Twice.

Harlan Coben is an amazing writer who has been setting the world on fire for years with his exceptional thrillers that contain impressive twists and unbelievable turns, all set around distinctive and clever story ideas.  Many of his best books have been turned into fantastic television series, and his work has a habit of transforming into excellent dark content.  I personally have come into the Harlan Coben fandom a bit late, beginning with I Will Find You last year.  I loved the excellent story it contained, and it ensured that I would continue to check out Coben’s work in the future.  I’m very glad that I did, as his latest novel, Think Twice, proved to be a particularly epic read.  The latest entry in Coben’s long-running Myron Bolitar series, Think Twice reintroduces his iconic protagonist Myron Bolitar and sets him loose for his 12th novel.

After many ups and downs, former basketball player and incorrigible troublemaker Myron Bolitar is back in the sports agent game, once again situated in his New York office, surrounded by his unusual friends.  Working hard to bring his business back to its old glory, Myron is unprepared for a ghost from his past to literally come back and haunt him in the strangest way when two FBI agents visit his office, seeking his help to find a suspect in a recent double murder.

The investigation into the murder has revealed DNA evidence that points towards Myron’s former client and rival, Greg Downing.  The only problem is that Greg Downing died three years ago, and Myron was the one who gave the eulogy.  With the FBI convinced that he is lying and knows something about Greg’s whereabouts, Myron is intrigued, especially as his complicated history with Greg has given them an unbreakable connection.

Determined to find out whether Greg could be alive, Myron teams up with his partner in crime, the dangerous billionaire Win, to seek the truth.  Their investigation leads them from New York to Las Vegas to Montana and back again as they attempt to find any hint about what happened to their old client.  But the further they dig, the more it becomes apparent that there is a dangerous killer on the loose who likes to hide their misdeeds in the most sinister of ways.  But is Greg alive and perpetrating these crimes, or is someone else setting him up for the fall? And does that someone now have Myron in their sights?

Wow, now this was such a good thriller.  Coben really pulled out another wild and clever story with Think Twice and I got so drawn into this fantastic read.  Making full use of his interesting story premise, existing character arcs, and habit for outrageous twists, Coben had me hooked the entire way through, and I had so much fun with Think Twice.

I really loved the compelling story that Coben came up with for Think Twice, and frankly I got addicted to it in the opening pages as the reader is swiftly introduced to multiple awesome aspects of the plot.  The initial scenes with main point-of-view character, Myron Bolitar, reveal that a recurring character believed dead is still alive and is the main suspect in a murder case, while separate sequences told from an unknown person’s perspective, reveal intimate details of a unique serial killer stalking the country.  The story quickly develops into a hunt for the presumed dead client, as Myron and Win seek to find and help him before the FBI can.  This turns into a great missing persons investigation for the first third of the novel, as the protagonists hunt across America, digging up clues and coming into conflict with other interested parties in the case, including a sinister mob boss with a fun nickname.

This first third of the book, while a tad slower than the rest of the narrative, proves to be a great introduction to the story, and Coben does an excellent job of setting up some key plot elements and character introductions that pay off well in the rest of the book.  The author keeps the narrative going strong, and you are soon introduced to more mysteries, secrets and threats as the protagonist tries to discover what is happening and who is truly responsible.  There is a great deal of tension and mystery the entire way throughout the story, and I really got caught up in this book, powering through the second half of Think Twice in less than a day.  Coben brings the entire mystery together extremely well, and I think that this book had a very strong conclusion.  There are some great twists in the lead up to the big confrontation, and events get very frenetic and deadly in all the most exciting ways.  After some massive moments, Coben loads up additional twists to really strike the reader hard, and you will come away feeling bruised from the resulting whiplash.  I really enjoyed how these twists came about, and I think that Coben did an outstanding job setting them up and subsequently unleashing them.  This was honestly a brilliant story that had me hooked the entire way through.

The author set a great tone for Think Twice that ensured the reader was constantly engaged and forced to keep reading.  The entire story is very fast-paced, and the outrageous characters featured within are fun and exciting, allowing you to connect both with their unique investigation methods as well as the myriad personal dramas that result from their interactions.  While most of the story is told through the eyes of main character Myron, several key parts of the book are shown from alternative perspectives.  This helped to create a much more intense read, especially the scenes that show the unknown antagonist’s thoughts and kills.  Not only does this help set up some great twists but it also ensures that the reader gets drawn into the resulting game of cat and mouse.  Other perspectives, especially towards the end and helpfully distinguished by changes in font, are also well done and herald some massive events.  Coben did a great job of blending the story’s sports-themed mystery with the more intense, character-driven elements of the plot, and I ended really impressed with how this entire book came together, especially with the clever and compelling twists.

Unlike some of the other Coben books that I have read, Think Twice is part of a series and follows on from the previous mysteries contained in the Myron Bolitar books.  Indeed, the storyline in this 12th entry is strongly related to previous books in the series, especially the third novel, Fade Away, with many of the characters introduced there coming back in a big way.  While there are many references to this previous book, Think Twice still works well as a standalone novel, and Coben ensures that all the key plot elements from Fade Away and other Myron Bolitar books are explained quickly and effectively as the story continues.  As someone who has not read any of the books in the series, I was easily able to follow the plot of Think Twice while still getting drawn into the key character arcs and storylines.  However, I feel that established fans of the series will probably get a little more out of Think Twice, especially when it comes to the continuation of some intense character interactions.  As such, Think Twice is going to appeal to a lot of readers, and someone a little newer to Coben’s work can easily jump into this long-running series with barely any issues.

The final thing I want to highlight about Think Twice are the intriguing and fun characters that Coben features throughout his book.  Coben clearly likes big personalities with complicated feelings, and I had a lot of fun getting to know the cast of this series, especially as there are some distinctive oddballs here.  The most prominent character is series protagonist Myron Bolitar, a former star basketball player turned sports agent, lawyer and occasional investigator.  Myron proves to be a fun protagonist to follow, and I liked his morality and sense of right and wrong, which contrasts well with other key characters.  Coben did a good job of drawing the reader into Myron’s personal issues, of which there are many, especially when it comes to the side characters in this book.  Thanks to the renewed focus on his old rival, Greg Downing, several figures from previous books are reintroduced, including his old flame and his biological son that was raised by Greg.  This leads to substantial drama, especially as the various relationships are strained from previous betrayals and lies.  Myron’s complicated relationships with these returning side characters proves to be a key part of the book, and it was interesting to see him finally get some closure with some characters, while renewing old issues with others.

Aside from Myron and the returning characters from Fade Away, the cast of Think Twice are entertainingly unusual, and it proved interesting to see the fun range of figures the protagonist surrounds himself with.  The former women’s tag-team professional wrestlers who have become Myron’s colleagues was an interesting touch from Coben that I certainly had fun with, and Myron’s entertaining family who interact with him in the background were also entertaining.  The main supporting character you have to talk about is Myron’s best friend and confidant, Win.  Windsor Horne Lockwood III is ultra-rich, ultra-eccentric and just a little bit crazy.  A deadly figure with no moral compass, Win backs his friend up in many ways, and has no problem getting lethal when the situation calls for it.  Win honestly steals most scenes he is in, and he plays off Myron really well, ensuring that they come away as an amusing and effective team.  Throw in a great antagonist with clever methods who remains hidden for much of the book, and Think Twice has some great characters whom Coben uses to their full extent to tell an interesting story.

Thanks to its outrageous story, cool plot concepts and excellent twists, Think Twice proved to be an amazing read that I could not get enough of.  Slick, clever, and highly addictive, Think Twice really showcased Harlan Coben’s ability to pull together a brilliant thriller.  I had such a great time reading Think Twice, and I cannot wait to see what unique story Coben pulls together next.  Highly recommended to both established Coben fans and new readers looking for a distinctive thriller.

Think Twice Cover 2

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Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller3 Comments

Dark Corners Cover 2

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 8 August 2023)

Series: Rachel Krall – Book Two

Length: 352 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of Australia’s fastest-rising crime fiction authors, Megan Goldin, returns with another awesome read, the moving and entertaining novel, Dark Corners.

Over the last few years, I have been really enjoying the works of talented Australian author Megan Goldin, whose releases have become something of a must-read for me.  Goldin has written some amazing books throughout her relatively short career, including the very gripping and intense The Escape Room (one of my favourite Australian books of 2019) and the brilliant psychological thriller, Stay Awake (one of my favourite Australian books of 2022).  One of Goldin’s best books so far was The Night Swim, which was one of my favourite Australian books of 2020.  The Night Swim followed protagonist Rachel Krall, a true crime podcaster, as she investigated a notorious rape trial in a small American town.  This was a particularly moving and intense read that really showcased Goldin’s range.  As such, I was very interested when I saw that Goldin was releasing a second Rachel Krall book this year with Dark Corners, and I made sure to read a copy as soon as I could.

After returning from her latest recording exploit, famous true crime podcaster Rachel Krall finds herself dragged into another sinister case when a phone call from the FBI sees her flown to a maximum security prison outside of Daytona Beach, Florida.  A famous social media star has gone missing shortly after meeting with Terence Bailey, a notorious inmate serving time for a relatively minor crime, who many believe is a serial killer.  The only clue the FBI have is a message handed between the two requesting that the missing star seek Rachel out.

Unable to let go of such a curious and intriguing case that she is inexplicably linked to, Rachel resolves to remain in Florida until she finds the truth.  Checking into a massive influencer convention being held at Daytona Beach, Rachel looks to find out more about the missing girl and finds herself being dragged into the cutthroat world of influencers, Instagrammers and internet celebrities.  However, the more information she finds about the missing girl, the more she realises that there is something peculiar about the victim and her past.

Rachel’s investigation uncovers a series of sinister deaths and disappearances in the area, each of which may be connected to Terence Bailey, who is due to be released in a couple of days.  Racing against the clock, Rachel and the FBI must uncover the truth before Bailey gets out of prison.  But it soon becomes clear that there is another predator lurking around Daytona Beach, one who hides in plain sight and will do anything to cover their tracks, including taking Rachel out.

This was a very impressive new read from Goldin, who follows up The Night Swim in a big way.  Dark Corners is a fantastic novel that beautifully combines an intense narrative with some unique and entertaining elements to create an awesome read I easily powered through.

Goldin really comes out of the gate swinging with Dark Corners, and I was swiftly drawn into the clever mystery and intense, character-driven narrative that she pulls together for this follow-up read.  The author starts the reader off with the compelling mystery of a social media star who has been kidnapped after contacting an imprisoned convict.  With the protagonist dragged in thanks to her internet fame, this swiftly turns into an intense personal investigation, as Rachel and the FBI attempt to find the missing girl and solve several unsolved murders and disappearances.  Told through several key perspectives, including that of Rachel and a mysterious rideshare driver who has a dark connection to the case, the story evolves at a rapid and powerful pace, and the author sets up an intriguing series of mysteries both in the past and the present.  The story effectively unwraps all of these interlinked and compelling cases, and you are soon powering through the intriguing web of cases, desperate to find the conclusion.  With much of the story set to the fantastic background of an influencer convention, there are several great tangents and mysteries that emerge, especially as they provide some great alternate leads and red-herring suspects.  The final solution to the case is very interesting, if somewhat spoiled by one of the alternate perspectives, and the big confrontation is well set up and filled with intense moments.  While I was a little disappointed that some of the alternate cases were not as connected to the main mystery as they could have been, this was a very impressive and captivating story, and I had such a great time getting drawn in Goldin’s narrative web.

I really liked the captivating writing style that Goldin utilised for Dark Corners, which has some intriguing similarities and contrasts to the previous Rachel Krall book.  The use of multiple character perspectives, as well as excerpts from Rachel’s true crime podcast for context, work extremely well to tell an extensive and complex narrative.  I particularly liked the inclusion of a sinister antagonist perspective for much of the story, especially as it provides some compelling insights into the deadly case as they circle the protagonist like a shark.  Despite some similarities in style, Dark Corners has a very different tone to The Night Swim, with more of a faster edge given to the story, and less focus on traumatic character histories.  The story does still contain some powerful character moments, especially when the protagonist encounters several victims’ families, but the story was more thriller focused than the last book.  Despite the connections to The Night Swim, Dark Corners can easily be read as a standalone novel, and this actually serves as a great introduction to Goldin’s flexible writing style.  Dark Corners probably has the quickest pace of any of the Goldin books I have so far read, and you will really get drawn into this elaborate book as a result.

While the fantastic mystery and intriguing character-focused stories are great, I really must highlight Goldin’s entertaining take on the social media world as her protagonist attends an influencer convention at a glitzy beachside hotel.  It does not take long for the protagonist’s, and presumably the author’s, true feelings about the influencer crowd to emerge and there is a certain amount of amusing disdain there.  You really can’t help but laugh at Goldin’s mocking and somewhat over-the-top depictions of the typical social media stars’ day-to-day lives, including obsessively recording everything they do, exceedingly fake interactions, and hollow personal relationships.  Goldin really does not pull any punches here, which I personally deeply appreciated, and it added quite a humorous edge to the book, especially when combined with the protagonist’s exasperated reactions to the various scenarios she encounters.  Despite this somewhat critical edge, Goldin does include a lot of intriguing information about the community, such as the various types of influencers, their social makeup, the ins and outs of the trade, as well as the type of personalities that are attracted to the lifestyle.  There is even a quite nuanced take on several key influencers throughout the book, and it was quite compelling to see what sort of people they really are.  While this background setting is mostly entertaining and fun, it does serve quite a vital role in the story, and I felt that Goldin was able to weave quite an intriguing and unique mystery story around it.  This ended up being one of the best inclusions of the entire novel, and I really loved how Goldin made Dark Corners stand out even further with her clever, if slightly acerbic take, on social media personalities and their influence.

Overall, Dark Corners was another outstanding book from Megan Goldin, who continues to shine as one of Australia’s premier authors of thriller fiction.  Combing a clever mystery with an intriguing character focus and a unique background setting, Dark Corners was an addictive read from start to finish and I deeply enjoyed Goldin’s latest impressive novel.  Highly recommended!

Dark Corners Cover

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Red Winter by Marc Cameron (based on the series by Tom Clancy)

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller3 Comments

Red Winter Cover

Publisher: Sphere (Trade Paperback – 13 December 2022)

Series: Jack Ryan series

Length: 419 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for another adventure from classic spy thriller character Jack Ryan as Marc Cameron once again visits Tom Clancy’s iconic universe for an amazing read with Red Winter.

Now, I am the first to admit that I have more than a few gaps in my reading knowledge, especially when it comes to some of the classic, long-running crime fiction or thriller series.  Perhaps one of the most significant of these are the works of Tom Clancy, whose books, particularly those featuring protagonist Jack Ryan, are very highly regarded and have resulted in many films and other adaptations.  The Jack Ryan novels have continued for years, even after Clancy’s death, with several authors contributing great new stories to the wider series.  Well, I am about to dip my toe into Clancy’s universe for the first time by checking out the new Jack Ryan novel, Red Winter.  Written by established thriller author Marc Cameron, who has already contributed several recent entries to the series, Red Winter was an intriguing and enjoyable read with some great spy thriller elements to it.

Berlin, 1985.  The crushing stalemate of the Cold War continues as the East and the West engage in their usual espionage games.  The most valuable piece on the board is an apparent Stasi source embedded deep within the CIA, providing invaluable information to the East Germany intelligence agency.  However, the espionage balance is about to tip once again, when a young American embassy worker is handed a note in mysterious circumstances, apparently from a high-ranking member of the Stasi who wishes to defect to the West with a trove of information.

Unwilling to trust the CIA team in West Berlin, the traitor requests that a new face journey to East Berlin to discuss his upcoming defection.  Forced to look outside the box of their usual operatives, the CIA decide to send Jack Ryan to make contact.  Accompanied by a talented agent and shadowed by a deadly CIA killer, Ryan begins the dangerous journey to East Berlin to determine the legitimacy of their new source.  However, there are few places more dangerous for a CIA agent like Ryan than East Berlin, and he soon finds himself surrounded by tricky foreign agents, deadly assassins and desperate informers, all of whom pose a dire risk to Ryan and his mission.

However, the plan gets even more complicated when an experimental US military aircraft crashes down in the Nevada desert, right in front of an undercover Stasi agent.  Securing a vital piece of military hardware, the Stasi agent flees across America, aiming for an extraction by his masters while the FBI, Air Force and local police hunt for him.  Desperately needing information on the Stasi agent in America before it is too late, Ryan must work hard to bring the defector to their side and find out where the fugitive is going.  But with the KGB, Stasi, and the CIA traitor moving in for the kill, can Ryan escape East Berlin with the information he needs, or will the stolen technology allow the East to once again heat up the Cold War?

Red Winter was an excellent and highly exciting spy thriller novel that takes readers back to the classic Tom Clancy setting of Cold War Europe.  Marc Cameron has produced a very entertaining and compelling read here, and I was swiftly sucked into the awesome story.  The narrative itself has a lot of moving parts to it as Cameron focuses on several closely related storylines or character arcs at the same time.  While much of the focus is on Ryan and his comrades as they attempt to infiltrate East Berlin and make contact with the defector, you also get familiar with several other great characters in the vicinity.  This included the CIA mole, an East German singer who is being abused by a Stasi agent, members of the various spy agencies working on both sides of the Wall, and a deadly American operative who is shadowing Ryan to keep him alive.  The book also shows the hunt for the fugitive Stasi agent in America, who is attempting to flee with the stolen military equipment.  This American part of the book is further split between different perspectives, with the reader seeing events from the eyes of both the Stasi operative and the FBI agent hunting them.

These diverse storylines come together extremely well, and I really liked the interplay of different characters and plot lines in the second half of the book.  There are some great storylines going on throughout the plot, with my personal favourite being the compelling fugitive scenes in America.  The sequences set in Germany are also very intriguing, especially as Cameron provides some excellent descriptions of tradecraft and the various counterplays by the spies, as both sides battle it out for espionage supremacy.  I really appreciated the dark dive into life within East Germany during this period, and the compelling looks at several East German characters who are attempting to survive added some intensity to the book.  There is also an excellent look at the traitor with the CIA and their complex position and their reasons for betraying their country are an excellent part of the plot.  While the first half of the book is pretty intense, everything kicks up a notch once Ryan and his colleagues arrive in East Germany.  There are a ton of destructive and high-impact action sequences here which really get the blood pumping and keep the story going at a very fast pace.  I deeply enjoyed the cool action sequences, especially as Cameron does a great job of writing them realistically, showcasing the talent of the professionals and Ryan’s lack of fighting ability.  There are a few good twists towards the end and Cameron keeps the conclusion hopeful, but dark, highlighting that there are very few heroes in the Cold War.  Red Winter was an amazing and very fun spy thriller, and I loved how this compelling narrative came together.

I also had a lot of fun coming into to this series as a Tom Clancy newbie.  My only experience with Tom Clancy and the Jack Ryan books comes from some of the film adaptations, such as The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games.  However, I found that this was more than enough to enjoy Red Winter, and my lack of any real knowledge of Tom Clancy’s original books didn’t really hamper me at all.  While I am sure that I missed out on a bunch of clever throwbacks, Cameron did a great job of reintroducing all the key characters so that new readers can follow their storylines.  There are multiple references to some of the previous events that occurred canonically before the events of Red Winter, but none of them have any major impacts on the story, and I felt that any thriller fan could dive in here with a minimal amount of knowledge and still enjoy the fantastic story within.  Red Winter also apparently serves as a bridging novel between The Hunt for Red October and The Cardinal of the Kremlin, with Ryan meeting several of the supporting characters from The Cardinal of the Kremlin in advance here.  I felt that this was a very clever inclusion by Cameron, and fans of Clancy’s original work are going to love seeing some of the intriguing hints of the events that are to come.  This also ends up being the first canonical time that recurring character John Clark sees Jack Ryan, having travelled to Berlin to help him, although Cameron uses circumstance and training to make sure they don’t actually talk.  Personally, I thought this was a great introduction to the wider world of Clancy’s writings, and I will have to try and read some of his earlier works when I get a chance.

Overall, I had a wonderful time reading Red Winter and I really enjoyed Marc Cameron’s latest addition to Tom Clancy’s spy universe.  Cleverly adding to the well-established Jack Ryan series, Red Winter features some awesome spy action while perfectly showing off the dangers of Berlin during the Cold War for all spies and government agents.  Fast-paced, action-packed, and loaded with some classic Tom Clancy moments, Red Winter was an intriguing and captivating novel that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

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The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh

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The Accomplice Cover

Publisher: Orion (Trade Paperback – 26 July 2022)

Series: Eddie Flynn – Book Seven

Length: 323 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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The murder trial of the year is in session as brilliant legal thriller author Steve Cavanagh returns with his latest Eddie Flynn novel, The Accomplice.

Last year I had the great pleasure of reading a very fun and compelling thriller novel with The Devil’s Advocate, which was the sixth book in the Eddie Flynn series by talented author Steve Cavanagh.  I had heard of Cavanagh before last year, and indeed I already had a couple of his other books currently sitting on my to-read shelf, but this was the first real chance I had to read one of his novels.  I ended up being really impressed with The Devil’s Advocate, which pitted the series’ conman turned lawyer protagonist against a murderous southern prosecutor in a story that was wildly entertaining, extremely clever, and highly addictive.  As such, I have been rather eager to see what Cavanagh would write next, and his next book, The Accomplice, had been high on my upcoming books list for a while.  Well, I just received an advance copy of The Accomplice a couple of days ago and I immediately picked it up and started reading because it had such an awesome story idea behind it.

Carrie Miller is the most hated woman in America!  A seemingly normal and unassuming housewife, the world was shocked to discover that Carrie’s husband, Daniel Miller, was the notorious and brutal serial killer known as the Sandman.  After terrorising New York for months and killing 14 people, the Sandman suddenly vanished just as the police arrived to arrest him.  While the Sandman may have been gone, Carrie was still there, and everyone, including the police, FBI, media, and the entirety of America, believes that she knew about her husband’s crimes and helped to cover them up.

As the start of her trial begins, a desperate Carrie turns to the one defence attorney that could save her, former conman and legal genius Eddie Flynn.  Convinced of her innocence and determined to help, Flynn reluctantly takes on her case.  However, this will be the most difficult case of his life, as he must convince a jaded jury and the rest of the world that Carrie had no knowledge of her husband’s crimes and took no part in the murders.  But with Carrie already convicted by the media, and no evidence or witnesses that can back up her story, Eddie will have a real fight on his hands.

As Eddie prepares for the case, a dangerous new problem enters the picture.  After a lengthy absence, the Sandman has returned to New York, and he’s determined to save his wife from a life sentence.  Even with the police, FBI and rogue serial killer specialist Gabriel Lake on his tail, the Sandman begins a new reign of terror, targeting the prosecution’s witnesses and members of the FBI.  With the stakes higher than ever, can Eddie prove Carrie’s innocence before the killer strikes again or will he and everyone he cares about face the wrath of the Sandman?

Cavanagh hits it out of the park again, providing readers with a brilliant and intense thriller that is dark and fun at the same time.  Combining fantastic legal elements with a gripping psychological narrative about a dangerous killer, The Accomplice was another impressive read from Cavanagh that was well worth the wait.

This seventh Eddie Flynn novel has a really awesome and intense story to it that takes the reader on an impressive ride that is near impossible to stop.  Starting off with a great introduction to the case, the story quickly loops in Eddie Flynn and his team, while also bringing back the great villain in the Sandman.  Following some subsequent exposition and background to the case, Eddie gets into planning the defence, only to have a substantial shock hit him as the Sandman strikes in several different directions.  As the various characters attempt to deal with the issues surrounding the Sandman’s new attacks, Eddie is forced to defend his client in impossible circumstances as the trial starts.

Thanks to his great use of multiple character perspectives, which follows everyone including Eddie, his team, and even the Sandman himself, you get a great view of the events occurring throughout the book.  The middle of this impressive novel is filled with some excellent sequences depicting the killers’ current brutal actions, the desperate search for him that envelopes several main characters, and Flynn’s always impressive legal scenes.  I loved the awesome changes in tone and focus that occurred between these various chapters, and there is an intriguing and powerful contrast between the intensive cat-and-mouse games surrounding the killer and the more legal focused scenes.  All the perspectives come together in a big way towards the end of the book, and The Accomplice has a fantastic and wildly entertaining finale.  There are some pretty cool twists loaded up here and Cavanagh does a great job setting them up throughout the narrative.  I was kind of able to predict how one of the main ones would turn out, but I was pleasantly surprised by the other, and looking back it was cleverly set up and then hidden by the other secrets.  The author ends The Accomplice on a great note, and readers will come away wildly entertained and very impressed with how everything was so neatly wrapped up.

Cavanagh was in the zone when he was writing The Accomplice, and I deeply enjoyed how the entire story came together.  Like most of Cavanagh’s novels, the pacing in The Accomplice was spot on and the reader is never really given a chance to relax or put the novel down, which ensures that they try really hard to get through everything in one go (it worked on me).  There was an excellent blend of styles throughout The Accomplice, and Cavanagh once again did a great job of combining the darker subject matter of a disturbed killer, with the lighter scenes that focused on Eddie Flynn’s outrageous behaviour.  The scenes focused on the Sandman were particularly dark and gripping, especially as you get to see directly into his diseased mind, and the use of them throughout the novel really helped to amp up the drama and threat, while also moving the narrative along in some impressive directions.  Likewise, you get some intriguing and powerful character driven scenes from some of the other major characters, such as Flynn’s investigator Bloch and newcomer Gabriel Lake, as they get obsessed with finding the Sandman and bringing him to justice.

However, my personal favourite scenes in the book are those that deal more with the legal thriller aspects of the book.  I am always a sucker for a good legal battle in fiction, and Cavanagh, a man who knows a thing or two about the law, does a brilliant job of showcasing trials, legal prep work, and the formation of a defence case throughout his novels.  The court sequences scattered throughout the novel are very well written, and it was fascinating to see the author’s take on certain prosecution and defence strategies (some of the names for the strategies were quite amusing) as the protagonists do their darndest to blow a hole in the seemingly airtight case against their client.  I really loved how Cavanagh once again let Eddie go wild during the court case, and he uses all his knowledge and flair for the dramatic to manipulate the court in some inventive and often hilarious ways.  Most of Eddie’s appearances in the court are wildly entertaining, and his over-the-top shenanigans so much fun to behold, especially when he takes down every smug opponent and obstacle in a big way.  The author has a lot of fun setting up some of these events throughout the book, and it is really entertaining to see the protagonists coming up with their eccentric plans, as the hints about what they are going to do are left purposely vague to capture the reader’s attention.  I have so much love for Cavanagh’s ability to bring some wacky ideas into the court setting, and I can’t wait to see what convoluted and hilarious strategies the protagonist employs in any future books.

On top of the great story and distinctive sequences, Cavanagh also excels at character creation and development, which adds an extra impressive layer to the narrative.  The Accomplice features an interesting complement of characters, from the established cast of the previous books to some exceptional new figures whom the current case revolves around.  Naturally, most of the focus falls on the protagonist of Eddie Flynn, who is once again brought into an impossible case.  Flynn has another strong turn in The Accomplice and gets up to all his old tricks to win.  This results in quite a few entertaining and hilarious moments, and most of the book’s strong humour is because of Flynn’s more outrageous behaviours.  However, parts of this case do really get to Flynn and show that deep down he’s a good and flawed figure who lets his work dig into him.  Watching certain stresses and griefs take their hold on him really adds to the drama and intensity of the book, and I really appreciated how Cavanagh portrayed him throughout this latest novel.

On top of Eddie, the author brings back the central legal team, who are very strongly featured throughout this seventh book.  This includes Eddie’s mentor and advisor, Harry Ford, who continues to be a solid and calming presence for much of the book.  Harry serves as an excellent foil to the more outgoing Flynn, and they work well together as a team, especially during some scenes that see Harry have a bigger impact on the story than usual.  The other two key members of the staff are the firm’s other associate, young lawyer Kate Brooks and investigator Blotch, who are well utilised throughout The Accomplice.  Both bring something very different to the story, whether it be Kate’s relative innocence and determination to help wronged women, such as their client in this book, or Blotch’s investigative knowhow, capacity for violence, and general determination.  Both prove a good match for Flynn throughout this book, and I really liked the major impacts they have on the story, as it resulted in a much more varied and fun narrative.  There is also a great look at their strong friendship, which has lasted since childhood, and it was fun to see more examples of Blotch’s overprotective nature, especially when it comes to a thieving neighbour.

Finally, there are also some excellent new characters utilised in The Accomplice, who each bring something very different to the table.  Due to their stronger involvement with this particular case, be it suspect, perpetrator or hunter, Cavanagh does spend a bit more time introducing and developing these new characters than the existing cast, and you end up getting to know them extremely well.  This includes Flynn’s new client, Carrie Miller, the wife of the infamous Sandman, who finds herself under attack from pretty much the entire country in this book.  Carrie cuts a fascinating figure as a result, and while you are constantly wondering just how innocent she is, you get to see her at her most vulnerable as everyone she knows has turned against her.  I particularly enjoyed some of her insights (her choice of favourite film is excellent), and the journal entries that the author scatters throughout the novel really enhances her tale and gives greater context to her present actions.

In addition, Cavanagh also introduces the character of Gabriel Lake, a former FBI agent turned private investigator who specialises in catching serial killers.  A brilliant man with interesting ideas about the way to hunt killers which goes against the established theories of the FBI, Lake is an integral part of the plot, as he helps Flynn with his case in the hope of catching the Sandman.  However, there is also a deep well of anger within Lake, due to both his past and his personal connection to the Sandman case, and this becomes a major problem for the protagonists as the book goes on.  You never quite know what Lake’s motivations or intentions are, and he ends up adding an entire extra layer of complexity to an already twisty plot.

The final character I need to mention is the killer known as the Sandman.  While I won’t go into too much detail here about them to preserve some plot details, they serve as a sinister and threatening figure throughout the story, and their presence really impacts the events of the narrative.  Cavanagh goes out of his way to make the Sandman appear as deadly and deranged as possible, and it was fascinating to get a glimpse into his mind, especially as he truly believes that the Sandman is his true persona.  Watching him work his deadly skills in several disconcerting point of view chapters really adds to the intensity of the narrative, and he ended up being a particularly impressive literary villain.  I really had a great time with all these amazing and complex characters, be they old and new, and Cavanagh has once again really showcased his excellent skill when it comes to writing damaged people.

Unsurprisingly, I had a wonderful time with The Accomplice and Steve Cavanagh continues to impress me as one of the more entertaining thriller authors out there today.  This latest Eddie Flynn novel has all the series trademark flair as Cavanagh presents the reader with another unique and captivating case.  I loved how The Accomplice featured a great combination of a dark killer, hilarious legal scenes, a twisty thriller plot, and some well-established characters, which result in an incredible and addictive narrative.  A deeply enjoyable read, I really must go back and check out some of the earlier Eddie Flynn novels when I get a chance.  Highly recommended!

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Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery1 Comment

Nine Lives Cover

Publisher: Faber (Trade Paperback – 29 March 2022)

Series: Standalone

Length: 321 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare yourself for an engrossing and captivating mystery from the talented Peter Swanson, with the standalone read Nine Lives.

Back in 2020 I was lucky enough to receive a very cool book called Rules for Perfect Murders (also released as Eight Perfect Murders), written by a new-to-me author, Peter Swanson.  This fantastic novel focused on a bookshop owner who discovers that a blog list he wrote about the most perfect murders in crime fiction was being used as inspiration by a serial killer.  I deeply enjoyed this awesome concept, not only because it was very unique read that served as a fantastic love letter to multiple classic crime fiction authors/novels, but also because the idea of a killer using a blog post to plan their crimes appealed to me as a blogger (think of all the Star Wars themed murders you could plan if you used my lists as a basis for crime).  I ended up having a great time reading Rules for Perfect Murders and have been interested in reading more stuff from Swanson ever since.  I recently got the chance when I received a copy of his latest novel, Nine Lives, a few weeks ago, and I quickly jumped at the chance to read it, especially as it had another unique plot.

On a seemingly normal day, nine random strangers receive a mysterious envelope at their homes.  Each unmarked envelope is unremarkable except for its contents: a single sheet of paper with nine names typed upon it.  None of the recipients recognise any of the names upon the sheets, except their own, and are baffled by the seemingly random piece of mail.  Most assume it to be an advertisement scam or a silly prank and start to go about their day, forgetting about the strange letter they received.  However, one of the recipients, an old man in Maine, is brutally killed the moment he receives his letter.

As the local police and FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who herself received one of these letters, attempt to investigate and discover the connection between the names, another person on the list is killed, this time in Massachusetts.  Quickly determining that the others on the list are at risk, the FBI jumps in and tries to protect the potential victims, but they soon discover they are facing off against an extremely clever murderer capable of killing their victims in elaborate ways.  But why is he targeting these specific people?

Desperate to find the identity of the killer before everyone on the list ends up dead, the investigators and the potential victims each attempt to find the connection between themselves.  However, it appears that they have nothing in common, as they live across the country from each other and have a range of jobs and backgrounds.  The truth behind the killings lies in a dark place, and the lengths the killer will go to for their revenge will rock everyone to their core.

This was a great murder mystery novel from Swanson, who really amped up the twists and turns to create a compelling and intriguing read.  Nine Live’s story starts off with the various characters each receiving the relevant list with their names on it in several short chapters told from their relevant perspectives, and I found this interesting introduction to be good way to grab the reader’s attention.  From there you start to get to know the characters in some detail, except for a couple of people on the list who are efficiently and systematically killed off.  This serves as a pretty good basis for this story, and I loved getting to know the various characters, as well as seeing the cool and clever investigation angle that forms around it as the FBI attempt to find the killer.  Swanson sets the entire narrative/mystery up extremely well, and there are some very clever moments at the start as important clues and hints are laid down for the observant reader.

The first few kills come quick to set the rest of the characters into a panic, and once you get to the third or fourth person on the list you start to have an idea of what the killer is after.  I felt that the novel started to get really good towards its centre, as there are some big surprises as certain events really did not turn out the way I expected.  Once a particularly massive and game-changing twist occurred, I was absolutely hooked and I honestly powered through the remainder of the novel extremely quickly.  The following plot falls into place extremely well, and I loved seeing the entire mystery unfold, especially as Swanson keeps the twists coming as more of the characters you get to know are targeted by the killer.  While I was able to see elements of the solution from a distance, I was pleasantly surprised by several reveals towards the end, and I really appreciated how well Swanson set everything up throughout the novel.  The book comes to an excellent end reminiscent of a certain classic crime novel, and readers will come away very satisfied with how this standalone read turned out.  I did think that Swanson went a twist too far, as a big reveal in the last four pages was completely unnecessary and the book would have honestly been better if the author had just left it out.  Still, this was a really impressive and fun mystery, and I had an absolutely brilliant time getting through it.

There are a lot of fun elements to this book that really help enhance the story and turn Nine Lives into an excellent read.  However, my favourite is probably the way that Swanson turns it into a massive homage to a specific classic murder mystery novel.  While I won’t reveal which one, I will say that Swanson did an extremely good job of utilising its iconic elements throughout Nine Lives.  Just like he did in Rules for Perfect Murders, Swanson provides a detailed examination of this classic novel through his character’s eyes, especially once they themselves start to realise the similarities between it and their own situation.  These similarities are slightly more subtle at the start of the book, but by the time you get to the end the homages are very striking and cleverly tie into some of Nine Lives’ big moments.  These intriguing connections and clever recycling of story and writing elements from this iconic crime fiction novel worked really well in Nine Lives, and I felt that it complemented the rest of Swanson’s story perfectly, helping to turn it into a particularly great read.  Swanson also throws in some references and discussions about similar notable mystery novels at various parts of Nine Lives to throw the author around and to highlight his passion for the classics.  I love how the author takes the time to reference his personal favourites in his own works, and hardcore crime fiction fans and aficionados of classic murder mystery novels will no doubt have a blast seeing how Swanson utilises parts from a famous novel throughout Nine Lives.

I also loved the fantastic characters contained within Nine Lives, and Swanson achieves quite a lot with them.  Even though there are 10 or more point of view protagonists in a relatively short novel, Swanson ensures that each character stands out.  I felt that each protagonist was set up extremely well and they have their own quirks and back stories.  You swiftly get to know all the main characters as the book progresses, even with the quick changes between perspectives, and once you have made a good dent into the book, the reader finds themselves getting attached to several of them.  There are some great character arcs featured throughout the novel, and I liked how these distinctive characters came together and interacted.  The focus on FBI agent Jessica Winslow, herself a person on the list, works to set up the investigative angle of the novel, and her storyline goes in some very interesting directions.  I also quite enjoyed the intriguing storyline around Ethan Dart and Caroline Geddes, who meet because of the list and form a moving, if inevitably tragic, relationship.  The antagonist is also set up brilliantly throughout the novel and I found their motivations and methods to be expertly portrayed and explored as the narrative continues.  None of these characters are perfect or particularly have their life together, and it fascinating to see how a random list of names can change this for better, or more likely, for worse.  Swanson really does some great character work in Nine Lives, just don’t get too attached as your favourites may not survive.

Peter Swanson continues his entertaining and unique blend of crime fiction with the extremely clever and highly addictive Nine Lives.  Featuring a compelling, wide-ranging mystery and some brilliant references to classic murder mysteries, Nine Lives proves to be highly entertaining and memorable read, and I really had fun getting through it.  A great novel to fulfil all your murder mystery needs, Nine Lives comes highly recommended and will not disappoint.

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Quick Review – Falling by T. J. Newman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Quick Review, Thriller1 Comment

Falling Cover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Trade Paperback – 6 July 2021)

Series: Standalone

Length: 290 pages

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Prepare to never feel safe on a plane again after reading the exciting debut thriller from author T. J. Newman, Falling.

Synopsis:

You just boarded a flight to New York.

There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard.

What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped.

For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die.

The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.


Falling is an intense and exhilarating novel with an intriguing plot idea about a pilot being blackmailed into crashing a plane.  This was the very first novel from author T. J. Newman, a real-life flight attendant, who cleverly utilises knowledge from her career to produce this exciting read.  I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Falling a little while ago, and I managed to power through it in a few short days thanks to its compelling and fast-paced narrative.

I was a fairly hooked with Falling’s story from the very beginning thanks to a very memorable opening line: “When the shoe dropped into her lap the foot was still in it”.  This great line, despite being part of a somewhat unexplained dream sequence, and it does a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the novel.  The story proper gets off to a great start, with the entire scenario set up quickly and the danger to the plane shown in short order.  The book swiftly splits into several separate storylines for the pilot, the pilot’s family, the kidnapper, a flight attendant marshalling the passengers in the back of the plane, and the FBI agent attempting to save the victims.  This mixture of different perspectives produces a rich and intense narrative, and it was great to see the various parts of this dark situation.  This is a very fast-paced narrative with no slow moments at all, at Newman adds in some great twists and turns as the story continues.  There is a great blend of action in the air and action on the ground as the various characters attempts to come to terms with the situation and either save the plan or the pilot’s family.  This all leads up to a big, exciting climax, with the various storylines coming to a great end.  I enjoyed the fantastic story featured in Falling, especially as it was anchored to a compelling cast of characters.  The motivations for the kidnapper were very interesting and well set up, and it was great to see who else was involved in the case.  Some of the supporting characters, such as the sassy attendant known as Big Daddy, were quite entertaining, and Newman ended up wrapping some awesome storylines around them.  This great story really grabs your interest and attention.

A major thing that I really appreciated about Falling was the amazing amount of detail about planes, flight procedure, and the duties and responsibilities of pilots and cabin crew that Newman added to the story.  The author made exceptional use of her experiences in her career to give these parts of the book some impressive realism, and you really get a sense of what it is actually like up in the plane.  This is particularly true when it came to the parts of the book revolving around the hijacking and potential crash, as Newman, who has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about the subject (which admittedly is a tad concerning for a flight attendant), does a great job detailing all the counter procedures and issues involved.  These fascinating bits of insider information are worked into the story extremely well, enhancing the various thrilling scenes and ensuring that the reader is immersed even more into the narrative.

Overall, Falling is an outstanding and exciting thriller debut that is definitely worth checking out.  Author T. J. Newman did a great job on her first novel, and I had an excellent time getting through the fantastic story.  I really enjoyed the author’s amazing use of her own knowledge and experiences throughout the story, especially as they helped to create a memorable and clever story.  I look forward to seeing what Newman writes in the future, especially after enjoying the captivating and electrifying Falling.

Fool Me Twice by Jeff Lindsay

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller3 Comments

Fool Me Twice Cover

Publisher: Orion (Trade Paperback – 8 December 2020)

Series: Riley Wolfe – Book Two

Length: 357 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Superstar thriller writer Jeff Lindsay presents his second entry in the awesome Riley Wolfe series, Fool Me Twice, which sees a master thief attempt to pull off a truly impossible heist.

Riley Wolfe is the world’s greatest thief and heist artist, able to steal the most heavily guarded artefacts and treasures no matter their security or value.  However, he is about to face a task that may prove to be too difficult even for him to accomplish after he is kidnapped at the end of his latest heist and taken to a desolate remote island.  His kidnapper, the world’s most dangerous and powerful arms dealer, wants Riley to steal one of the world’s greatest artworks, The Liberation of St. Peter by Raphael.  Unfortunately for Riley, The Liberation of St. Peter is a fresco, a massive painting plastered onto a wall in the interior of the Vatican.

Despite how ridiculous the job appears to be, Riley has no choice but to accept it, especially as his refusal would result in a prolonged and painful death.  With his head still spinning over the impossibility of the task in front of him, Riley’s life becomes even more complicated when he is kidnapped a second time by another deadly arms dealer.  His new kidnapper offers Riley the chance to double-cross his first employer in exchange for the life of Monique, Riley’s close associate and love interest.

Caught between two deadly opponents, each of whom would not hesitate to kill everyone Riley knows and cares about, Riley finds himself in the ultimate no win scenario.  Determined to survive no matter the cost, Riley begins to come up with a new plan that could save his and Monique’s lives, even if it does mean attracting the attention of an old rival in the FBI.  But in order for his plan to succeed, Riley and Monique will need to achieve the impossible and steal the fresco from the Vatican.  Can the legendary Riley Wolfe pull of his greatest heist yet, or has he finally met a caper too insane for even him?

Fool Me Twice is an exciting and addictive thriller novel from Jeff Lindsay, the author best known for the murderous Dexter series.  Following the conclusion of his Dexter books, Lindsay has started writing a brand-new series which focuses on a whole new criminal protagonist, Riley Wolfe.  The Riley Wolfe series follows the titular character as he engages in a series of elaborate and high-stakes heists around the world.  The first entry in this series, Just Watch Me, was a fantastic and fun novel which saw the protagonist steal a major treasure that was under the protection of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.  I absolutely loved Just Watch Me and I have been extremely eager to check out the second entry in this series for some time.  I am very glad that I received a copy of this book and I ended up really enjoying Fool Me Twice due to its entertaining and thrilling story.

Just like the first entry in the Riley Wolfe series, Fool Me Twice was an exciting and enjoyable romp that sees its complex protagonist attempt to pull off an incredible heist.  Lindsay has come up with a pretty epic scenario revolving around an impossible art heist within the Vatican, which by itself would be fun to read.  However, this time Riley also has to contend with the competing interests of two ruthless arms dealers who are using him as a pawn for their deadly game.  This proved to be a fantastic and compelling thriller story that is extremely easy to read and fall in love with.  The author does an excellent job setting up the entire plot, and the protagonist is forced into a high-stakes, no-win scenario pretty early on in the book.  The rest of the story then deals with Riley trying to extricate himself from this situation through a vast range of manipulations, tricks, third-person interference and the impossible heist with a twist.  This all comes together quite well into an enjoyable and intricate narrative, and I love the various places that the author took the story.  There are some great surprises and reveals throughout the novel, and the readers are constantly left on the edge of their seats as they try to figure out what is going to happen next.  I particularly loved the cool heist that formed the centre of this story, and Lindsay did a good job delivering on this amazing premise with a great plan and a clever conclusion.  While I was able to predict how part of the heist would go, I was a little surprised about the full plan, and it was really cool to see the entire thing unfold.  Overall, this proved to be an amazing and exciting narrative, and I really enjoyed seeing the various twists and turns that the author was able to weave into the story.

One of the most distinctive elements about this series is the protagonist, Riley Wolfe, the master thief whose exploits the novels follow.  Riley is an interesting figure who, on the exterior, appears to be a brilliant Robin-Hood-esque figure, stealing from the rich, who he has a pathological hatred of.  However, it does not take long for the reader to work out that Riley is pretty much a pure arsehole with psychopathic tendencies.  Nearly everything Riley did in this novel annoyed me to a certain degree as he manipulates, insults or flat out murders everyone he comes into contact with.  While the author utilises a number of different perspectives throughout Fool Me Twice, Lindsay makes sure to write all of Riley’s chapters from the first-person perspective, ensuring that the reader gets a look into his mind as he works.  While this does help to redeem the character in some ways, especially as you get a hint about how much he cares about his mother or Monique, the unfiltered thoughts running through his head mostly make you dislike the character even more.  Pure arrogance rains off the page every time Riley’s perspective is shown, and you get a real sense of how high an opinion the guy has of himself.  Worse, you also see how much of a psychopath that Riley truly is as he murders several people throughout the novel, often in quite brutal ways.  While perhaps one or two of his victims deserved their fates, most definitely did not, they were merely in Riley’s way, for which he makes no apologies.  Instead he merely offers up some half-arsed rationalisations, most of which are usually along the lines that the victim was rich, so they deserved to suffer.  All of this makes Riley Wolfe a very hard character to root for, and I think this is what the author intended.  The reader becomes addicted to the narrative, not because they want him to succeed (if only to save his friends), but because that are hoping that he fails in some way and gets his long-deserved comeuppance.  I personally think this is a great writing choice from Lindsay, which makes for an excellent read; it is always fun to see a book told from a villain’s perspective, even if said villain is a dick.  I look forward to seeing what the character gets up to in the next book, which will no doubt irritate me to some degree.

Fool Me Twice is filled with a great collection of supporting characters, pretty much all of whom become worse off after meeting the protagonist.  The most notable of these is returning character Monique, Riley’s costumer, art forger and strongly unrequited love interest.  Monique gets a lot more involved in the plot of Fool Me Twice than she did in the first novel, with circumstances forcing her to take an active role in the heist.  You really can’t help but feel sorry for Monique throughout this novel, as she gets into all manner of trouble thanks to Riley and has to constantly deal with his bad behaviour and condescending attitude.  Thanks to the author portraying her as an out-of-her-depth and terrified art genius, she is the main reason you hope that Riley succeeds, although she still ends up going through a lot of bad stuff in this book.  In addition to Monique, Fool Me Twice also sees the return of Special Agent Frank Delgado, the brilliant FBI agent who is obsessed with capturing Riley.  Despite his somewhat odd and dedicated personality, Delgado is another character you find yourself rooting for, mainly because you hope he finally catches up with his white whale and arrests him.  Delgado has another interesting arc in this novel, which sees his obsession with Riley become a useful tool for several other characters in the novel, and I imagine we will be seeing a lot more of him in future entries in the series (although I imagine Riley will eventually end up killing him).

There are several intriguing new characters featured throughout the novel.  These new characters are generally only featured for a few chapters and are mostly used as outside witnesses to Riley’s heist methods, which help to keep the readers guessing at how he is actually pulling it off.  The main antagonists of the novel are an interesting bunch.  I was not the biggest fans of the two competing arms dealers, although their rivalry and manipulation of Riley helped to create a very interesting plot scenario.  I personally quite liked the character of Bernadette, one of the arms dealer’s bodyguards, who was essentially a female Terminator.  Bernadette is a particularly intimidating woman, who manages to consistently put Riley in his place and ensure that he is nowhere near as cocky as he usually is, and she ends up being an extremely dangerous and relentless antagonist.  If I had to complain about any of the characters it would probably be the mysterious Betty/Evelyn, who becomes an ally of Riley.  I felt that this character was severely underdeveloped; despite seeing several scenes from her perspective as she plays a key role in the plot, you end up knowing very little about her or what she does.  While part of this is due to the character constantly changing identities, I do think that the author could have explored her more or explained her role in the heist better, although perhaps this lack of identity will come into play in a future Riley Wolfe novel.

Fool Me Twice by Jeff Lindsay was a fantastic and captivating read that sees the author’s new antihero, Riley Wolfe, engage in a more heist-based shenanigans.  This second Riley Wolfe novel had an excellent and fun story that was really easy to enjoy and which was enhanced by several great characters, including one unlikeable main protagonist.  I had an amazing time getting through this cool book and it is definitely recommended for anyone interested in an exciting and compelling thriller.  I look forward to seeing what unique heist situation Lindsay comes up with in his next book, but I am sure it will be something extremely memorable and really fun.

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Hideout by Jack Heath

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller13 Comments

Hideout Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 1 December 2020)

Series: Timothy Blake – Book Three

Length: 406 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Australian bestselling author Jack Heath brings back his cannibalistic protagonist, Timothy Blake, for another gruesome adventure in Hideout.

Timothy Blake, occasional FBI consultant and full-time murderous cannibal, is on the run, convinced that his former employers are close to capturing him for his unfortunate habit.  With nothing to lose, Blake decides to take out one final target and travels to a house in rural Texas where Fred, the ringleader of a group of dark web torture video producers, lives.  However, his plan to kill and consume Fred quickly goes out the window when he finds out that this target is not alone.

Fred has gathered five of his cohorts, known as the Guards, each of whom makes a living off torturing, extorting and killing people on the dark web.  Pretending to be an online associate of the Guards who is in trouble, Blake manages to con his way into the house, convincing them that he is a just as twisted as they are.  His subsequent plan to pick off his new companions one by one seems like a winner, until one of the Guard turns up dead by someone else’s hands.

It soon becomes apparent to Blake that another killer is stalking his new hideout, one who is determined to keep their secrets no matter what.  With his cover likely to be blown at any second and his ravenous hunger for human flesh threatening to overwhelm him, Blake needs to find a way to survive and overwhelm his companions.  However, the discovery of a group of desperate people chained up in the building behind the house complicates everything, especially when the Guards’ latest victim arrives.  Can Blake take out this group of psychopaths before he is picked off by another killer, or has this cannibal finally met his match?

Hideout is a fun and compelling novel from Canberran author Jack Heath, who has once again come up with an exciting adventure for his distinctive protagonist.  Heath is a well-established author who primarily made a name for himself with young adult and children’s thriller fiction, such as his Six of Hearts, The Liars, The Danger and The Scream series.  However, Heath has also branched off into adult thrillers with his Timothy Blake novels.  The Timothy Blake series started in 2018 with the first entry, Hangman, and it follows its dysfunctional cannibal protagonist as he investigates a series of different and thrilling mysteries.  Hideout is the third entry in this series and is set shortly after the events of the second novel, Hunter (which was also released under the title Just One Bite).  This is actually first Jack Heath novel that I have read, and while I was deeply intrigued by the previous Timothy Blake books, I did not get a chance to grab a copy.  However, I really enjoyed Hideout and I am definitely going to go out of my way to obtain any additional novels Heath writes in the future.

This third Timothy Blake book proved to be quite an impressive and compelling read, as the protagonist finds himself trapped with six other psychopaths, each of whom torture and kill people online for a living.  This proves to be quite an intriguing scenario, as this bold protagonist bluffs his way into the house and plots various ways to kill them.  However, the whole scenario inevitably gets out of hand, and Blake finds himself having to investigate the murder of one of the killers he is trapped with.  This results in an excellent story and I loved the blend of mystery, great interactions, and the character’s attempts to keep his cover, especially as Heath also throws in a little commentary about current society (some of which is exceedingly relevant, particularly this week).  I really liked where the author took his awesome story, and all the various twists, revelations and surprising actions made for quite a compelling and thrilling read.  I especially loved all the excellent foreshadowing that the author utilised, as nearly every stray thought or memory from the protagonist came into play somewhere later in the book.  The story is extremely fast paced, and readers should be able to power through it in short order, especially once they get wrapped up in the captivating narrative.  I also appreciated how easy it was for those people unfamiliar with the previous Timothy Blake novels to read Hideout, as Heath has made it quite accessible, with all the key elements from the previous books explained in sufficient detail.  Naturally, as this is a novel about a cannibal living undercover with dark web torturers, this is a particularly dark book and people who have issues with torture, gruesome killings and cannibalism might want to avoid it.  Overall, this was an amazing narrative, and I had a fantastic and exhilarating time getting through it.

I quite enjoyed the damaged and intriguing protagonist that was Timothy Blake, and it was rather fun following the adventures of a cannibal.  While there are some obvious parallels to Dexter in this character as a killer who target criminals, I felt that Blake was distinctive enough in his own right and he ended up being an interesting character to set a book around.  I really enjoyed seeing the entire narrative unfold from his perspective as the character adds some intriguing elements to the story.  There is something desperate and feral in this character that translates off the page, and he is haunted by some of the events from the previous novels, especially as he believes that his freedom or life is nearly over.  While the origins of his cannibalistic tendencies are not really covered in Hideout (I assume that they are detailed in prior books), you do get an idea of this character’s troubled past and how he helped as an FBI consultant.  Despite being a killer and unrepentant flesh eater, Blake is constantly trying to be a good person, and it was fascinating to see him try to save certain lives while plotting the deaths of the various members of the Guards.  Blake also proves to be a canny investigator and trickster even though his formal education is rather lacking, managing to fool the people he lives with while also solving the curious mysteries that Heath came up with.  I loved the cannibalistic side of the protagonist and it was quite amusing to see him considering the various people and corpses he encounters, wondering about how much meat he could get off them and how likely he could get away with eating.  This hunger proves to be an interesting driving force for Blake throughout the book, especially as, to maintain his cover, he has to consume a vegetarian diet, which messes with his mind a little.  I also enjoyed the way in which Heath is clearly not amazingly attached to his protagonist, as Blake goes through some stuff which changes him in some substantial ways.  I ended up really liking this complex and enjoyable character and I look forward to seeing what his future adventures entail, especially as Heath sets up an interesting potential story arc for the next book.

Heath has also filled up Hideout with some other compelling characters who stay on the property with Blake for most of the book.  The most prominent of these are the members of the Guards, the six psychopaths who video themselves torturing people to make money.  While on the surface all of these characters are despicable, Heath spends time examining each of their personalities and histories, fleshing them out and showing that their various motivations are a lot more complex than initially believed.  This helps to create a richer story, especially as each of the characters have their own unique secrets that come into play throughout the narrative and ensure a much more complex mystery for Blake to solve, as well as adding in some compelling connections to the protagonist.  There is also a further group of characters on the property who are a major part of the book’s plot.  Like the members of the Guards, there is more to these characters than initially appears, and their plight is a rather intriguing ethical inclusion to the story.  One of these characters is featured quite significantly throughout the book due to their prior connections to Blake, and it was fascinating to see the massively negative impacts of Blake’s interactions with them.  All of this results in quite a character-rich narrative, and I quite enjoyed seeing how some of the arcs played out and how the protagonist interacted with them.

Hideout by Australian author Jack Heath ended up being a fun and compelling novel, and I had an amazing time reading it.  Heath makes excellent use of his unique protagonist, inventive plot scenario and fast-paced story to create an awesome thriller that readers can easily enjoy and get through quickly.  While a bit gruesome in places, this is an undoubtedly entertaining thriller that readers are going to have fun getting through.  I look forward to seeing how the Timothy Blake series continues in the future, and the next book should be a fantastic and exhilarating ride.

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