Tag: Thriller

Waiting on Wednesday – Badlands by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, 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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this latest Waiting on Wednesday post, I check out a fun and awesome upcoming thriller that sounds like a real blast, with Badlands by Doughlas Preston and Lincoln Child.

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Last year I had the very great pleasure of reading Extinction by Douglas Preston.  An outstanding thriller set in a private nature park filled with cloned woolly mammoths and other prehistoric creatures, I was lured in by Extinction’s cool premise but came away deeply thrilled by how crazy and fun things got, as an unlikely group of antagonists caused all manner of over-the-top carnage  I loved every second I spent reading Extinction, and it was one of the more entertaining novels of 2024.  Due to this, I decided to keep an eye out on more books from Preston and was very intrigued by his next release, Badlands, which he has once again written with his long-time collaborator Lincoln Child.

While Preston and Child have both written solo books, they are better known as a highly regarded writing partnership which has produced a mass of exciting and compelling thrillers with supernatural or scientific twists.  The pair’s main body of work is the long-running Agent Pendergast series, which started back in 1995 with Relic, and has since resulted in over 20 associated books.  In addition to the Agent Pendergast books, Preston and Child have also written other series, such as the Gideon Crew books, as well as some cool standalone novels, which all sound very awesome.  Due to the various intriguing narratives contained within this series, the novels of Preston and Child have been on my radar for a while, and I think it is time I make the effort to check them out, especially after having so much fun with Extinction.

As such, the pair’s next book, Badlands, seems like an excellent place to start.  Part of the author’s Nora Kelly series, which follows the titular archaeologist as she becomes involved in a series of dark investigations with historical components to times, Badlands sounds really intriguing, and I love the cool plot behind it.  Based on what I have heard about Preston and Child’s novels, I should be able to start reading Badlands without too much pre-knowledge of the author’s previous books, and hopefully I can just start enjoying the awesome sounding narrative.  Set for release in July 2025, Badlands has a ton of potential, and I cannot wait to unwind Preston and Child’s new elaborate plot.  


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 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.

Quick Review – The Wrong Man by Tim Ayliffe

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

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Trade Paperback – 3 July 2024)

Series: John Bailey series – Book Five

Length: 335 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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From one of my favourite Australian crime fiction authors, Tim Ayliffe, comes the fantastic 2024 novel, The Wrong Man, which sees the author’s damaged protagonist investigate a dark new crime in Sydney.

For the last few years, I have become a major fan of Australian author Tim Ayliffe, who has been producing some excellent books as part of his John Bailey series.  Utilising his experience as a journalist, Ayliffe has pulled together a series of compelling and complex crime fiction novels as part of a series that follows his journalist protagonist, John Bailey, as he finds himself part of a series of dark crimes.  Many of these books, which include The Greater Good, State of Fear, The Enemy Within and Killer Traitor Spy, cleverly reference or utilise real-world elements that have been impacting Australia, such as terrorism, espionage and the rise of right-wing extremism, to enhance their narratives, and I have really enjoyed the captivating Australian stories that emerge.  The fifth book in this series, The Wrong Man, presents the reader with a cool new case as Ayliffe expands his series with an excellent new protagonist.

Plot Synopsis:

The fifth novel in the John Bailey thriller series. Bailey is trying to solve two murders, ten years apart – unfinished business from his former flame Sharon Dexter. But will it cost him his life?

When Sydney socialite Tottie Evans is found dead at a house in Palm Beach, Detective Holly Sutton is called in to investigate. She immediately suspects the boyfriend, a millionaire property developer and ex-mercenary soldier, who refuses to cooperate with police.

Across the city, old-school reporter John Bailey – still haunted by the death of his girlfriend, former cop Sharon Dexter – gets a call about a break-in. It leads to the unearthing of an old case file on a murder at the men-only Sydney Club that Dexter had been pursuing a decade earlier. Her notes reveal a link between that murder and the killing of Tottie Evans.

Suddenly, John Bailey and Holly Sutton have the same mission. And for Bailey, this is a chance to finish a job for the woman who saved his life.

The only problem: a serial killer is already serving a life sentence for the Sydney Club murder.


The Wrong Man was a very impressive addition to the John Bailey series that sees the protagonist dragged into a series of dark murders.  Ayliffe pulls together an intense, compelling and character-focused narrative that makes great use of its protagonists to tell a layered and complex story of murder, secrets and redemption.

The plot of The Wrong Man is cleverly told from the perspective of three central characters, each of whom have their own unique contribution to the overarching story.  The central character is John Bailey, Ayliffe’s damaged series protagonist who has managed to rebuild his life after the trauma of the earlier books and now serves as a mostly balanced figure, determined to uncover the truth no matter what.  Forced to investigate two murders, including a recent slaying and an older killing that his dead former love interest solved, Bailey finds old pain coming to the surface again and must also face interference from one of his only friends, CIA spy Ronnie Johnson, who is trying to stop Bailey’s investigation into a prominent military contractor.  Bailey is backed up in this book by his current love interest, reporter Annie Brooks, whose own journalistic interest in the case is supported by her connection to one of the suspects.  The two of them prove to be an effective team, although I felt that the third central protagonist, Holly Sutton, was the one who stole the show.

Holly Sutton is a new police protagonist who is assigned to investigate the murders Bailey and Brooks are looking into.  Another highly damaged protagonist who has issues with debts and her own past, Sutton proves to be a jaded figure in the investigation.  This is enhanced by her realisation she has a dark connection to the case, especially when a cover-up she was inadvertently involved with forces her to keep key facts hidden from her boss.  This adds an additional element of secrecy to the plot, which works well alongside the complimentary storylines of the other protagonists.  Ayliffe presents a tight and exciting narrative for the entirety of The Wrong Man that goes in some intriguing directions.  I felt that the compelling mystery comes together extremely well, and the character-driven storylines are brought together in an exciting and high-stakes manner.  I felt that this was one of Ayliffe’s stronger stories, and I honestly powered through it in no time at all.

As with his preceding narratives in the John Bailey series, Ayliffe cleverly utilises some real-life Australian issues and themes in The Wrong Man, which I always enjoy, and which I feel gives some extra realism and impact.  This includes some interesting references to current Pacific politics and alliances, with the protagonist’s ability to interrogate a potential suspect impacted by the CIA, who have a vested interest in the area.  Ayliffe also provides some examinations of police corruption in the story, with the long-term impacts of cover-ups, conspiracies and other darker elements of the police, such as sexism, having a compelling role in the plot.  Other compelling inclusions examine the roles and responsibility of journalists in modern society, as well as some interesting references to reality television stars.  I really felt these elements worked well alongside the crime fiction storyline, and Ayliffe expertly utilises and explores these in the plot.

Overall, The Wrong Man was a fantastic and powerful piece of Australian fiction that once again highlights Tim Ayliffe’s ability to tell a compelling and intense narrative.  Cleverly continuing the author’s series while also exploring cool new protagonists, The Wrong Man was an excellent and captivating read that I had an outstanding time getting through.

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Quick Review – 2024 Crime Fiction novels

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Quick Review, Thriller2 Comments

As we get further into 2025, I have been trying to revisit some of the books from last year that I read but never got a chance to write reviews for.  This includes four excellent crime fiction reads from earlier in the year that I had fun getting through but which I never seemed to have enough time to publish anything about it.  I am hoping to rectify that now by quickly reviewing these fantastic 2024 releases with very interesting plots behind them.

Blood Mountain by Alisa Lynn Valdés

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (ebook – 16 October 2024)

Series: Jodi Luna – Book Two

Length: 331 pages

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

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The first book that I want to highlight was the intriguing and entertaining thriller, Blood Mountain by Alisa Lynn Valdés.  The second book in the author’s Jodi Luna series, Blood Mountain was an interesting novel that saw a contentious group caught up on a mountain with a killer on the loose.


Plot Synopsis:

New Mexico game warden Jodi Luna disrupts a murderous wilderness adventure in this thrilling second installment from Alisa Lynn Valdés, New York Times bestselling author of The Dirty Girls Social Club.

Former poetry professor Jodi Luna hasn’t quite adjusted to life as a game warden. Her boss thinks she’s better with animals than humans, and the man she’s seeing wants a real relationship. Still reeling from her husband’s death, Jodi has to admit that she keeps people at a distance.

After her new friend, wealthy actress Claudia Evans, gathers with family members in the New Mexico wilderness, Jodi gets some unsettling news—that Claudia’s brother-in-law is missing. Eager to help, Jodi ventures into the wild to investigate, only to be thwarted by a blizzard that leaves the entire group stranded at a fishing lodge.

Jodi is no stranger to extreme weather, but when these reluctant adventurers start turning up mauled around the snowed-in lodge, Jodi suspects the this was no bear. This was murder.

And inside the snowy confines of this rustic hideaway, everyone is fair game…

…for a killer.


Blood Mountain was a compelling and fast-paced read from Valdés that sought to combine a whodunnit in an isolated location with over-the-top characters, a great natural setting and other intriguing elements.  An intriguing sequel to the author’s previous Jodi Luna, Blood Mountain was a great book that works well as both a standalone novel and part of the larger series.  This was an entertaining read that I had a lot of fun getting into.

Starting off in a memorable way with a bear, the main plot sees protagonist Jodi Luna trapped in the central story location with a dysfunctional family, with a murderer on the loose.  Clashing with the elements and the entitled rich people she is forced to babysit, Luna tries to wrangle everyone through the night while discovering their secrets and motives for murder.  I felt the result was a decent whodunit narrative, and I liked the mystery that emerged.  The big personalities of the supporting cast allowed for a very exaggerated story at times, which helped to disguise the motives of the real killer to a degree.  While I do think that Valdés might have overplayed her social messaging to an unfortunate degree, for the most part Blood Mountain was a fantastic read that I was really glad I decided to check out.

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A Clean Kill by Steven Konkoly

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (ebook – 1 July 2024)

Series: Garrett Mann – Book One

Length: 384 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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The second book in this post is the very intense action-packed thriller, A Clean Kill by Steven Konkoly.  An excellent read that starts off as a serial killer story before transforming into a conspiracy laden spy thriller, A Clean Kill was one of the more unique books I read in 2024, and I really enjoyed its captivating plot. 


Plot Synopsis:

An FBI agent hunting a serial killer has to up his game when a trail of murders is not what it seems in a riveting thriller by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Steven Konkoly.

Five dismembered bodies are found along the roadside, dumped in the middle of nowhere. This isn’t new to Special Agent Garrett Mann. Head of ARTEMIS, a specialized FBI task force hell-bent on hunting down cartel-related killings in the Southwest, Mann has seen this before.

He and his team have been tracking similar kills along thousands of miles of rural roads running north, south, and back again. When the latest slaughter yields a key piece of evidence, Mann thinks he’s found the killer and solved the case. That’s when the nightmare begins.

From a lakeside Minnesota mansion to an abandoned CIA black site in New Mexico, the hunt is on. But the closer Mann gets to his prey, the deadlier the stakes become. This is no ordinary serial killer. He’s not working alone—and the stakes go far beyond just preventing the serial killer’s next massacre. What Mann unravels is a powerful and far-reaching conspiracy beyond his wildest imagination. 


This was a very cool thriller from Konkoly that goes in some excellent and exciting directions.  Starting off with an investigation from FBI agent Garrett Mann’s ARTEMIS team, who are hunting a serial killer, the case goes in some unique directions when the team find themselves under attack by an unknown organisation determined to help the killer escape.  Going against orders, the team attempt to find their suspect and uncover the truth only to become fugitives themselves.  Working outside the law, Mann and his team soon uncover an elaborate conspiracy as their opponents attempt to enact their own insidious plan using dangerous killers as their pawns.

A Clean Kill was one of the more thrilling and fun books I read last year, and I had a brilliant time powering through its compelling story.  Featuring a great conspiracy narrative and loaded with action, Konkoly keeps up a great pace the entire way through A Clean Kill that ensures the reader is constantly glued to the page.  I loved how the author kept raising the stakes for the protagonists, with the characters forced to go rogue to find justice and their killer.  Konkoly ensures everything leads up to an outstanding and fun major confrontation in the second half of the book, and you come away intrigued by how the series will continue.  While there were some flaws in how the antagonist’s motivations and history were shown to the reader, and the protagonist’s group contained way too many supporting characters, A Clean Kill was an overall excellent read and one that comes highly recommended.  I am hoping to read the sequel to this book, A Hired Kill, later this year, and I will be very interested to see how this series continues.

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Ghost of the Neon God by T. R. Napper

Publisher: Titan Books (Trade Paperback – 25 June 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 113 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Next we have the interesting science fiction novella Ghost of the Neon God by Australian author T. R. Napper.  Set in the same universe as Napper’s previous book, 36 Streets, Ghost of the Neon God was a cool cyberpunk adventure set in an over-teched, future Australia that gets wild in some amazing ways.


Plot Synopsis:

A thrilling, propulsive story of escape as a small-time crook goes on the run across Australia with a stolen secret that will change the world, perfect for fans of William Gibson’s All Tomorrow’s Parties, Richard Morgan and Ghost in the Shell.

Jackson Nguyen is a petty crook living slim on the mean streets of Melbourne. When he crosses paths with a desperate, but wealthy, Chinese dissident, begging for his help, Jack responds in the only natural he steals her shoes.

And yet, despite every effort to mind his own damn business, a wild spiral into the worst kind of trouble begins – Murder, mayhem, fast cars, fast-talking, bent cops, and long straight highways into the terrible beauty of the vast Australian Outback.

In Jack’s world, taking a stand against the ruling class is the shortest path to a shallow grave. But when an Earth-shattering technology falls into his hands, he must do everything he can to stop the wrong people taking it. In a world of pervasive government surveillance and oppressive corporate control, it’s up to a small-time criminal to keep the spark of human rebellion alive.


Napper came up with an intriguing tech thriller in Ghost of the Neon God that sees a petty thief caught up in dangerous events when he becomes the unwilling host to a powerful AI.  Quickly and effectively building up a storyline involving Chinese agents hunting the protagonist, the AI and their passenger throughout the country, Ghost of the Neon God was a compelling and action-packed read that made great use of the dark, technological future that Napper has envisioned in his previous works.  Thanks to its short length, Ghost of the Neon God is an easy book to power through, and I had a wonderful time reading this enjoyable and thoughtful read.

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The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

Publisher: Raven Books (Trade Paperback – 28 March 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 403 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The last crime fiction book that I want to review in this post is the impressive science fiction murder mystery The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton.  One of my most anticipated books for the first half of 2024, The Last Murder at the End of the World was the third book from Turton, who previously impressed me with his first book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.  This latest book was a particularly amazing novel that featured a distinctive plot and outstanding scenario.


Plot Synopsis:

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

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn’t solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

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

And the clock is ticking.


This was an intense and thought-provoking novel from Turton that saw the author combine an inventive science fiction scenario with complex mystery as the unusual protagonists attempt to solve a crime that goes against their very nature.  Turton was very ambitious in his writing for The Last Murder at the End of the World, as he effectively sets up this compelling society and loads it with secrets and unusual characters before throwing all their lives into chaos with the killing.

The resulting narrative goes in some very interesting directions, as the various secrets of the island are slowly revealed and the truth behind the killings is uncovered.  Turton’s elaborate setting really took on a life of its own as the book continued, and I deeply enjoyed the elaborate science fiction elements and complex world building that is skilfully introduced to the reader as the story continues.  There are a lot of clever elements to this book, and I really appreciated the powerful character work, the constantly evolving narrative and the raw emotion of the book, which helped to produce an outstanding read.

Other highlights of this book that I really enjoyed including the distinctive narration style that Turton utilises throughout The Last Murder at the End of the World, as the story is told through the eye of a computer connected to the mind of all the main characters.  Not only does this narrative tool help to produce a unique read but it also plays into the narrative in some very clever ways that I really appreciated.  This entire book comes together extremely well, and Turton resolves the mystery in a satisfying way, keeping the reader hooked all the way to the end.  The Last Murder at the End of the World proved to be quite a powerful book, and readers will come away very thoughtful thanks to the author’s unique ideas and intense storytelling.  Highly recommended, especially for those readers looking for something truly stylish and memorable.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Nightshade by Michael Connelly

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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out the next excellent crime fiction novel from the legendary Michael Connelly with the upcoming book Nightshade.

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There are few crime fiction writers who have had the longevity and popularity of Michael Connelly, an author behind an array of cool novels and iconic series.  Featuring some impressive murder mystery and thriller storylines, I have been really getting in Connelly’s work in recent years, including such amazing books as Dark Sacred Night, The Night Fire, The Dark Hours, Desert Star, Fair Warning, The Law of Innocence and Resurrection Walk.  Due to how much fun I have had with these outstanding novels, I am always in the mood for more Connelly, and it looks like we are getting our next crime fiction instalment from the author a little early with the upcoming book Nightshade.

Nightshade, which is coming out in May 2025, looks set to be another intriguing mystery from Connelly set around a new damaged protagonist.  Featuring a compelling setting and a distinctive hook, Nightshade sounds like a fantastic and exciting book, and one loaded with potential.

 

Plot Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces a new cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina island.

 Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been ‘exiled’ to a low-key post, policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found wrapped in plastic and weighed down at the bottom of the harbour. Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, he starts doggedly working the case. Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.

 

I really like the sound of the above plot synopsis for Nightshade, and it looks like Connelly has an interesting new novel coming out this year.  The combination of the Catalina Island setting and a new cop protagonist should ensure that Nightshade stands out from some of the author’s other recent books, especially as it’s the first new main character we’ve had from the author in a few years.  I am very curious to see how Detective Stilwell will differentiate himself from some of the Connelly’s other jaded protagonists, and I am sure that the author will come up with a moving backstory for Stilwell that will get the reader even more invested in the narrative.  Throw in dark secrets around the seemingly picturesque Catalina Island, a setting I really don’t too much about, and Nightshade has a lot going for it that is making me very excited.

Honestly, based on how impressive Michael Connelly’s last several books have been, there is no way that I will not be reading Nightshade when it comes out in a few months’ time.  The author always delivers when it comes to his excellent mysteries, and I have no doubt that this new Connelly book is going to be something very special.  This is already one of my most anticipated upcoming books of 2025, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it as soon as it comes out.

High Wire by Candice Fox

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller4 Comments

Publisher: Bantam (Trade Paperback – 24 September 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 480 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of Australia’s top authors of crime fiction finishes of 2024 with a massive bang as Candice Fox presents the powerful thriller, High Wire.

Few authors had the awesome year that Candice Fox did in 2024, as the author released three impressive crime fiction reads.  The first of these was the fast-paced crime fiction read, The Murder Inn, which Fox cowrote with the legendary James Patterson.  The sequel to their previous book, The Inn, The Murder Inn was a fantastic book that once again highlighted how well Fox and Patterson work together (see my review for their other book 2 Sisters Detective Agency).  Fox also released the intense character-driven thriller, Devil’s Kitchen, that saw two highly damaged characters attempt to uncover the secrets of a seemingly heroic group of firefighters with a true dark side to them.  Both The Murder Inn and Devil’s Kitchen were outstanding reads, and I was very happy I checked them out.  However, Fox decided to provide us with even more fun before the year was over with the standalone novel High Wire.  Taking the author back to her home country, High Wire was a compelling and deeply intense Australian thriller that takes you hostage and refuses to let go.

Out in the outback of Australia lies a notorious unmarked track known as the High Wire.  Cutting across the country from Broome to Sydney, the High Wire is a lawless road full of small towns, unregulated trails and mobile phone blackspots.  A favourite hangout of smugglers, hijackers and criminals, only the desperate, the dangerous and those looking for trouble use the High Wire.

Harvey Buck, former soldier and current recluse, knows all about the dangers of the High Wire, but desperation forces him to travel along it to reach his dying girlfriend.  Despite knowing better, he stops to pick up a hapless traveller, Clare Holland, whose car has broken down on the road.  However, Clare isn’t the person he should be worried about, as the two are soon ambushed by a masked assailants with their own sinister agenda.

Strapped into bomb vests, Harvey and Clare are forced into a twisted game by vengeful figures from Harvey’s past seeking to ruin his life and reputation.  Forced to commit a series of increasingly murderous missions across several small towns, the two prisoners try to work together to escape and stop the insanity going on around them.  Harvey and Clare’s only hope may be Senior Sergeant Edna Norris, one of the few police officers stationed on the Wire, and who soon begins to follow the trail of destruction being left in their wake.  But Edna has her own problems, especially when Clare’s husband arrives on the scene with his own dark plans.

High Wire was another awesome book from Candice Fox that provides readers will some of the best Australian thrills and action that there were likely to get in 2024.  Featuring a bold, compelling and powerful character-driven tale of revenge and escape, High Wire was an outstanding read from one of my favourite Australian authors and one that I cannot recommend enough.

Fox hits the ground running hard with High Wire’s excellent narrative, and I honestly was hooked early on thanks to the compelling and intense story.  Quickly introducing the protagonist, Harvey Buck, as well as the High Wire, the lawless road that serves as an intriguing background setting for the plot.  After a quick introduction to a secondary protagonist, the mysterious Clare Holland, the main plot of High Wire takes off as the two are ambushed by a group of armed attackers, who take them prisoner after a bloody shootout, and strap them into elaborate bomb vests.  Fox keeps the tension running high here, as it becomes clear that the kidnappers know Harvey and are seeking revenge for some past misdeed.  Around the same time, the readers are introduced to the other major point-of-view character, Senior Sergeant Edna Norris, who finds herself on the trail of Harvey, Clare and the kidnappers without knowing who is responsible and with an unlikely teenage sidekick helping and hindering her in equal measure.

The plot soon becomes even more intense on several levels, as Fox works several intriguing storylines and elements simultaneously to tell a complex and exciting narrative.  The main plot around Harvey and Clare proves to be quite intense, as the two are forced to commit a series of brutal crimes while also trying to escape or take out their captors.  Fox carefully doles out intriguing background on both Harvey and Clare to the readers, and you soon discover both have complicated pasts, as Clare is running from her suddenly murderous husband, while Harvey’s past connection to the kidnappers is revealed in a series of dark flashbacks.  These flashbacks help to paint the main storyline in some different shades of grey, as you begin to realise that Harvey isn’t the moral hero you initially believed he would be, and while the antagonists are worse, you begin to doubt that Harvey deserves to survive.

At the same time, the focus on Edna and her intriguing supporting cast goes in some interesting directions, as she follows the carnage left behind by the kidnappers and their unwilling pawns.  Not only is Edna forced to deal with her hard-headed charge Talon, but she finds herself in all manner of trouble when Clare’s husband, Gareth Holland the Northern Territory Police Commissioner, arrives on the scene looking for his wife.  Instantly suspicious of Gareth, Edna is forced off the case due to police politics but continues to try and investigate, determining that she needs to get to Clare first.  Edna’s storyline, which I personally enjoyed the most in High Wire, goes in some fantastic directions, and she soon finds herself forced to survive the murderous attentions of Gareth, while also trying to solve the clues being left behind by Harvey.  Fox does an excellent job running these somewhat separated storylines simultaneously, and they tie into each other just enough to create an amazing overarching narrative.  Fox wrapped these various storylines up in a very effective way, with a satisfying moment in the Edna storyline, while the main narrative goes out on a very dark note, which I felt was a powerful result to some of the character work that Fox had been building up.  This honestly ended up being an epic and compelling standalone thriller, and I really appreciated how Fox held back no punches to create this powerful read.

Fox did another amazing job bringing this intense and complex narrative together, and I felt that High Wire was one of her more hard-hitting and enjoyable novels.  I loved how the author imbued High Wire with a very dark edge, and between the intense action, despicable villains and deadly plot you really come away not wanting to visit central Australia.  The setting of the “High Wire”, a semi-secret road running the length of Australia proved to be an awesome background, and Fox’s strong descriptions of the red-earthed, isolated road combined with its inherent lawlessness and dangerous inhabitants, gave me some major Mad Max vibes as I was reading the book.  I felt that Fox utilised this setting perfectly throughout High Wire, and it helped to give this novel a very distinctive feel.  The author also made great use of splitting the story across several intriguing central characters.  The two main storylines, the one involving Harvey and Clare and the one following Edna and Talon, played off each other extremely well, and having Edna constantly behind the other protagonists and their captors allowed for a great chase narrative, as they tried to interpret all the events going on in front of them.  Information from Harvey and Clare also cleverly increased the tension in the other storyline, especially as you learn in advance just how deadly secondary antagonist Gareth Holland is, which allows you to fully appreciate his manipulations and darker agenda.  The balance between these two storylines was extremely effective, even with the additional flashback chapters, and this ensured that High Wire had a great pace to it that easily keeps the reader’s attention.

High Wire’s intense and compelling story was greatly enhanced by several fantastic and complex characters whose unique, and often dark narratives, provided some nuanced and complicated tales of personal growth and survival.  The main protagonist, Harvey Buck (a great uber-masculine name btw), is a former soldier who spends the book trying to survive the plans of his attackers and save as many people as possible.  While Harvey seems to be a good character, Fox makes excellent use of flashbacks to dive into his history with the antagonists, which provides some added complexity to the plot, as both sides have committed atrocities against the other.  The same can be said for secondary protagonist, Clare Holland, a seemingly helpless figure inadvertently dragged into events.  While Clare is portrayed as a victim for much of the plot, she eventually reveals an intriguing backstory to Harvey that ties into her complicated marriage, which implies she isn’t as innocent as she seems.  The character I most got drawn to was local cop, Senior Sergeant Edna Norris, who comes away as one of the few legitimately decent people in the book.  Thanks to her caring personality and clever insights, Edna is a protagonist you can get behind 100%, and even when elements of her past are brought up, it proves hard not to still see her as the best figure in the book.

Aside from these key characters, Fox features several intriguing supporting figures in High Wire, including some impressive antagonists.  The main supporting character that is featured in the book is Talon, a teenager who is taken under Edna’s wing after she arrests him.  An initially annoying and impulsive figure, Talon grows on you as the book continues, especially with his entertaining imagination and surprisingly accurate insights.  However, it is the villains of the High Wire who I think stole the show here.  The two kidnappers who take control of Harvey and Clare with bomb vests prove to be despicable, if highly damaged figures, and it was fascinating to see how much their current behaviour is due to previous rough treatment from Harvey.  Clare’s husband, Gareth Holland, proves to be an excellent secondary antagonist, especially as he has his own murderous agenda and uses his position as Northern Territory Police Commissioner to get away with his goals.  In some ways Gareth was a better villain than the kidnappers, especially as he is far more soulless figure who ends up being quite smug and controlling.  I really enjoyed the entertaining way that Fox wrapped up Gareth’s storyline in this book, and it was quite satisfying to see him get what he deserved.  These character deeply enhanced Hire Wire’s narrative, and it was awesome to see their various storylines unfold.

High Wire ended up being an incredible and thrilling piece of crime fiction from one of Australia’s best writers Candice Fox.  Dark, brutal and filled with some complex and damaged characters, High Wire quickly gets you hooked, and you are in for an outstanding time with this brilliant read.

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Quick Review – The Ascent by Adam Plantinga

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Quick Review, Thriller7 Comments

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Paperback – 12 November 2024)

Series: Kurt Argento – Book One

Length: 343 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Intriguing new author Adam Plantinga presents one of the most entertaining and exciting debuts of 2024 with the outstanding and brilliantly over-the-top thriller, The Ascent.

Plot Synopsis:

Kurt Argento, an ex-Detroit street cop who can’t let injustice go—and who has the fighting skills to back up his idealism. If he sees a young girl being dragged into an alley, he’s going to rescue her and cause some damage.  When he does just that in a small corrupt Missouri town, he’s brutally beaten and thrown into a maximum-security prison.

Julie Wakefield, a grad student who happens to be the governor’s daughter, is about to take a tour of the prison. But when a malfunction in the security system releases a horde of prisoners, a fierce struggle for survival ensues.  

Argento must help a small band of staff and civilians, including Julie and her two state trooper handlers, make their way from the bottom floor to the roof to safety.  All that stands in their way are six floors of the most dangerous convicts in Missouri.  

The Ascent was a particularly awesome read that I had a fantastic time reading.  The debut novel from Adam Plantinga, a police officer who has previously written some non-fiction books on the experiences of law enforcement officials, The Ascent was a bonkers, balls-to-the-wall novel loaded with fun storytelling, intense action, and all the carnage you would ever want.

As you would imagine from a book with the very cool plot synopsis above, The Ascent was a very fast-paced novel designed to grab a reader’s attention fast and keep them hooked with the appropriate offerings of violence, extreme moments and over-the-top characters.  Plantinga delivers all that in spades as he quickly introduces his main characters for the book, with a particular focus on protagonist Kurt Argento, a damaged former cop with a hero complex who has left his home city to find himself.  Encountering injustice in small town Missouri, Argento is framed by the corrupt sheriff and sent to the Whitehall Correctional Facility, a maximum-security private prison.  Serendipitously, secondary protagonist Julie Wakefield, the governor’s daughter, arrives at Whitehall with her security detail at the same time as Argento for an educational tour.  While coincidental, this proves to be a rather impactful and effective introduction to the main characters, and I honestly found myself getting really drawn into the book at this point, as you have all information you need before things go to hell.

With the prison’s systems failing and convicts being released from their cells, Argento’s aid is reluctantly accepted by a small group of police, prison guards and other staff to help take Julie from the bottom level of the prison to the roof.  Forced to fight up one level of the prison to the next, the plot gets extremely crazy, as the protagonists encounter even worse criminals on each floor of the prison, are hunted by an assassin gunning for Argento and are forced to contend with the demons of several members of the group.  Plantinga keeps the action going hard and fast through this part of the book, and you honestly can’t turn away from the intense scenes that occur as the protagonists keep moving up.  There is a certain gritty realism to the desperation of the protagonists as they try to survive, and you become even more enthralled by the narrative as they constantly battered main characters fight higher and higher up the prison facing worse odds the entire way.  There are some intense betrayals, clever twists, and some truly dark moments as the plot continues, and you will honestly find yourself hooked right up to the brutal finale, with Plantinga featuring a satisfying conclusion that hints at more adventures to come. 

I really loved how The Ascent came together, and Plantinga wrote an impactful, hard-hitting action thriller that proved very hard to put down.  Between its compelling, if exaggerated plot, gritty action and intriguing characters, there is a lot to love about The Ascent, and I honestly got really hooked on this book as it continued, getting through the last 300 pages in one enjoyable chunk of late-night reading.  The wonderfully over-the-top story moved at such a quick-fire pace, while shoving so much cool action into the reader’s face.  Plantinga clearly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the fights in this book, and the reader is gifted to a truly awesome and outrageous amount of violence and carnage, which only gets crazier the further in you get.  Between warring gangs, brutal ambushes, desperate battles against killers, and encounters with some truly scary and unhinged beings, the protagonists go through hell, and you honestly are left waiting to see if they will survive, especially as Plantinga throws in some dark sacrifices to keep you on your toes.  These intense inclusions work extremely well with the fantastic storytelling, and I had so much fun seeing the characters race from bloody fight to bloody fight.  I will say that this is an excessive book at times, and the descriptions of brutal violence and other darker things might not be for every reader, but for those fans of bloody thrillers or brutal action films, this is the perfect book for you to check out. 

While I have tended to highlight the action a lot in this review, I must point out that Plantinga brought together a well-written tale of survival that proves to be intense, entertaining and powerful at the same time.  The plot about moving up the levels of the prison was cleverly set out, and the actions of the characters always seem quite reasonable and realistic, especially the combination of doubt and determination that resulted from the increased conflict and catastrophe.  You could honestly feel the desperation of the characters as the book continued, and while things got quite crazy the further along you got, there was always a grain of realism to the plot, especially as the protagonists struggled more and more the further along they got.  If I had one complaint about The Ascent, it’s that they never fully explained or explored the reasons behind the issues impacting the prison, which seems like a major oversight in my opinion, although I may forgive that if it becomes a plot point in later books.  I will also say that it is very clear that The Ascent is written by a police officer, although I did think that Plantinga tried to cover the profession with some nuance, which was appreciated.

A key thing about The Ascent that I need to compliment is the excellent character work.  Kurt Argento is an outstandingly damaged protagonist going through some real grief at the loss of his wife.  Plantinga does a great job setting up his current hero complex and death wish as a consequence of this loss, and you really feel his pain as he keeps trying to do the right thing, even if it kills him.  The other main protagonist, Julie, is another well-written character, as this somewhat sheltered character learns to fight back against those coming for her as she comes face to face with the dark side of humanity.  These two characters form a great duo, and I appreciated how Plantinga played them off each other, especially towards the end of the book.  The other supporting characters in The Ascent were also well-written, and Plantinga introduces an interesting array of disparate personality types that conflict against each other in compelling ways, especially when things get particularly bad.  These excellent characters helped to evolve The Ascent above a typical action thriller, and readers will find themselves quite invested in seeing how these figures will survive as a result.

Overall, The Ascent by Adam Plantinga was an epic and highly captivating debut that I had a really, really fun time with.  Plantinga presented a true action classic guaranteed to keep your attention the entire way through, and it honestly proves hard to put The Ascent down at times.  Dark, bloody and intense in all the best ways, The Ascent was one of the most memorable debuts of 2024 and I am so damn glad I decided to check it out.  I cannot wait to read more from Plantinga, and I am already very keen to grab the sequel to The Ascent, Hard Town, which is coming out in a few months’ time.

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Quick Review – Gunnawah by Ronni Salt

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Quick Review6 Comments

Publisher: Hachette Australia (Trade Paperback – 1 January 2025)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 328 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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New Australian author Ronni Salt presents a compelling new crime fiction debut with the fantastic novel Gunnawah, an intriguing and distinctive read that explores an intriguing period of rural Australian history.

Plot Synopsis:

It’s 1974 in the Riverina

The weather is hot

But the body in the Murray River is stone cold . . .

A captivating and compulsive crime thriller about guns, drugs and a young woman dead on the money

When nineteen-year-old farmgirl Adelaide Hoffman applies for a cadetship at the Gunnawah Gazette, she sees it as her ticket out of a life too small for her. The paper’s owner, Valdene Bullark, seeing something of the girl she once was in young Adelaide, puts her straight to work.

What starts as a routine assignment covering an irrigation project soon puts Adelaide on the trail of a much bigger story. Water is money in farming communities, and when Adelaide starts asking questions, it’s like she’s poked a bull ant’s nest. Someone will do whatever it takes to stop Adelaide and Val finding out how far the river of corruption and crime runs.

Shady deals. Vested interests. A labyrinth of lies. It seems everyone in Gunnawah has a secret to keep. And too many are already dead quiet.

Set deep in the heart of rural Australia during the era of Gough Whitlam, pub brawls and flared jeans, Gunnawah is a compulsive crime thriller of corruption, guns and drugs from Australian Noir’s most arresting new voice.

Gunnawah was an excellent first book from Ronni Salt that was an amazing and entertaining bit of Australian fiction to start 2025 on.  Cleverly examining the unique landscape of Australia’s Riverina area in the 1970s and diving into its controversial history, Gunnawah was a fast-paced and surprisingly complex read that blended big characters with an addictive crime fiction narrative.

The book has an interesting, if slow, start to it, as the reader is introduced to the protagonist, Adelaide Hoffman, as well as the various other memorable inhabitants of the town.  Much of the first third of Gunnawah is dedicated to building these figures up, while also hinting at the many secrets surrounding the town.  While readers don’t get a lot of excitement off the bat in Gunnawah, I felt that this slow burn start was vital to the book’s later impact, especially as Salt loads up a ton of clues and hints about the later events of the book.

Things begin to heat up when the protagonists discover that there is a darker side to their small town, especially when it becomes clear a vital new irrigation project has ties to a local drug operation, while other crimes remain hidden in the shadows.  There are some tense scenes as Adelaide, Val and their offsider Wayne begin to uncover what’s really going on around Gunnawah.  However, it is the last third of the book that really ensures Gunnawah sticks in the mind.  Starting off with a big event that is reminiscent of a particularly infamous Australian crime, the protagonists are soon thrust into greater danger and are forced to fight back like the battling Australian farmers they are.  There are some awesome scenes here, especially as damaged protagonist Adelaide shows how badass she is, and I liked some of the satisfying conclusions that occur to the main story.  Salt also cleverly ties up some other intriguing mysteries that have been running alongside the central plot, and I liked the solutions that emerged, especially as the resulting reveals were well built up in the earlier parts of the book.  Readers come away very satisfied with how Salt concludes Gunnawah, and there is some potential to continue this book as a series if the author wants to.

Salt pulls together an intriguing book for her debut that blends a fantastic crime fiction read with some cool historical inclusions and a subtle web of humour that proves hard to get away from.  Featuring a mass of interesting perspective characters, Gunnawah’s plot revolves around finding out all their relevant secrets and working together the storylines of the various big personalities in the town.  These multiple perspectives help to create a complex and layered narrative, and they often backup the fantastic central characters of Adelaide and Val.  The author builds up some excellent character development and human moments throughout Gunnawah, especially as there are some complex and damaged protagonists featured throughout.  For example, Adelaide comes into the narrative traumatised by a previous incident that is expanded on as the book continues, and it was great to see her regain her confidence as Gunnawah continues.

The rest of the characters in the novel are an excellent combination of outrageous small-town folk, and a lot of Gunnawah’s humour is built from the fantastically funny interactions between these entertaining figures.  For example, Val and Wayne, long-time friends who have history with the seedier side of Sydney before coming to small-town Gunnawah, prove to be a highly entertaining duo, and I enjoyed how they took events into their own hands, especially when it comes to protecting Adelaide.  Other great humorous figures include the ambitious, if slightly hapless, mayor of Gunnawah and his social-climbing wife, whose antics in face of the serious crimes going on around town prove to be a lot of fun.  These figures, as well as a range of other great exaggerated small-town folk in Gunnawah, add a lot to how entertaining Gunnawah proved to be, and I am curious to see if Salt will revisit them in any future books.

Another amazing aspect of Gunnawah that I really enjoyed was the fantastic historical background surrounding the main setting of the plot.  Salt did a great job emulating a Riverina town for this book, and you really got the sense of a small Australian town in the 1970s, with the mixture of farmers, local politics and other country folk.  Small towns always work well in Australian crime fiction, especially as readers love to see antics out in the bush, and Salt makes her story stand out by tying the narrative into real-life crime aspects of 1970s Australia.  In particular, the narrative features representatives of a criminal organisation active during the period, and one of the major events of the books is highly reminiscent of the Donald Mackay incident.  The author also includes a lot of references to larger events occurring around Australia during the period, especially rampant police corruption in New South Wales, as well as a focus on Australian politics.  I personally enjoyed seeing the references to the Gough Whitlam era, and Salt actually includes a visit from Whitlam to Gunnawah as part of the plot, which proves to be quite a fun scene, especially when two of the book’s more entertaining personalities become involved.  These intriguing historical inclusions give Gunnawah some real authenticity, especially if you are familiar with how bad things got in the Riverina area during the period, and I appreciated how Salt worked it into her narrative.

Ronni Salt comes out of the gate swinging with her first novel as Gunnawah proves to be an outstanding and compelling piece of Australian fiction.  An amazing debut to start 2025 on, Gunnawah featured a great blend of crime fiction and historical inclusions to create a gripping and entertaining read.  I had an awesome time reading Gunnawah, and I look forward to seeing what Salt writes next.

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Quick Review – The Recruiter by Gregg Podolski

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Quick Review2 Comments

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing (ebook – 23 July 2024)

Series: Rick Carter – Book One

Length: 327 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 pages

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I read a bunch of fun debuts in 2024, but one of my favourites was the awesome and action-packed thriller from Gregg Podolski, The Recruiter.  Following an entertaining protagonist as he faces the mistakes of his past, as well as a crew of ruthless assassins he personally recruited, this was a fantastic first novel from Podolski that I honestly had a ton of fun with.


Plot Synopsis:

When bad guys need good help, they call Rick Carter.

He’s a criminal recruiter, searching for contract killers, cyber hackers, gun smugglers, and any other assorted villains-for-hire a European crime boss might need. But, when the family he left behind in New Jersey is caught up in a client’s plot to monopolize the black market, Rick has to save them from two of his own top candidates: deadly assassins known only as Ghost and The Persian.

Fixing his own mess will require a set of skills he doesn’t have—not a problem, as finding qualified help is where he excels. But stepping into action, becoming the hero his family needs, that’s new territory. For a man who’s spent the last ten years being the best at helping the worst, this may be his last chance to do something right.


I really liked the central plot idea that Podolski came up with for The Recruiter, as his protagonist, rather than being an extreme action-orientated hero, is someone who took their corporate recruiter job to the next level and started working with criminals in the same capacity.  This was an interesting change of pace which I think worked well, especially when combined with a sinister conspiracy and threats close to the protagonist’s home.

Podolski starts The Recruiter off hot and fast as you are quickly introduced to the protagonist, Rick Carter, and the recruitment business he has built up.  The story takes an interesting turn when Rick is kidnapped and forced to work for a shadowy organisation that wants him to pull together a team of killers to take out several law enforcement officers across the world.  Reluctantly agreeing to work with them, Rick is soon forced to turn against his new employers when he discovers that one of their targets is connected to his own family who Rick abandoned years before.  Suddenly finding his two top recruits working against him, Rick is forced to pull together an unlikely last-minute team to accompany him back to America to save his family and work out who is trying to kill them.

The Recruiter’s resulting story is the awesome and captivating action thrill ride you would expect with that sort of set-up.  Podolski keeps things moving fast, and there is always something awesome or interesting on the page as the protagonist attempts to keep his family safe while trying to determine why they are being targeted.  There are some excellent betrayals, compelling twists and big action moments as the plot proceeds, and I had a fun time seeing the protagonist’s unique plans in action.  Podolski does a good job balancing this excitement with some moving character moments as the protagonist reunites with the wife and kids he left behind, and the resulting heartfelt sequences add a fantastic emotional edge to the entire book.  The author ends The Recruiter on an excellent note that keeps the reader strongly engaged right up to the end and finishes with some thrilling confrontations with the protagonist’s former assassins.  There is also a fun reveal that, while not entirely unexpected, was interesting, especially as it indicates Podolski has plans to continue the series in the future.

You can tell that Podolski had a great time writing this novel, and I personally loved the awesome story and exciting writing style, which made The Recruiter very easy to read and power through.  I especially enjoyed the fantastic characters, as the author introduced several compelling and memorable figures throughout the plot.  The main one naturally was protagonist and point-of-view character Rick Carter, who serves as an awesome central figure for the story.  While I do think that Podolski occasionally made Rick a little too zany, for the most part he was a great sarcastic protagonist that thriller fans will appreciate.  Thanks to his skillset as a recruiter rather than an operator, Rick stands out compared to your typical thriller protagonist, and there are some entertaining sequences where he uses his talent for networking and other corporate skills to defeat his opponents.  There is also the great emotional element to Rick’s story as he deals with his own guilt at abandoning his family, and it proved captivating to see how he reflects and moves forward through it.  Other great characters include a rookie operative recruit that Rick hires who proves to be both a real badass and a potential love interest, Rick’s former ace assassins who more than live up to their reputation, as well as a great overarching antagonist who steals the early scenes they are in and remain a threatening presence throughout the entire plot.

I had an absolute blast with The Recruiter, and it ended up being an outstanding debut from this first-time author.  An exciting and compelling character-driven read, The Recruiter was a book that was very easy to have fun with, and I am very glad I decided to check it out.  I look forward to seeing if Gregg Podolski will continue this series in the future, and I know that I will be grabbing the sequel when it comes out.

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Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Thrillers, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction and Comics releasing in the First Half of 2025

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Historical Fiction, List, Murder Mystery, Thriller13 Comments

Welcome to my second Top Ten Tuesday list of the week, were I look at my most anticipated thrillers, crime fiction and historical fiction novels coming out in the first half of 2025. Traditionally I usually only do one list to represent the top upcoming books for the year, however, I was inspired to separate out the fantasy and science fiction novels into my previous list, while this list will feature epic reads from the other major genres that I am interested in.

Despite only just starting, 2025 is already shaping up to be an epic and exciting year for books with a huge range of impressive and highly anticipated novels due for release in the next 12 months.  This includes exciting debuts, anticipated sequels and the latest entries in beloved bestselling series.  The first half of the year is looking particularly awesome, with a substantial number of incredible upcoming releases that I am deeply looking forward to. 

Even though I excluded fantasy and science fiction books, this ended up being a rather difficult list to pull together due to all the awesome releases coming out in Australia or on Netgalley between 1 January 2025 and 30 June 2025.  There were way too many extraordinary upcoming books that I could have included, and I ended up having to make some very tough calls and cutting several novels that have an immense amount of potential.  Despite this, I am rather happy with the eventual choices that I made, and I think that this list reflects the upcoming novels and comics I am going to have the most fun reading. However, there are also some interesting new books that I am discussing for the first time here, so that should give this list a bit of variety.  So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2025.

Honourable Mentions:

Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman – 6 February 2025

An interesting and entertaining new murder mystery from one of my yearly must-read authors, Open Season continues the awesome Alex Delaware series and pits the detective protagonists against a killer determined to take out Hollywood hopefuls.

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Pacific Heights by S. R. White – 25 March 2025

One of the more interesting authors of Australian crime fiction, S. R. White (see my reviews for Prisoner, Red Dirt Road and White Ash Ridge) is set to release a standalone whodunnit with Pacific Heights.  Featuring a cool plot about detectives trying to unwind different stories about who killed someone from five separate witnesses, Pacific Heights sounds really awesome, and I cannot wait to check it out.

 

The Pilgrim’s Revenge by Scott Mariani by 24 April 2025

An exciting and intense revenge thriller set in the time of King Richard the Lionheart; The Pilgrim’s Revenge should be a very epic read.

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Vanish by Shelley Burr – 30 April 2025

Rising Australian author Shelley Burr follows up her excellent first two crime fiction novels, Wake and Ripper with the intriguing third entry Vanish.  Once again set in a small Australian community, Vanish will see the series’ damaged protagonist investigate a problematic commune as he attempts to find out the truth behind a long-lost missing girl.  Sure to be one of the top Australian releases of 2025.

Top Ten Tuesday:

Grave Danger by James Grippando – 14 January 2025

Back in 2024 I had the pleasure of reading my first book from impressive James Grippando, Goodbye Girl, a fantastic entry in the author’s Jack Swyteck series.  A compelling and twisty legal thriller, Goodbye Girl was really fun to read, and I am now quite keen to continue the series.  As such, I am planning to grab the upcoming book, Grave Danger, as soon as it comes out.  Featuring an intriguing case about international child custody and murder, Grave Danger has some real potential, and I know I am going to have a great time with this awesome book.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 40: The Crow by Stan Sakai – 4 February 2025

A very easy inclusion to this list was the next entry in one of my favourite comic book series with volume 40 of the Usagi Yojimbo series, The Crow.  I only just published a review of the previous volume, Ice and Snow, a few days ago, so I am quite excited to see that a new entry is coming out very soon.  Set to continue some of the author’s excellent ongoing storylines about the titular rabbit ronin, The Crow should be another awesome volume in the series, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it the first chance I get.

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Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz – 11 February 2025

Early 2025 is filled with a ton of great spy thrillers from some of my favourite authors, and that includes the new Orphan X book from Gregg Hurwitz, Nemesis.  Set after the events of the 2024 book, Lone Wolf, Nemesis will see the former government assassin turned vigilante protagonist square off against his best friend over secrets that were kept from him.  However, other shadowy players soon reveal themselves, and Orphan X will need to fight deadly enemies and a former friend to survive.  This looks set to be a particularly compelling and emotionally charged addition to the series and I cannot wait to check it out.

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The Medici Return by Steve Berry – 11 February 2025

Each year I have a ton of fun with the entertaining and elaborate Cotton Malone books by Steve Berry that combine modern thriller storylines with hidden historical secrets and elaborate historical settings.  Books like The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol, The Kaiser’s Web, The Last Kingdom and The Atlas Maneuver, have all really impressed me, and the Cotton Malone books are now a must-read for me each year.  This includes the early 2025 release, The Medici Return, which will see a dark conspiracy emerge in Italy when an ancient debt owed by the church threatens to destabilise everything.  This sounds like another awesome thriller, and I cannot wait to dive into the history of the famous Medici family with this new fantastic book.

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Midnight Black by Mark Greaney – 18 February 2025

A spy thriller book I am particularly keen to get my hands on this year is Midnight Black by Mark Greaney.  The 14th book in Greaney’s Gray Man series, Midnight Black follows on after the cliffhanger ending of The Chaos Agent and sees the titular assassin protagonist burn through Russia and Siberia to free his imprisoned love interest.  This latest Gray Man book has the potential to be one of the most intense and impressive novels of 2025, and I cannot wait to see how Greaney continues his elaborate and always action-packed series.

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Burn to Shine by Jonathan Maberry – 4 March 2025

Readers of this blog will know I am a huge fan of Jonathan Maberry, so the inclusion of his next big thriller, Burn to Shine, on this list should come as no surprise, especially after I just published reviews of his 2024 books NecroTek and The Dragon in Winter.  Once again focussing on the author’s iconic protagonist, Joe Ledger, Burn to Shine will be the fourth book in the Rogue Team International series, which has previously featured such awesome books as Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), and Cave 13 (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023).  This new entry in the series will see Ledger and his team deal with a new world-ending threat, with old enemies returning, seeking revenge.  I really love the sound of this new book, and I already know it’s going to get a five-star rating from me.

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A Death in Berlin by Simon Scarrow – 13 March 2025

After wowing me last year with Revenge of Rome, one of my favourite historical fiction authors, Simon Scarrow looks set to continue one of his other cool series with the third Berlin Wartime thriller, A Death in Berlin.  Following on from Blackout and Dead of Night, A Death in Berlin will once again place Scarrow’s complex protagonist, the last honest detective in Berlin, as he tries to investigate dark crimes in the shadow of World War II and the crimes of the Nazi regime.  I have deeply enjoyed the previous Berlin Wartime thrillers, and I cannot wait to see what elaborate story Scarrow has for us this time.

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The White Fortress by Boyd and Beth Morrison – 15 April 2025

The awesome team of thriller author Boyd Morrison and historian Beth Morrison return with the third book in their Tales of the Lawless Land series, The White Fortress.  Continuing the story started in The Lawless Land and its sequel The Last True Templar, The White Fortress will once again follow the author’s excommunicated knight protagonist and his adventurous wife as they become embroiled in dangerous quests across 14th century Europe.  This time, the pair end up in Croatia, where they become involved in a deadly plot involving a prophecy and a lost codex written by Marco Polo.  I have had an amazing time with the first two books in the series and I cannot wait to see how this wonderful pair of authors continue their ambitious and thrilling historical series.

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Nightshade by Michael Connelly – 20 May 2025

One of my most anticipated upcoming murder mysteries is the new Michael Connelly novel, Nightshade.  While the cover for Nightshade has yet to be released, the plot synopsis sounds really cool as Connelly introduces a new police protagonist assigned to the idyllic Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles who is forced to investigate a sinister murder when a body washes up on the shore of the island.  I love the idea of exploring a new Connelly character, especially one based around a cool setting, and this should end up being an excellent and strong murder mystery from this always compelling author.

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Never Flinch by Stephen King – 27 May 2025

The final book I want to highlight on this list is probably the one I am most excited for this year with the new Stephen King novel, Never Flinch.  I have been having such a great time getting into Stephen King’s incredible books these last few years, and some of his most recent releases, such as Later, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers and You Like It Darker, have completely enthralled me. However, my favourite Stephen King books have so far been his compelling dives into crime fiction. Starting with the dark and powerful Mr Mercedes and featuring the three outstanding Bill Hodges books, King has expanded his crime fiction works by focussing on the unique protagonist of Holly Gibney. The subsequent Holly Gibney focused books, The Outsider (one of my favourite horror novels) and Holly (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), were extremely exceptional, and I have loved the brilliant, yet shocking, narratives they contained.  As such, I am very, very keen to read the upcoming Holly Gibney book, Never Flinch.  Set to follow this great protagonist as she deals with two dangerous opponents, a serial killer and a stalker, Never Flinch sounds incredible, and I have no doubt this will be one of the best things I read in 2025.

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That is the end of this list.  I am extremely happy with how my latest Top Ten Tuesday article turned out and this list contains an intriguing collection of upcoming books that should prove to be incredible reads.  I think that nearly every one of these books has the potential to get a full five-star rating from me and I cannot wait to see what amazing and exciting stories they contain.  While I am waiting to get my hands on these books, why not let me know if any of the above interest you, as well as what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.  Also, make sure to check out my other Top Ten List with the top upcoming fantasy and science fiction books of 2025.