Criminally Good Reads
It’s a bumper week for thriller fans
The Lost Man JANE HARPER (LITTLE, BROWN, £12.99)
With The Dry and Force Of Nature, Jane Harper carved out a niche writing stories set in an unchartered new fiction territory – the Australian Outback. Both Sunday Times bestsellers, they were superbly done whodunnits, featuring a classic troubled detective in Aaron Falk. So, if you loved those… reset your expectations now. Harper’s third novel is a standalone, and there’s no Falk to be found. There isn’t even much in the way of a crime. Instead, at its core, this is a dark family drama centring on three cattle farmer brothers – one of whom has just been found dead at sinister local landmark The Stockman’s Grave. The very definition of a slow burn, this is much like the land in which it is set – spartan, atmospheric, and really quite beautiful. ★★★★★ Lisa Howells The Silent Patient ALEX MICHAELIDES (ORION, £12.99) Alicia Berenson is completely in love with husband Gabriel – right up until the moment she shoots him. But what made her kill him? No one knows, because – ever since she put the bullets in him five years ago, Alicia has refused to speak. Taking up a post at her clinic, psychotherapist Theo is convinced he’s the only one who can unravel the events of that night. This really is one of those novels where the less you know, the better. ★★★★ Andrea Martin Connections In Death JD ROBB (PIATKUS, £20) Back in 1995, Nora Roberts decided to take a break from penning her best-selling romances to try something new. That something new was a crime story set in a brutal near-future, featuring a hard-asnails cop who killed her abusive father when she was eight, and marries a billionaire ex-criminal. Whatever Roberts was smoking, she hit on a formula that would go on to sell over 66 MILLION copies worldwide. The latest installment in the In Death series is no.48, and it’s just as addictive as the previous 47. This time, Lt Eve Dallas investigates the overdose of a reformed gang member. She knows it’s murder, and it isn’t long before bodies are piling up. ★★★★ Lisa Howells The Stranger Inside LAURA BENEDICT (MULHOLLAND BOOKS, £14.99) Kimber Hannon returns from a weekend away to find she’s unable to get into her St Louis house. The locks have been changed and there’s a stranger living there, who tells the police that she rented the home to him. Events take an even more sinister turn when the intruder tells Kimber, “I saw what you did.” Who is this man and how does he know the secret she’s kept for more than 20 years? This classy, atmospheric thriller is always one step ahead, and Kimber makes a fascinatingly complex character. You may not like or trust her, but you’ll find yourself rooting for her anyway. ★★★★ Caroline Robb