A LAST DIP INTO SUMMER READS
Suspenseful new novels will keep the heat on well into the fall
The One Man Andrew Gross Minotaur
Andrew Gross, known for his contemporary thrillers, takes the reader back to the Second World War and the brutality that Jews faced in the concentration camps in this novel.
The dilemma Nathan Blum faces is determining how much one life is worth. Blum has escaped a Polish ghetto and made his way to the United States. He lost his entire family to the Nazis, and he has decided to help the U.S. government by becoming an intelligence officer.
Alfred Mendl is a physics professor who has been torn apart from his family and thrown into Auschwitz. His entire life’s work was burned in front of his eyes, and he spends each painful day struggling to stay alive so he can see his family reunited. He meets a teenager named Leo who has the ability to do complex mathematics and remember vast amounts of data without using paper or a calculator. Mendl begins tutoring Leo in physics.
Blum receives an assignment that he knows is a suicide mission. His superiors tell him they need Mendl’s expertise to assist them with a top-secret plan to design a special bomb to end the war and beat the Germans in the design of this weapon.
Though they aren’t sure if Mendl is alive, he was last seen at Auschwitz. They want Blum to sneak into the camp and rescue Mendl. He will have 72 hours to achieve his mission.
Gross has written his most heartfelt and compelling book to date. Jeff Ayers
Rise the Dark Michael Koryta Little, Brown and Co.
Mark Novak, seen previously in Michael Koryta’s Last Words, is still seeking answers regarding the murder of his wife in this followup.
Garland Webb, the man responsible for killing Lauren Novak, walks away a free man on a technicality. Mark knows Garland is responsible, but can he prove it? The words Rise the Dark were written in Lauren’s notebook prior to her death, and the cryptic message has been elusive.
In a small town in Montana, Sabrina Baldwin watches her husband, Jay, head out to repair a downed power line. She showers, and when she steps out, she’s shocked to see a man waiting for her. Garland shoots her with a tranquillizer dart and his bold plan begins.
Mark visits the site of his wife’s murder and learns that he’s a pawn in a game where his survival is doubtful. Garland knows every move Mark is going to make, and the truth behind Lauren’s cryptic message will ruin the lives of many people. Jay learns of his wife’s kidnapping and realizes he will have to betray everything he holds dear in order to win her freedom.
Koryta has a gift for terrific suspense that immerses the reader while also delivering prose that reads almost like poetry.
Some of the answers that Mark finds are a bit hard to believe, but that’s a minor bump in a road that should definitely be travelled. Jeff Ayers
The Couple Next Door Shari Lapena Pamela Dorman Books
In Shari Lapena’s highly suspenseful thriller, The Couple Next Door, Anne and Marco Conti return from a dinner party to find their front door open and their six-month-old daughter, Cora, missing.
The Contis had been at their neighbours’ house for a birthday celebration. Their babysitter cancelled at the last minute, so they set up their baby monitor and one of them went home to check on Cora every half-hour. After all, they were just next door.
Police detectives Rasbach and Jennings can find no evidence that anyone came into the house after the couple’s last bed check. The townhouses where the couples live share a wall, but no one heard anything during the party. As the police scour the town in upstate New York, a few clues — and a lot of inconsistencies — show up.
While the couple’s fears for their daughter’s well-being seem genuine, the detectives have misgivings. Could the Contis have harmed their child and faked the kidnapping to cover up their actions? Or did the kidnapper know that Anne’s parents are uber-wealthy? Each aspect of their life becomes fodder for the investigation — from Anne’s postpartum depression to Marco’s business dealings.
Twists are subtly revealed with aplomb, taking the story to increasingly unpredictable levels. Lapena delves deep to show how the stress of Cora’s disappearance affects the story’s characters, from the Contis to Anne’s parents to even the detectives. The Couple Next Door is a well-sculpted domestic thriller. Oline H. Cogdill, The Associated Press