CRIME AND THRILLERS
GEOFFREY WANSELL CARI MORA by Thomas Harris
(Heinemann £20, 336 pp) THE first novel for 13 years from the creator of the inimitable Hannibal lecter brings the world another memorable villain — Hans-Peter schneider, who has not a hair on his head, not even eyebrows.
He makes his living out of trading in human body parts, but also has a desire for the $25 million in gold said to be hidden under a grand Miami sea-front mansion.
Enter the house’s caretaker, the indomitable Caridad Mora, who was trained as a child soldier in Colombia.
a supreme thriller with a great female protagonist, this is Harris at his wry best.
ACCIDENTAL AGENT by Alan Judd
(S & S, £14.99, 272 pp) THis superbly crafted spy story, written by a former soldier and diplomat, focuses on Charles Thoroughgood, head of Mi6 — or ‘C’ as he usually known. Brexit is on the horizon and the intelligence service is tempted to spy on Britain’s present colleagues in the European union. He knows his Foreign office masters would like to know what the Eu is thinking privately, while at the same time he may have a family connection to a suspected terrorist who is on the loose in Britain.
intricate and compelling, it gives an all-tooplausible glimpse of how espionage actually works.
NOVEMBER ROAD by Lou Berney
(HarperCollins £12.99, 320 pp) onE of the most remarkable novels of the year, this tells the story of new orleans mob lieutenant Frank Guidry, who is told to deliver a car to Dallas in the days before the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.
in the wake of the shooting, Guidry goes on the run to avoid death at the hands of one of the mob’s most notorious hitmen.
Guidry sets off for las Vegas but encounters a young mother and her two daughters along the way. at first they are his camouflage, but then he falls in love. it is poignant, bittersweet and unforgettable.
THE FERAL DETECTIVE by Jonathan Lethem
(Atlantic, £16.99, 336 pp) THis is set on the hippy fringes of los angeles, where Phoebe siegler is looking for her friend’s missing daughter and hires eccentric private detective Charles Heist to help her.
it emerges that the girl may have become involved with one of the two groups that hide out in the Mojave Desert, known as the rabbits and the Bears.
Heist himself has been a member of both groups — hence his ‘feral’ nickname — and together siegler and Heist set out to rescue the missing girl. Packed with unusual characters, it is captivating.
COME BACK FOR ME by Heidi Perks
(Century £12.99, 432 pp) on EVErGrEEn, a tiny island off the Dorset Coast, a long-buried body is unearthed and suspicion falls on the 100 or so inhabitants.
stella Harvey, who left the island in a rush 25 years ago along with her family, is deeply shocked by the discovery, not least because the remains are found beside what was formerly her family home.
she goes back to investigate, and finds herself drawn into what is in effect a locked room mystery.
subtle, elegantly told, and with enough twists to satisfy any detective fan, it is razor sharp and impossible to put down.
PSYCHO THRILLERS CHRISTENA APPLEYARD THOSE PEOPLE by Louise Candlish
(S&S £12.99, 400 pp) caNDlIsh — author of bestseller Our house — has invented a whole new fiction category: psychological thriller wrapped in property porn.
This is set in the competitive micro-climate of an outer london road where the residents bask in the entitlement that flourishes through living close to the best state schools and amid ever increasing property prices.
But when downmarket Darren and Jodie move in and run their second-hand car business from the street, the smug residents face a dilemma.
how far will they go to protect their parking spaces and their property prices from the Darren and Jodie effect?
Their story is told against the backdrop of a police enquiry into a mysterious and violent crime.
BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward
(Quercus £12.99, 400 pp) ThIs has the kind of high-powered plot that would make an all-night Netflix binge. The action switches from the romantic Balkans to kansas in middle america. Maddie, a young u.s. travel writer, falls in love with a soldier who is suffering from PTsD. We learn that Maddie is now the mother of a toddler and is dealing with the aftermath of horrific facial injuries.
The story is told in vivid flashbacks. The extraordinarily dramatic opening one describes a horrendous murder scene in Maddie’s kansas home, although the writer manages to conceal who is actually dead. Just when you think you have worked it all out, you find out you were wrong.
Which is as it should always be.
THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides
(Orion £12.99, 352 pp) alIcIa BErENsON is a beautiful young artist who, for no apparent reason, suddenly murders her husband. she then refuses to talk and is sentenced to life in an institution.
But Theo Faber, a young psychotherapist, is convinced he can get through to her and persuade her to open up to him.
The author’s own experience of working in a psychiatric unit is key to the compelling atmosphere and raw storytelling.
although the premise might sound simple, the plot is satisfyingly twisty with a gobsmacking conclusion and the book offers a rare insight into why damaged people are so uniquely equipped to harm others, and the part played by those who seek to help them.