From homicide to Russian spies, a few new thrillers
Some things don’t change, even when they do. That’s precisely the case with “The Sentinel,” latest in the Jack Reacher series that has become an iconic staple of pop culture. The difference is Lee Child has now been joined by his brother Andrew as co-author. The proof of that partnership, as they say, lies in the pudding.
Or, in any Reacher novel, the body count, which is typically high in the tandem’s debut effort. This time out, our nomadic hero lands in a small Tennessee town that’s been struck by the COVID-19 of computer viruses. No stranger to intervening to help someone in trouble, Reacher finds himself rescuing and then protecting the supposed IT wiz given the blame for the cyberattack. As usual, Reacher dispatches those who cross him with the kind of righteous aplomb that has come to define this splendid series.
Reacher books never disappoint, as our ageless, neo-Western hero once again goes toe-totoe with all who have the misfortune of crossing him. His character has attained true mythic status, and “The Sentinel” is a butt-kicking, take-noprisoners thriller that satisfies on every page.
I’m going to bet that Lisa Unger is a big Hitchcock fan, particularly of “Strangers on a Train.” That’s because her latest scintillating, sizzling success, “Confessions on the 7:45,” opens with a pair of, well, strangers striking up a conversation while their commuter train is struck on the track.
Chance encounters are normally just that, but not so here. Almost the moment Selena Murphy and her train mate part company, her life begins to systematically deconstruct, starting with the disappearance of the family nanny, who she was convinced had been having an affair with her husband. Oh, and did I mention that Selena confessed that very grievance to a fellow traveler who happens to be a psychopath bent on righting the wrongs in her life? The trouble being that her train mate doesn’t stop there.
This is psychological thriller writing of the highest order. A taut, timely and terrific tale.
“The Last Agent” brings Robert Dugoni’s latest stellar protagonist back to the page in Charles Jenkins to spectacular results.
Dugoni, more known for his psychological and legal thrillers, seems to be channeling his inner Daniel Silva, or even John le Carre, here. That’s because the latest escapade in which Jenkins becomes embroiled sees him returning to his former spy haunts in Russia, literally going back into the cold as opposed to coming in from it.
Accomplishing his mission of freeing an important prisoner from an infamous Russian prison will mean trusting a former adversary and battling a singularly expert Russian assassin.
Espionage writing doesn’t get any better than Dugoni’s shrewd take on the state of U.S.-Russian relations, as he proves to be not just a (writing) jack of all trades, but a master of all of them.
Journalistic power couple Jack Logan and Taylor Parks make a triumphant return to the page in L. C. Shaw’s riveting and relentless “The Silent Conspiracy,” and they’ve really got their work cut out for them this time.
Indeed, after tackling a potential brainwashing conspiracy in “The Network,” they’re facing a rash of murder-suicides that seems to suggest someone is turning ordinary people into homicidal maniacs. Before you can say “Stephen King,” Jack and Taylor have come to realize that this conspiracy bears a direct connection to a major case Taylor, an attorney, is bringing before the Supreme Court involving a nefarious insurance company.
“Silent Conspiracy” is just credible enough to be dizzying in its message and prescience. A truly scary tale, the implications of which are even more dire because it’s grounded in reality.