Tag: Murder

The Outsider by Stephen King

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Horror, Thriller, Throwback Thursday12 Comments

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton/Simon and Schuster Audio (Audiobook – 22 May 2018)

Series: Standalone/Holly Gibney series

Length: 18 hours and 41 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After years of having it on my to-read list, I finally got around to checking out The Outsider by Stephen King, and boy was it a particularly epic book.

Fans of this blog will know that I have been getting more and more into Stephen King lately, especially as I have been lucky enough to receive copies of his more recent books.  I have so far deeply enjoyed Mr Mercedes, Later, Billy Summers (one of my favourite books of 2021), Fairy Tale, Holly (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), and You Like it Darker (one of my favourite books from the first half of 2024).  These have all been amazing reads in their own way and I really enjoyed the elaborate stories, dark plots, and complex characters that King comes up with.  However, one of my new favourite King novels with a captivating scenario was the fantastic read The Outsider.

Released back in 2018, The Outsider was an intriguing novel that really caught my attention with its unique concept.  I immediately identified it as a book I wanted to read, but I was unable to fit it into my reading schedule back then, which I deeply regret now.  Despite not reading it when came out, The Outsider remained firmly in mind, especially as it had connections to the Bill Hodges trilogy, which I had also heard good things about.  This need to check out The Outsider was dramatically increased after I read Holly last year and was blown away by the elaborate and exceedingly dark story.  As such, I have been looking for an opportunity to enjoy The Outsider for a while, and a recent road trip gave me all the excuse I needed, and boy was I glad that I did.

It is the worst crime to ever occur in the history of Flint City.  A young boy, Frankie Peterson, has been brutally killed, raped and mutilated, his violated body left on display out in the local park.  The Flint City police, led by detective Ralph Anderson, are determined to find the monster responsible for Frankie Peterson’s death, and they soon zero in on a prime suspect, local sports coach and one of Flint City’s most respected citizens, Terrence Maitland.

With unassailable evidence and numerous witnesses placing him at the scene, the police have a watertight case against Maitland, and Anderson orders the public arrest of the coach in front of his family, friends, and the entire town.  However, despite the DNA, fingerprints, and numerous reliable witnesses indicating that Maitland killed Frankie, Maitland insists that he is innocent and has an airtight alibi for the time of the murder, having been in a major public conference in another city, surrounded by unimpeachable witnesses.

Determined to prove that Maitland committed the murder, Anderson and his colleagues attempt to destroy his alibi.  But the further they dig, the more apparent it becomes that Maitland was nowhere near the scene of the crime, and Anderson begins to believe Maitland’s pleas of innocence.  With lives being destroyed all around him and the citizens of Flint City baying for Maitland’s blood, Anderson is forced to figure out how a man can be in two places at once.  But when the situation takes a dark turn, both Anderson and Maitland’s supporters call in unusual investigator Holly Gibney, whose own experience with impossible cases will take them in the darkest of directions.

Well damn, that was particularly awesome.  I knew I was going to love The Outsider well before I read it, but even I was unprepared for how impressive and captivating this novel proved to be.  Featuring King’s typical elaborate storytelling, powerful characters, and unique insights into the human mind, The Outsider was a complex and sinister read that will have you hooked from the very beginning and which gets a very easy five-star rating from me.

King presents the reader with an incredibly, dark, complex and thoughtful narrative that burrows into your head and refuses to leave.  Starting off strong and proceeding into darker and more horror-lined territory, this complex narrative sucked me in almost instantly thanks to the very impressive initial story concept.  Introducing a particularly gruesome murder, The Outsider starts off in crime fiction/legal thriller territory, as King showcases the details of the initial arrest of Terrence Maitland, while also bringing in a few key characters.  These early chapters are cleverly offset by a series of short inclusions that showcase police interviews and forensic evidence for the main investigation, all of which firmly paints Maitland as the killer.  However, events take an outstanding turn shortly into the book, when Maitland reveals an impossibly airtight alibi that flies in the face of the substantial evidence of the police.  The full extent of this alibi is particularly compelling, especially with King name-dropping one of his peers, and it really turns the entire plot on its head.  The subsequent scenes are extremely intriguing, as the reader sees both sides of the case, and find themselves wondering if Maitland committed the crime, is completely innocent, or whether something far more sinister is going on.  I honestly love every second of this first half of The Outsider, and I cannot emphasise just how exceptional and thought-provoking this complex scenario proved to be.

At around the halfway point, The Outsider features a substantial moment that changes the entire tone and focus of the plot.  While I was initially a little disappointed with this, mainly because I was already loving the direction the story had been going up to that point, it helps turn The Outsider into a more typical King novel, loaded with complex horror elements that reflect dark human nature.  The author also deeply enhances the story’s emotional drama, placing several characters in terrible situations, and amping up the desperate tragedy of the plot.  Thanks to the introduction of recurring King protagonist Holly Gibney, the protagonists start to consider a more unnatural solution to the crime and begin to investigate accordingly.  I quite enjoyed the dive into the darker, supernatural side of the story, and the resulting investigation is quite unique, requiring the grounded protagonists to believe in the unknown.  King ensures that the supernatural investigation elements of the book come across in a compelling and sensible manner, and it was intriguing to see how the character’s reached their conclusions.  The case eventually leads the protagonists on an extended trip to Texas, which ends with a series of showdowns.  King keeps the intensity of the plot going all the way to the very end, and readers will be left guessing about who’s going to survive and how the story will unfold.  The chase for the culprit and the big showdown were a very solid conclusion to the entire narrative, and you will come away extremely satisfied with how The Outsider ended.

I really enjoyed how this book came together, and I personally think that this was one of the stronger King novels I have so far had the pleasure of reading.  A lot of this comes down to the initial clever scenario, which King does an extremely good job of setting up.  The whole idea of someone accused of a crime they are innocent of and have a perfect alibi for really makes you think, and King utilises it to perfection, diving into the thoughts of the police, the alleged perpetrator, and the various family members associated with it.  It helped that King once again returned to his favourite setting of a small American town, and he was able to capture the resulting chaos as rumour and fear spread throughout Flint City.  You can really feel the emotional turmoil of all the people in the town, especially the main characters, and it helped to deeply enhance the impact of every scene, especially when you have no idea whether Maitland committed the crime or not.  The way in which the author starts off as a more traditional crime fiction story also works extremely well and helps to drag the readers into the plot with its mystery.  However, the transition over to horror is particularly effective, and the way in which the darkness infecting the plot goes from that created by ordinary humans to something more supernatural, is an effective and powerful part of the book.  This proved to be a particularly haunting and moving read that will keep you up late at night thinking about how you would react in the exact same scenario.

While most of King’s books prove to be standalone reads, The Outsider is connected to the author’s previous Bill Hodges series due to the inclusion of a major supporting character.  I had heard in advance that readers needed to be familiar with the Bill Hodges books to fully appreciate this book, however, I felt that The Outsider stood on its own merits as a standalone novel.  New readers can easily dive into The Outsider’s excellent story without any issues and will become enthralled in King’s complex mystery and his excellent depictions of human nature.  Established fans of the Bill Hodges books will probably get the most out of The Outsider, especially as it is a continuation of King’s unique look at the crime fiction genre, and the return of a key character offers a lot of opportunities for those who loved his previous trilogy.  However, I would say that this is a book that pretty much all mystery, thriller or horror fans can really enjoy, as there is something for everyone here, although some readers should be warned about how dark and graphic this story can get.

I really need to highlight the outstanding character work that King featured within The Outsider.  This fantastic book featured a rich cast of complex small-town characters who find themselves caught up the twisted darkness of a small child’s murder and the subsequent revelations about who was behind it.  King does such an exceptional job of diving into the various mindscapes of the impacted characters, from the obsessed investigating detective who is taking the case personally, to the distressed wife of the apparent killer, and even the confused accused himself.  The complicated mindscapes of all these characters, and more, are shown in exquisite detail throughout The Outsider, and you really grow attached to their powerful personal tales.

While I don’t want to go into too much specific detail about the book’s primary cast here for spoiler reasons, I will say that the way the various characters deal with events and the many dark twists makes for quite a personal and emotionally charged read, and it was fascinating to watch so many characters try to let go of their conventional thinking and try to see the world in a different light.  I also must highlight the intriguing way in which King enhances his cast in the second half of The Outsider by bringing in investigator Holly Gibney from the Bill Hodges trilogy.  Holly, the slightly unusual but brilliant private eye, proved to be a compelling addition to the plot, and it proved very interesting to see her interact with the established cast, especially as Holly has a much more open mind due to her previous experiences.  Fans of the Bill Hodges books will really love seeing Holly return, and her compelling character development since her original appearance in Mr Mercedes proves to be a great part of the book.  I really cannot emphasise just how impressive the various characters, as well as their complex development, is in The Outsider, and you will have to check it out.  Be warned though, no one comes out of this book unscathed, including the reader when they become attached to these great figures.

As I mentioned above, I managed to enjoy The Outsider while out on a road trip, which meant that I listened to the audiobook version of it.  I have had some great success with Stephen King audiobooks in the past, and The Outsider was another impressive example of how this format can enhance the powerful story within.  Coming in with a substantial runtime of nearly 19 hours, listeners do require a bit of a time investment for The Outsider audiobook, but it is well worth it.  I felt that I got a fantastic sense of the story while listening to it, and I love the intense depictions of the characters, the small-town setting, and the dark deeds being done within.

In addition to the great way it brings to the story to life for the reader, one of the big highlights of The Outsider audiobook was the inclusion of veteran actor Will Patton as the narrator.  Patton, who has lent his voice to several of King’s previous audiobooks, does an outstanding job narrating The Outsider.  His softly spoken and measured voice really fits the dark and sinister story contained within The Outsider, and you get an excellent sense of the personal horror and complex emotions that the events of this book unleash.  Patton also does an outstanding job voicing the eclectic and damaged characters featured within The Outsider.  Patton infected many of these characters with his southern accent, which fit the small-town vibe of The Outsider extremely well, and you can really imagine King’s characters a lot better with Patton’s voice behind them.  Highlights for me include his take on the antagonist of The Outsider’s real voice, as well as an entertaining old lady found down in Texas, who steals all the scenes she’s in, especially with Patton’s exaggerated tones.  However, I did feel that Patton overplayed the awkward nature of Holly Gibney when she entered the plot.  Patton made all of Holly’s dialogue, as well as the description of events in the chapters told from her perspective, very subdued and halting, which messed with the flow of the audiobook.  While I know that he was trying to capture Holly’s ethereal and damaged nature with this narration, it was honestly a bit distracting.  Despite this slight annoyance, this ended up being an awesome way to enjoy The Outsider and I can personally guarantee that it is an incredible accompaniment to a long road-trip.

Overall, The Outsider proved to an outstanding and exceptional book from the always impressive Stephen King that I could not get enough off.  Featuring both an incredible mystery and some brilliant dark horror moments, The Outsider is a particularly gripping and intense read that will live rent free in the dark corners of your brain.  Highly recommended and one of my new favourite Stephen King books.

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Waiting on Wednesday – A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. In my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a particularly awesome upcoming fantasy novel with the gripping second entry in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett.

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Earlier this year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the captivating novel, The Tainted Cup, by veteran fantasy author Robert Jackson Bennett.  An intriguing fantasy murder mystery set in a realm beset by giant monsters, The Tainted Cup was an outstanding read that saw two unlikely investigators, including an eccentric genius and her grounded assistant, attempt to discover the truth behind a brutal death caused by a tree spontaneously growing from someone’s chest.  Expertly combining a clever crime fiction story with unique fantasy elements and a hilarious set of main protagonists, The Tainted Cup was an outstanding read that got a full five-star rating from me.  Indeed, The Tainted Cup topped the list of my favourite books from the first half of the year and will likely go down as one of the very best fantasy novels of 2024.

Due to how impressive I found The Tainted Cup to be, you can probably appreciate that I am very keen to see how the series continues.  Luckily it looks like I won’t have to wait too long to see what happens next, as the sequel, A Drop of Corruption, is coming out in February 2025.  Set to once again to pit Bennett’s protagonists against an elaborate magical mystery, A Drop of Corruption sounds extremely epic, and I love the cool new story concept being promised for it.

Plot Synopsis:

The brilliant detective Ana Dolabra may have finally met her match in the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach, an impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—abducted from his quarters while the door and windows remained locked from the inside, in a building whose entrances and exits are all under constant guard.

To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial investigator, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.

Before long, Ana’s discovered that they’re not investigating a disappearance, but a murder—and that the killing was just the first chess move by an adversary who seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and who can predict every one of Ana’s moves as though they can see the future.

Worse still, the killer seems to be targeting the high-security compound known as the Shroud. Here, the Empire’s greatest minds dissect fallen Titans to harness the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the destruction would be terrible indeed—and the Empire itself will grind to a halt, robbed of the magic that allows its wheels of power to turn.

Din has seen Ana solve impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and Ana seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, he fears that his superior has finally met an enemy she can’t defeat.

This sounds like another particularly outstanding story from Bennett, and I know I am going to have a ton of fun with it.  The mystery premise for A Drop of Corruption is particularly striking, as Bennett produces a high-stakes locked room mystery, where the solution to the crime is likely to be some elaborate form of magic or mutation.  In addition, we have the return of the first book’s excellent, mismatched protagonists, whose unusual partnership will likely result in some fantastic humour, while also presenting the reader with a brilliant investigative method.  I have no doubt that Bennett will turn these elements into another extremely special story, and I look forward to seeing how he resolves the main investigation, and how it ties into the greater mysteries infecting his fantasy setting.

Based on how impressive the first book in the series turned out to be, I am already extremely excited for A Drop of Corruption.  However, the epic plot synopsis above also sounds very cool, and I cannot wait to see what madness and mystery Robert Jackson Bennett unleashes next.  A Drop of Corruption will probably be one of the very best fantasy novels of 2025, and I am so very keen to get my hands on this incredible upcoming book.

The Mercy Chair by M. W. Craven

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Thriller14 Comments

Publisher: Constable (ebook – 6 June 2024)

Series: Washington Poe – Book Six

Length: 420 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Acclaimed author M. W. Craven introduces one of the darkest novels of 2024 with the complex and highly addictive thriller, The Mercy Chair.

M. W. Craven is an interesting author who I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of the more I read. I started getting into his work last year with the awesome Fearless, which saw a lawman turned drifter go up against a deadly drug cartel. I had an amazing time with Fearless, and I am looking forward to the sequel, Nobody’s Hero, in a few short months.  However, before we get to Nobody’s Hero, I need to rave about Craven’s other 2024 novel, The Mercy Chair.  The Mercy Chair was a captivating and unique novel from Craven that served as a part of his Washington Poe series.  The Mercy Chair is the sixth entry in this great English crime fiction series, and frankly I have still not recovered from how epic and shocking its narrative turned out to be.

Detective Sergeant Washington Poe of the National Crime Agency has seen many unsettling things during his career as a police officer, especially since he started teaming up with unusual civilian analysist Tilly Bradshaw to investigate the worst murders England has to offer.  However, his latest case has impacted him in ways few others have, and months after the events in question, Poe sits down with a psychologist to tell a tale of woe and despair unlike any other.

The case is an investigation into the brutal death of controversial religious figure Cornelius Green in Cumbria.  The victim, the leader of an extreme conservative church, has been found tied to a tree and stoned to death by someone who wanted him to suffer.  Brought in due to the brutality surrounding the killing and the religious significance of the victim, Poe and Tilly set about trying to discover which of Green’s many enemies or supporters might have wanted him dead.

Digging into their victim’s past, Poe and Tilly begin to believe that Green’s death might be connected to another infamous slaying of a religious family that occurred in the area many years ago.  Believing that the original killer, a troubled young member of Green’s church, has returned, the detectives attempt to uncover what caused her to snap and kill her parents and brother.  However, their investigation soon uncovers a series of terrible events from the past that still haunt many to this day.  What is the mercy chair, and how did a twisted religious figure bring so much despair to so many?

Gosh this was a damn impressive read!  The Mercy Chair was a particularly epic book that I have not been able to stop thinking about.  Exceedingly dark and hauntingly addictive, The Mercy Chair is guaranteed to steal your breath away with its many twists and turns.  An easy five-star read; The Mercy Chair ended up being one of my favourite books from the first half of 2024 for some very good reasons.

I cannot emphasise just how good the narrative of The Mercy Chair turned out to be, as Craven really dug deep to produce the most twisted and haunting narrative he could.  Starting off in an interesting way, with the traumatised protagonist, Washington Poe, recounting the events of his previous case to a psychologist, which instantly ensures that the reader knows something bad is about to happen.  The resulting set-up for the case proves to be very effective, and you are soon presented with an intriguing scenario of a religious leader stoned to death.  Craven also presents some compelling complications to the case in the form of an unwanted assistant for Poe and Tilly, the interest of the local bishop, and strange connections to a previous mass killing.  This first half of the book is very strong, and I honestly got hooked on the book very early due to Craven’s strong writing and ability to set up a good murder case.  The author does a great job of layering a lot of clues and hints about the events to come in this first half, not that it does you a lot of good, as there are so many sinister surprises to come.

While I really enjoyed the first half of The Mercy Chair, the second half is what really makes this book a first-rate thriller, as Craven brings all the darkness and thrusts the reader into a world of emotional pain.  I honestly cannot go into too much detail about what happens in the second half of the book, as too many hints could ruin The Mercy Chair for potential readers.  However, I will say that Craven is a dark genius, and I still cannot get over how crazy and harrowing things got.  The case goes in some very disturbing and inventive directions, and the author unleashes a multitude of twists, most of which are very well-set up in advance.  While I saw a few surprises coming or was able to guess the significance of certain subtle inclusions, I honestly could not predict everything that Craven’s diabolical mind came up with.  Trust me when I say that The Mercy Chair’s story gets darker and darker the more you progress through it, and no matter how many times you think it can’t get any worse, it does.  The author ends the narrative in a very interesting place right after a final massive twist comes out, and you really will not be prepared for every surprise that comes your way here.

I really appreciated the great way that Craven told his latest novel, especially when it comes to The Mercy Chair’s unique narrative set up where the protagonist discussed the case with a psychologist sometime after the actual case.  The transition between Poe’s perspective of the case as it unfolds and his discussions with the psychologist after the fact really enhances the impact of the story in so many interesting ways.  In particular, you get some fascinating discussions around the psychology and people involved in the events, and I loved the multiple dark hints that the protagonist gave the audience about how more bad things were still to come.  This, combined with the multitude of elaborate and clever clues and hints featured throughout the entire story, really heightened anticipation for the later parts of the book, although even with all these hints, I wasn’t prepared for just how dark things got.  I felt that Craven really hit the right balance of mystery, intriguing character development for the protagonists, and utter suspense at the events occurring, and frankly once you get stuck into the main murder, its near impossible to get away from this book.  While The Mercy Chair is the sixth book in the Washington Poe series, it can easily be read as a standalone novel, even by those readers unfamiliar with the series.  Craven does an excellent job setting up the story and reintroducing the protagonists, so new readers can easily drop in here without any issue at all.  While long-term fans of the author/series will probably get a little more out of The Mercy Chair in terms of character growth, anybody can have an epic time with this book, especially if they love gritty and shocking mysteries with some brilliant twists.

It’s hard to talk about The Mercy Chair without mentioning the outstanding characters featured within, although I honestly risk spoiling certain story elements if I discuss the new figures in the book.  However, I do need to highlight the great way that Craven continues the outstanding partnership between main character Detective Sergeant Washington Poe and civilian analysist Tilly Bradshaw, which has been such a fantastic part of the previous Washington Poe books.  Poe, a gruff and fractious veteran cop, plays off the brilliant and socially awkward Tilly perfectly, and they form a rather unusual pairing that works extremely well throughout the course of the mystery.  There is a certain level of humour to their interactions, especially as both can be outrageous in their own way, and I liked the sibling vibes that Craven set up between them throughout the book.  While the author does reiterate a lot of his protagonist’s character traits from the previous books, there is also some excellent emotional development amongst the two.  Poe, who has grown from an angry loner into somebody capable of holding down a romantic relationship, ends up going through some major emotional and psychological issues thanks to the grim impacts of this case.  Watching Poe lose his grip on his calm is very powerful, especially as his deteriorating mental state corresponds with growing intensity of the investigation and the terrible revelations he uncovers.  I honestly grew so attached to Poe because of his frank narration of events throughout the book, and his partnership with Tilly honestly made this book for me.  Craven leaves Poe and Tilly’s story in an interesting place at the end of The Mercy Chair, and I look forward to seeing how they overcome their latest obstacles in the next book.  Throw in a great cast of supporting characters, including some complex victims and perpetrators and a bunch of fun recurring figures, and The Mercy Chair’s characters really help to make this story something very special.

With The Mercy Chair, M. W. Craven has officially become one of my favourite thriller authors and I cannot emphasise just how incredible this novel is.  Craven produces an outstanding and powerful story that features a particularly clever and shocking mystery that I could not get enough of.  Loaded with elaborate twists, complex characters, and so many dark revelations, The Mercy Chair is guaranteed to make you an instant fan of Craven, no matter how hard you try to forget his narrative’s intense tragedy.  I loved this book so much, and I honestly wonder what would have happened if Craven had gotten his way and made it even darker.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday feature, I look at a cool upcoming murder mystery from the first half of 2025 with Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman.

Open Season Cover

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Over the last several years, I have really grown to love the works of acclaimed bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman.  Kellerman is a very well-established author who has been writing intriguing and compelling reads for decades, primarily through his iconic Alex Delaware series.  Focusing on a psychologist and his cop best friend as they solve some of the most complex murder cases in Los Angeles, the Alex Delaware books are a staple read for any murder mystery fan, especially as Kellerman produces some very unique storylines.

I started reading Jonathan Kellerman’s books a few years ago when I by chance grabbed a copy of the 34th Alex Delaware novel, The Wedding Guest.  The Wedding Guest proved to be an outstanding read, and I loved the intriguing mystery that Kellerman came up with, as well as the impressive police procedural storyline that followed.  As such, the Alex Delaware books entered my annual reading schedule and I have started to go out of my way to read every new entry in the series.  I have had a wonderful time reading and reviewing some of the amazing recent books from Kellerman, including The Museum of Desire, Serpentine, City of the Dead, Unnatural History and The Ghost Orchid.  Each of these books has been extremely epic in their own way, and I love the fun array of intriguing cases that emerged.  Due to how much fun I have reading these books, I always keep an eye out for details about the next Alex Delaware novel, and I finally have an idea about what is in stall for me in early 2025.

The next book in the Alex Delaware series will be the awesome upcoming novel, Open Season, which is set for release in February 2025. The 40th book in the Alex Delaware series, Open Season, will see the fantastic protagonists investigate a series of random murders that will test even their well-honed investigate skills.  This upcoming book has another impressive plot synopsis behind it, and I am already quite excited to read Open Season as a result.  Based on how outstanding the last several Alex Delaware books have been Open Season will likely be one of the best crime fiction books coming out in the first half of next year, and I have no doubt whatsoever that I am going to love it.

Plot Synopsis:

The most beloved and enduring duo in American crime fiction is back.

Psychologist Alex Delaware and Homicide Detective Milo Sturgis race against time to find a twisted killer in this riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling “master of suspense” (Los Angeles Times).

People come to Los Angeles to chase their dreams. Sometimes they find themselves cast into a nightmare. And sometimes, the most ardent dreamers turn out to be the most vicious monsters.

The body of an aspiring actress is found dumped near a hospital emergency room. She’s been drugged and murdered and the motive for the callous crime remains maddeningly out of reach. Until, a prime suspect materializes. Another Hollywood hopeful. Only to be shot dead by a sniper using a weapon that turns out to have been catalogued in a previous murder. And another, before that. It’s not long before more bodies begin piling up.

What makes the murderous spree baffling is the apparent lack of connection among the victims. Is this the work of a random thrill killer, the toughest of all cases to unravel?

But as Alex and Milo dig deeper they’re faced with an even knottier scenario: a highly complex killer with deep-seated motivation that will require all of their highly honed skills to decipher.

The latest page-turner from #1 New York Times bestseller Jonathan Kellerman, is a tale of psychological complexity, dark suspense, and shocking surprises. A wild ride through L.A.’s surreal underbelly climaxed by an edge-of-the chair conclusion.

The No.1 Lawyer by James Patterson and Nancy Allen

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller6 Comments

The No.1 Lawyer Cover

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 3 April 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 423 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The blockbuster team of bestselling author James Patterson and former lawyer Nancy Allen return with the outstanding and highly entertaining legal thriller, The No.1 Lawyer.

I have been having an outstanding time getting into the various works of James Patterson the last few years, especially as he produces so many excellent books in collaboration with a range of exceptional authors.  This includes 2 Sisters Detective Agency and The Murder Inn with Candice Fox, Death of the Black Widow with J. D. Barker, Lost with James O. Born and The Perfect Assassin with Brian Sitts, just to name a few.  One of the more interesting people he has been collaborating with is veteran lawyer and author Nancy Allen.  Best known for her Ozarks Mysteries and Anonymous Justice series, Allen has also cowritten two legal thrillers with Patterson, including The Jailhouse Lawyer and Juror No.3.  The No.1 Lawyer is the third collaboration between Patterson and Allen and proved to be an amazing amount of fun.

Stafford Lee Penney is a high-flying lawyer with a shining reputation in the city of Biloxi.  The son of a notorious mob lawyer, Stafford Lee has worked his way out of the mud and holds the distinction of being the best defence attorney in the state of Mississippi.  However, this dubious title comes at a cost, and Stafford Lee’s marriage is in the toilet and his home life is a mess.  Throwing himself into his latest case, Stafford Lee defends a prominent doctor accused of a heinous murder in the trial of the century.

Determined to show that he’s the best, Stafford Lee provides an impassioned defence in this controversial case.  However, Stafford Lee is unprepared for the fallout of his decision to defend the undefendable, when his wife is murdered and he loses everything.  Broken and devastated, Stafford Lee sinks into a drunken losing streak that destroys his reputation and ends his once promising career.

With the help of his friends, Stafford Lee attempts to return to legal profession he loves so much, even if just on the periphery.  But he is unprepared for the dark truth that his wife’s killer might still be on the loose.  Worse, it soon becomes apparent that someone is targeting Stafford Lee personally, and he soon finds himself accused of murder.  To survive, Stafford Lee needs to once again become the No. 1 lawyer of Biloxi to win the biggest trial of his career, his own.

Patterson and Allen are in strong form as they bring together an outstanding and highly exciting legal thriller that is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.  The No.1 Lawyer was an awesome book, that wowed me with its cool court scenes, intriguing protagonists, and thrilling plot.

The team of Patterson and Allen come up with a fun and compelling narrative for The No.1 Lawyer and it was one that I found hard to put down at times.  The authors find the right balance of legal thriller, murder mystery and character driven storylines throughout The No.1 Lawyer and you really get drawn in as a result.  The first half of the book is firmly anchored around a big murder trial that the protagonist has been hired as the defence lawyer for.  This proves to be a fascinating case, especially as it raises some intriguing ethical concerns about Stafford Lee defending a likely guilty man, and the case gets highly personal and crazy at times.  This first half of the book also introduces some key plot points that become very relevant later, while also showcasing the main cast in a great way.  This first part of the book ends on some big moments, and while I was hooked all the way there, the compelling conclusion to the first part of the story ensured that I had to keep going with The No.1 Lawyer.

After the death of the protagonist’s wife, the story goes in some fantastic and personal directions as Stafford Lee ends up spiralling and very much losing his way.  This is easily the most emotionally charged part of The No.1 Lawyer, and you really come to appreciate the author’s character work and how they cover grief and loss.  A good chunk of the middle of the book is dedicated the protagonist rebuilding his life one brick at a time, while he also finds his way back into the legal profession, albeit at a much lower level than before.  These various scenes are really heartfelt, and the authors also use them to further set up additional plot points for the rest of the book.

The final third of The No.1 Lawyer is where all the action unfolds, and Patterson and Allen don’t hold back, with additional murders, frame jobs and a new trial where the protagonist must defend himself for murder.  I really enjoyed how bleak things got for the protagonist here, especially after seeing him get back on his feet in the previous part of the book, and it was great to see him once again get into top legal form to defend himself.  The big trial here was very fun, as Stafford Lee stopped caring about decorum and decided to go for a very aggressive defence, and the resulting scenes were pretty damn fun.  There was also a compelling murder investigation in the sidelines, which melded well with the legal thriller parts of the book.  The big reveal of who was behind the killings was very interesting, if not too surprising, and while I liked how it turned out, especially the violent confrontation, I would have preferred a fun court sequence to reveal the truth.  Still, Patterson and Allen more than make up for this with the final big twist, which I thought was extremely clever, and which will blow more than a few people away.  I had such a great time with this amazing and epic story, and this was easily one of the most entertaining narratives of 2024 so far.

I am a big fan of legal thrillers, and Patterson’s writing style combined well with the knowledge of Allen to create a very good example of the genre.  The various court scenes and accompanying legal work are well showcased, and you really get drawn into the outrageous and captivating court sequences as a result.  The cases being discussed also prove to be quite complex, and I enjoyed seeing the various secrets and lies that the authors hide within the details.  I also had a good chuckle at Patterson and Allen producing a fun homage to John Grisham here with The No.1 Lawyer, especially as they featured a legal thriller down in Biloxi.  The two provide their own excellent take on this infamous city, and I liked the small town feel you often got with everyone knowing each other, especially as that led to some intriguing legal complications.  Everything is kept very sharp and fast paced, and the multiple quickfire chapters that are so typical of a Patterson book help to keep readers extremely engaged with the plot.

While there is obviously a lot of focus on murder and legal proceedings in The No.1 Lawyer, I felt that human elements of the story helped to make this book particularly good.  Nearly all the main characters in The No.1 Lawyer are deeply flawed in ways that only humans can be, and the authors do a wonderful job showcasing this as the plot continues.  This is particularly true for protagonist Stafford Lee Penney, the young hotshot lawyer whose obsession with his career has cost him his marriage and a normal homelife.  We follow Stafford Lee through the many highs and dramatic lows of his life, which presents a rollercoaster of emotions to the reader which are so damn compelling.  The many scenes where Stafford Lee loses everything and finds himself in a drunken depression were very moving, and the authors did an amazing job of capturing his grief and despair.  Watching him rebuild himself with the help of his friends was an excellent part of the book, and you really grow attached to him as a result, which makes the trials that follow even more intense.  I also appreciated how the way in which the book captures the many pressures associated with being a top-notch lawyer, especially as it shows that no matter how hard it gets, the protagonist loves his profession and the thrills that comes with it.

The No.1 Lawyer also features a fantastic supporting cast that move the story along in some interesting directions.  Stafford Lee’s two close friends, Mason Burnett and Jenny Glaser prove to be his emotional rock for much of the book, and the various scenes where they support Stafford Lee at this worst are some of the strongest in the entire novel.  Jenny’s concurrent investigation into the various killings around Biloxi also prove to be an interesting part of the book, especially as it often clashes with Stafford Lee’s wishes, and she proved to be a fantastic female lead.  However, I did think the inevitable romantic arc between Stafford Lee and Jenny was a little forced at times, and the book might have been fine without it.  Other key characters include Stafford Lee’s original client, who proves to be a fun key suspect, a notorious Biloxi gangster, and the various members of the state’s court system, all of whom prove quite invested in Stafford Lee’s various cases.  The opposing prosecution for Stafford Lee’s main trials is of particular note, especially as the cases get quite personal for them.  All these characters, and more, prove to be excellent additions to the plot and I really enjoyed the fun directions the authors took them in.

Overall, I had an amazing time with The No.1 Lawyer, and it proved to be a very epic and entertaining book that I really got invested in.  The brilliant team of James Patterson and Nancy Allen created an excellent legal thriller, and I really appreciated how compelling and exciting the story got at times.  Slick, entertaining, and loaded with substantial emotional charge, The No.1 Lawyer was a fantastic novel that is really worth checking out.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Comedy/Satire, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday7 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight one of my most anticipated Australian novels of 2024, with the hilarious upcoming crime fiction read, Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret Cover 1

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Over the last few years, one of the most consistently impressive and enjoyable Australian authors has been crime fiction author Benjamin Stevenson.  A former comedian (alongside his brother), Stevenson dove into the world of crime fiction with his exciting debut Greenlight (also released as Trust Me When I Lie and She Lies in the Vines), which proved to be a gripping and enjoyable read.  Stevenson followed this up in 2020 with his second novel, Either Side of Midnight, which proved to be an excellent sequel to Greenlight.

While I have really enjoyed his more serious crime fiction novels, Stevenson’s best work is easily his Ernest Cunningham series.  Starting in 2022 with the outrageous and incredible Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, this series follows a murder mystery expert who finds himself trying to solve an elaborate killing involving his own trapped family.  Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone was such a good book, especially as Stevenson expertly utilised his comedy background to tell a particularly entertaining story, and it ended up being one of my favourite pieces of Australian fiction from 2022.  Not to be outdone, Stevenson followed this book up last year with the awesome sequel, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect.  Once again forcing the protagonist into a unique locked-room mystery, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect proved to be an epic book, especially as it cleverly parodied the crime fiction genre, and it was one of my favourite books and pieces of Australian fiction from 2023.

Needless to say, I have been keeping a close eye out for anymore books from Stevenson, and I was delighted when I found out there was going to be a third Ernest Cunningham novel coming out later this year.  This book, which is set for release in late October 2024, is the awesome sounding Everyone This Christmas has a Secret, which will throw the protagonist into a whole new mess of trouble.

Plot Synopsis:

Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues.

If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe…

My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.

So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.

THE MAGICIAN
THE ASSISTANT
THE EXECUTIVE
THE HYPNOTIST
THE TWIN
THE COUNSELLOR
THE TECH

My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there; A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens; And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas.

If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it.

After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?

Now this sounds like a pretty damn epic read and boy am I going to have fun with it later this year.  Taking his fun concept and turning it into a Christmas-themed murder mystery is a brilliant move from Stevenson and I am really excited to see how it works in Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret.  Focussing the murder on a bunch of different entertainers, all of whom are trained liars and distractors, should result in a complex mystery and I am sure that Stevenson is going to produce a very memorable story around it.  The utterly ridiculous scenario also plays masterfully into Stevenson’s comedy and performance background, so I am sure its going to be loaded with some amazing jokes and references that will appeal to a lot of people.

Look, after all the fun I’ve had with his last few books picking up the new Benjamin Stevenson is a given for me at this point.  However, having a new Ernest Cunningham mystery that features an elaborate and entertaining Christmas themed murder mystery is just gold and there is no way I’m not going to have an absolute blast reading this book.  I am exceedingly excited for Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret and I cannot wait to see how Stevenson continues his outstanding series.  While I am a tad worried about the shorter length of this novel, which might restrict the mystery a little, I am sure that Stevenson has something special planned, and I look forward to seeing it unfold.  Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret has the potential to be one of my favourite books of the year and in my opinion October cannot come soon enough.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret Cover 2

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Crucible of Chaos by Sebastien de Castell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery15 Comments

Crucible of Chaos Cover

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books (Audiobook – 7 December 2023)

Series: Court of Shadows – Book 0.5

Length: 12 hours and 32 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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In the mood for a witty, intense and highly unusual murder mystery?  Make sure to grab Crucible of Chaos, an outstanding and impressive novel from Sebastien de Castell, which serves as a prelude to his Court of Shadows series.

Earlier this year I was very lucky to receive the first book in Sebastien de Castell’s Court of Shadows series, Play of Shadows.  Set in the author’s Greatcoats universe, Play of Shadows was a truly epic and outstanding read that saw an unlucky actor with unusual gifts attempt to unravel a dark conspiracy inflicting his city.  I deeply enjoyed Play of Shadows, which was one of the best books I have read so far in 2024, and I was intrigued to check out more from de Castell, an author who had previously impressed me with his hilarious standalone novel, The Malevolent Seven.  While de Castell has several great series to his name, the book that caught my eye the most was the late 2023 release, Crucible of Chaos, which apparently served as a prelude to the other Court of Shadows novels.  Curious to see how this prequel would turn out, I grabbed the audiobook version of Crucible of Chaos and started listening to it, and boy was I glad that I did.

Travelling duellist and scholar Estevar Borros is a Greatcoat, one of the king’s legendary sword-fighting magistrates.  However, even amongst the unusual ranks of the Greatcoats, Estevar is peculiar, not just for his girth, but because of skills in deductive reasoning and his obsession with investigating the supernatural.  Known as the King’s Crucible, Estevar has travelled the lands of Tristia, seeking out unusual occurrences and trying to determine whether their cause is natural or supernatural.  However, even this renowned investigator of supernatural is unprepared for the chaos awaiting him in Tristia’s most holy site.

Summoned by his old acquaintance Abbot Venia, Estevar travels to Isola Sombra, an isolated island abbey considered the religious heart of Tristia.  According to Venia’s letter, the monks of the abbey are starting to fracture into factions following the recent murder of the gods, each with their own ideas of who the nation should worship in the future.  A frightened Venia needs Estevar, in his position as a magistrate and an authority on the supernatural, to arbitrate the debate and to help keep the fighting monks in line.

Despite his better judgement, Estevar, already suffering from a wound after a failed duel, agrees to travel to Isola Sombra, but what he finds there will chill him to his very soul.  Arriving amid a brutal storm, Estevar finds that the monks have fallen into madness, and now three factions are at war on the island, desperate to claim it for their own.  Worse, the abbot has been murdered, and evidence of dark magic lingers throughout the abbey.

Determined find a reasonable explanation for the insanity infesting Isola Sombra, Estevar begins his investigation, hoping to find the source of the chaos rippling across the island.  Alone except for a mysterious girl and his trusty mule, a wounded Estevar needs to face off against three very dangerous groups of monks, each of whom have deadly intentions for the interfering Greatcoat.  Worse, there are far more dangerous things awaiting the inhabitants of Isola Sombra, even if Estevar doesn’t believe in them.  Can the justice-loving Estevar stop the insanity of Isola Sombra with his deduction, sword and courtroom etiquette before it’s too late, or has the King’s Crucible finally found a mystery to insane for even him?

Wow, what an amazing and compelling novel.  Crucible of Chaos was another outstanding book from de Castell, and one that really grabbed my attention from the very beginning.  Containing an elaborate story, great writing, amazing characters, and so much more, Crucible of Chaos was a joy to read from start to finish, and one that I have little choice but to give a full five-star rating.

De Castell came up with an impressive novel that sets a classic detective story into The Three Musketeer inspired Greatcoats universe.  Readers are quickly introduced to two of the main characters, Estevar Borros and his trusty steed, as the dejected pair arrive at Isola Sombra to investigate a religious feud enveloping the island and its abbey.  While that is an interesting premise for a story, de Castell raises the stakes by introducing murder, mysterious mysticism, fearful locals, unnatural storms, and three warring factions of monks, which Estevar needs to unravel to get his beloved justice.  What follows is a complex and highly entertaining murder investigation as Estevar, with the help of a mysterious girl, begins to interrogate key members of the remaining monks to find out what they know and how their fighting and the resulting murder came about.  This proves to be quite addictive, and I found myself getting really drawn into this excellent mystery and the unique fantasy elements surrounding it.

The story takes a very interesting turn around halfway through as Estevar gets some dramatic proof that the events on Isola Sombra are more supernatural than he thought they would be.  This leads the protagonist into some dark places as he tries to fully understand everything that is happening, and who is ultimately responsible for the crimes committed.  De Castell cleverly lays out some intriguing revelations, as well as some tragic secrets that are cleverly hinted at by false memory and lies, and I had so much fun following all the breadcrumbs.  Everything leads up to several great confrontations, as Estevar first deals with some political intrigue that ties Crucible of Chaos into the rest of the series, before once again facing the strange powers haunting the island.  There are some inspiring moments here, especially as strange bedfellows fight together against the darkness, before the protagonist initiates a unique trial to reveal the whole truth.  The solution to the mystery is very clever, and I was really impressed with how de Castell pulled the whole thing together.  The conclusion really goes over-the-top as justice meets religion in some dark ways, and you will come away very impressed and satisfied with the dark, yet hopeful, story that emerged.

I love the tone that de Castell set out for Crucible of Chaos, mainly because there are so many elements that he managed to fit into his story.  The blend of mystery, character development, and unique fantasy inclusions from his pre-existing universe is extremely awesome, and I loved how the author managed to create such an elaborate and focused story.  The investigation element of Crucible of Chaos was the book’s true heart, and I have a lot of respect for the complex series of crimes that emerged, especially as de Castell managed to incorporate religious conspiracies, political intrigues and supernatural occurrences into the mystery’s solution.  There are so many moments of desperation, despair, and dark hope contained within this book, and the reader is constantly left feeling either intrigued by the mystery or shocked by the revelations that emerged.  It helped that de Castell’s characters are all so vibrant and entertaining, and there is a captivating humour that runs through the book that proves hard not to enjoy.  This whole novel comes together with a great pace that never lets up, and I honestly could not stop listening to Crucible of Chaos at times, especially when all seemed dire, or the protagonist was on the hunt for justice.

As I mentioned above, I came to Crucible of Chaos after reading Play of Shadow, so I was interested in seeing how it would fit into both the Court of Shadows series and the Greatcoats universe.  While there are obvious connections to both, for the most part Crucible of Chaos is more of a standalone novel than anything else, as the plot is primarily focused on the intense mystery the protagonist finds himself trapped in.  While there are a lot of strong references to previous Greatcoats novels, de Castell does an outstanding job of rehashing these events in a thorough and sensible manner, allowing the readers to get all the necessary context that they need.  Readers also do not need to get this book first to enjoy the next book in the series, Play of Shadows, which was reassuring in hindsight, and I kind of like how independent the two books are from each other.  The only real connection lies in a couple of revelations towards the end of Crucible of Chaos that hint at dark deeds on the horizon and a shadowy hand manipulating events from afar.  As such, Crucible of Chaos is a very accessible book for new readers and serves as a great introduction to the various series associated with it.

I will say that Crucible of Chaos did provide some interesting insights into the nation of Tristia, which serves as the primary setting for the Greatcoats series.  There are substantial examinations of the nation’s history, the backstory from the prior books, and other worldbuilding that de Castell has previously come up with, and I found this to be quite fascinating.  The often fractured and duellist obsessed nation of Tristia is an amazing background for this story, and I enjoyed the multiple discussions about the role of the Greatcoats as magistrates and keepers of the king’s peace, especially as the protagonist is quite passionate about the ideals of justice they represent.  However, a lot of Crucible of Chaos’ focus lies around the religion of the world, as the gods of Tristia become a major aspect of the plot.  Indeed, key events of the original Greatcoats series become vitally important here as the protagonist needs to consider the impact that the previous murder of the gods has had on the current religious institutions.  I really liked the constant contrasts between the philosophies of human justice and religious practice that becomes recurring theme in Crucible of Chaos, and I rather enjoyed seeing both unique elements of this landscape.

While I loved the story and the dive into the Greatcoats universe, the absolute best part of Crucible of Chaos were the exceptional characters that de Castell set his narrative around.  Each of them was complex and endearing in their own fun way, and I really enjoyed the powerful storylines that the author wrote around them.  The most prominent of these is protagonist and point-of-view character Estevar Borros.  A member of the king’s Greatcoats, Estevar was a very distinctive protagonist, mainly because he didn’t fit the typical fantasy protagonist mould that most readers would be familiar with.  A rather girthy and older duellist, Estevar is nonetheless a formidable warrior, often able to overcome younger or more in shape opponents through skill and trickery.  However, for this adventure, Estevar recently lost a duel due to his own arrogance and is forced to investigate the events on Isola Sombra while wounded and exhausted, and with his tools and authority missing.  I deeply appreciated the multiple handicaps that de Castell placed on his protagonist, especially as it enhanced the intensity of the plot, and it was compelling to see Estevar deal not only with his wounds but his own dark temperament, while trying to solve the case.  Despite his disadvantages, Estevar proves to be a capable investigator, and his deductive ability, which results in him being shown as a supernatural obsessed cross between Sherlock Holmes and Porthos.  I deeply enjoyed how determined and curious Estevar was throughout the plot, and he was a fun character to follow as he keeps up a genial and pleasant demeaner for most of the book, with some fun cracks of humour.  However, we do see some great flashes of emotion from Estevar at key moments, especially when he realises just how deranged the crime he is investigating is.  I was a huge fan of Estevar from the opening pages, and he is a protagonist I would love to see again in the future.

Aside from Estevar, de Castell features several other exceptional characters that you have a fantastic time following.  This includes the mysterious young female lead, Caeda, who serves as Estevar’s impromptu assistant during the investigation, determined to help find the truth on the island.  Shown initially as an energetic and enthusiastic figure, Caeda plays well off Estevar, and I liked the entertaining partnership they formed, even if Caeda is keeping secrets, which eventually leads to some tragic revelations.  However, the character you are most likely to fall in love with is Estevar’s mule, Imperious.  Much more than a stubborn mule, Imperious is the bravest, most rambunctious and expressive character in the entire novel, and de Castell has a lot of fun throwing him into the story in entertaining ways.  A dangerous and near unstoppable figure, Imperious stole every scene he was in, and you honestly end up caring for this heroic mule more than any other character in the book.  Throw in a cadre of mad monks, including an obsessive inquisitor, a wannabe general, and a lecherous sorcerer lord, and the cast of Crucible of Chaos proves to be really fun and intriguing to follow.

While I was tempted to grab a physical copy of Crucible of Chaos, I ended up getting the audiobook version instead, which proved to be an epic format to enjoy the book in.  Coming in with a runtime of 12 and a half hours, this was a moderately long audiobook, but it was one I managed to power through in less than a week due to how caught up I got in the story.  I found that the audiobook format really helped me to enjoy the complex narrative that de Castell came up with, and having it read out helped me to appreciate the depictions of the dark abbey and the elaborate mystery that much more.  It helped that Crucible of Chaos was narrated by one of my favourite audiobook narrators, Joe Jameson, whose work I enjoyed so much in the Legacy of the Mercenary Kings audiobooks (The Kingdom of Liars, The Two-Faced Queen and The Voyage of the Forgotten).  Jameson has a great voice for fantasy fiction, and I loved how he brings the elaborate story of Crucible of Chaos to life with his recitation.  The narrator had some great voices for the various characters, and while a few are similar to those he used in other audiobooks his other works, they all expertly fit the character they were assigned to perfectly.  I particularly enjoyed the distinctive and overly accented voice that Jameson gave to the main character, Estevar Borros, which perfectly fit his foreign origins, as well as his personality and physical attributes.  This booming, cheerful, yet penetrating voice, really captured the protagonist, and I could always envision this amazing character whenever Jameson spoke.  This, and other great voices, really helped to turn the Crucible of Chaos audiobook into something really special, and I cannot recommend this format enough to someone interested in this book.

Overall, Crucible of Chaos proved to be a remarkable and highly impressive novel from Sebastien de Castell that I had such an outstanding time reading.  Combining a unique story with great characters and compelling elements from the Greatcoats universe, Crucible of Chaos was a truly epic novel that I could not get enough off.  I look forward to seeing what other intriguing adventures occur in the rest of the Court of Shadows books, and this is swiftly becoming one of my favourite ongoing fantasy series.

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White Ash Ridge by S. R. White

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery5 Comments

White Ash Ridge Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 12 March 2024)

Series: Detective Dana Russo – Book Four

Length: 343 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of Australian’s most distinctive new crime fiction authors returns with a complex murder mystery the blends compelling characters with unique methods, White Ash Ridge by S. R. White.

Over the last few years, I have really been enjoying the works of new author S. R. White.  White, a former UK Police officer who emigrated to Australia, has been producing some amazing pieces of Australian outback crime fiction.  His work has so far been part of his Detective Dana Russo series, which follows the titular detective as she investigates complex cases out in the Australian bush.  This series has so far featured three impressive reads, Hermit, Prisoner and Red Dirt Road and these amazing books have been very fun to read, especially as White comes up with some unique crimes which require the protagonist’s more unusual methods to solve.  I have really enjoyed White’s previous books, and I jumped on his new novel, White Ash Ridge, the moment I got my hands on it.

Murder, deceit and controversy are all that are on the limited menu of the White Ash Ridge hotel, especially when tragedy strikes its guests.  An isolated and decaying hotel, hidden away in the Australian wilderness, White Ash Ridge has been booked out by the inner circle of a high-profile charity organisation for urgent discussions about its future.  As the relentless heat raises tensions, the body of one of the charity’s founders is found dead on the track outside, his death caused by a blow to the head.

Called to the scene, Detective Dana Russo anticipates another complex murder case.  With no one else spotted in the area and tensions running high amongst the charity’s founders, it seems likely that one of the four remaining guests at the White Ash Ridge is the murderer.  However, as she begins to investigate, Dana is unprepared for the chaos that is about to descend upon her small command.  The charity the victim work for was founded by two parents whose son was killed after intervening in a violent assault.  The subsequent failed police investigation sparked public outrage and launched the boy’s mother into Australia’s political orbit.

Now thrust into the centre of a controversial family familiar with the police, Dana must quickly solve the case before events get out of hand.  With a lack of physical evidence, Dana and her small team are forced to pull the truth from the four suspects to determine their history with the victim and why anyone would want to kill him.  However, they only have limited time before the overwhelming public interest forces her to let the suspects go, likely at the cost of her career and reputation.  Can Dana convince her suspects, none of whom have any love of the police, to cooperate before it’s too late, or will the killer walk free thanks to the will of the people?

S. R. White delivers another complex, impressive, and highly distinctive piece of Australian crime fiction with White Ash Ridge. Blending White’s unique murder mystery style with great characters and a compelling situation, White Ash Ridge was an amazing read that I could not get enough of.

I have always really enjoyed White’s take on the Australian murder mystery, as his focus is always on finding out all the details of the victims and the suspects to solve the case, often through the medium of interrogation.  This was once again the case in White Ash Ridge, as the protagonists, under pressure to solve the case quickly, need to find out which of the four suspects committed the crime.  As such, the story develops in a very interesting way, as the detectives both investigate in the traditional way, including finding witnesses and evidence, while also diving into the lives of everyone involved in the case.  Much of this revolves around the eight main interviews of the investigation as the protagonists talk to each of the suspects twice to gain the relevant insights into themselves and the murder victim.  White, through his main protagonist, Detective Dana Russo, has a very person-centric take on the interrogation progress, and the resulting character-driven focuses become a key part of the plot.

This proves to be a very clever way to set out this excellent mystery and subsequent investigation, and thanks to White’s expert writing ability White Ash Ridge ended up being an extremely clever and captivating book.  The focus around the charity and its anti-police sentiments added some great intrigue to the narrative, and I liked the ticking clock aspect of the plot it brought in.  All eight of the main interviews were very intense and compelling in their own ways, and you soon get a great idea of the various people drawn into the case.  White combines this expertly with the personal dramas of the protagonists, including some ongoing storylines from the prior books, although the overarching threat of Dana’s new supervisor is getting a little stale at this point.  At the same time, the reader gets the full blast of the Australian wilderness from the unnamed part of the country that White sets his novels in, which adds a lot of character to the story in its iconic and beautiful ways.  The central mystery of White Ash Ridge comes together extremely well, and the eventual solution is smart, intriguing, and very well set up.  The entire story comes together in a powerful way, and I loved this unique mystery which was another strong story from White.

As with all of White’s books in the series, White Ash Ridge is a hugely character-driven read, not only because of the compelling and damaged protagonists, but because his style of writing relies on diving into the lives of the various suspects and victims of the case to solve the crime.  This all results in some exceptional character development and focuses, and I loved how complex and powerful the various stories that emerged were.  Most of the protagonists focused development occurred around returning main character Detective Dana Russo, who serves as the solid and empathetic centre of the investigation.  Dana once again showcases her unique investigation style that focuses on character interactions, history and mindsets to solve the case, which proves to be quite effective at diving into the minds of her targets.  This time Dana is backed up by new detective, Mila Jelovic, who serves as a great support for the main character.  While the development around Dana is a little light in White Ash Ridge, you do get an intriguing and powerful examination of Mila, whose previous undercover work has cost her severely in more than one way.

Aside from the police characters, the reader also gets an intense look at five specific figures who become the focus on the investigation, with the murder victim and the subsequent four suspects.  All five of these people are members of a high-profile charity formed in the aftermath of a botched police investigation, with goals of stopping teen violence and keeping the police accountable.  Due to the way the mystery is set out, there is a lot of focus on these characters and the events that brought them together, which provides the reader with an intriguing backstory to get familiar with.  All five of these characters are interesting and complex in their own way, with various interactions, lies, manipulations and plans bringing them all together.  Probably the most interesting of these is the charity’s figurehead, Keena Flynn, a major public figure following the death of her child.  Due to her previous interactions with the police and politicians, Keena proves to be a tough nut to crack, and her pain, anger and distrust become a major obstacle to overcome.  White does a wonderful job exploring these five characters, and indeed you often get more about them than the police protagonists.  There is such a dark and compelling web of relationships surrounding these characters, and the subsequent reasons for why one of them was killed and by who was pretty impressive and helped to produce an incredible mystery.

S. R. White continues to flourish with another awesome entry in his compelling murder mystery series that is setting him up as one of Australia’s most distinctive crime fiction authors. Expertly combining his ability for complex murder scenarios and character-focused investigation methods to produce an outstanding story, White did an amazing job with White Ash Ridge, and I had an incredible time reading it. One of the cleverest mysteries of 2024 so far, this book comes highly recommended.

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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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Quick Review – Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Quick Review, Thriller1 Comment

Body of Lies Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 27 February 2024)

Series: Gemma Woodstock – Book Four

Length: 470 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

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One of Australia’s best authors of crime fiction brings to life another complex and intense murder mystery with Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey.

Plot Synopsis:

A car crash victim clings to life and is rushed to hospital but can’t be saved. Hours later, her corpse is stolen from the morgue. No one knows who the dead woman was or why her body was taken.

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in her hometown of Smithson on maternity leave when the bizarre incident occurs. She is intrigued by the case but reluctant to get involved, despite the urging of her journalist friend Candy Fyfe. But in the days after the body goes missing, the town is rocked by another shocking crime and Gemma can’t resist joining the investigation.

Candy and Gemma follow the clues the dead woman left behind. As they attempt to discover the identity of the missing woman, Gemma uncovers devastating secrets about the people she thought she knew best. The closer Gemma gets to the truth, the more danger she is in. She desperately needs to confide in someone—but is there anyone she can trust?

This was another interesting and compelling read from Bailey, who really impressed me back in 2021 with her standalone novel, The Housemate, which ended up being one of my favourite books and Australian novels of that year.  Body of Lies is another outstanding book from Bailey, which serves as the fourth entry in her Gemma Woodstock series and provides the reader with an amazing and dramatic mystery.

I had a lot of fun getting through Body of Lies as Bailey comes up with an elaborate story that really draws you in.  Whilst it is part of a larger series, Body of Lies is easily read as a standalone novel, with Bailey doing a good job of reintroducing key elements from the previous novels where necessary.  Thanks to this, Body of Lies has a quick start which reconnects readers with the protagonist while also providing key information about the initial death, as well as the unusual circumstances surrounding the missing body.  Despite still being on maternity leave, protagonist and main point-of-view character Gemma Woodstock begins investigating, and soon finds herself drawn into a series of additional crimes in the Smithson area that may or may not be related to the stolen body.

This resolves into quite an awesome story, as you really get drawn into Body of Lies’s intense and intricate mystery.  Bailey keeps making the case even more complex thanks to additional deaths and other unusual events, and the constant raising of stakes ensures the reader’s attention stays on the story.  At the same time, the protagonist’s personal life also takes centre stage in the plot as Gemma deals with a new baby, a traumatised older child, a lying family, a pushy friend, and multiple work conflicts as she attempts to reintegrate back into her own job.

While I got really invested in the story, I think that the final third of Body of Lies got a little off the rails.  Not only are there a huge number of emotional and family dramas surrounding the protagonist, many of which seem a little unnecessary, but there proves to be a huge number of personal connections to the case that drive the protagonist on.  While I liked the increased motivations for the protagonist, these connections seemed way too coincidental, and honestly it stole a lot of realism from the plot.  I also did get a little tired of the many personal dramas that seemed to surround the protagonist.  While I realise that Bailey was trying to showcase the complex life of her protagonist, much of which is driven by the tragic events of the prior books, as well as the side effects of single-minded determination to finding the truth, it honestly got a bit frustrating to follow her at times.  Still, Gemma’s struggles out of her own obsessed mind added some excellent drama and substance to the narrative and Bailey certainly kept her story arc interesting.

The solution to the big mystery turns out to be pretty darn bonkers, and I guarantee most people won’t see the full extent of it coming.  While Bailey did do a good job of setting this reveal up and laying down some hints, it ended up being a very surprising and over-the-top solution that might not work for everyone.  Still, readers are left with an excellent final confrontation and the mystery ends up wrapping up in a satisfying and intriguing way.  There is also a really good twist around a hidden antagonist, which is guaranteed to shock readers and keep them on their toes.  As such, this was a pretty awesome story, and I had a wonderful time getting through it.

In the end, Body of Lies proved to be an outstanding and highly exciting novel that drew me in with its elaborate mystery.  While I didn’t love everything about Sarah Bailey’s new narrative, Body of Lies was still an amazing piece of Australian crime fiction, and well worth a read for anyone looking for a complex and impressive mystery with compelling character elements behind it.

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