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Dean Koontz

Loop me in, odd one.The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature Through twoNew York Timesbestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself. St. Bartholomew’s Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California’s high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd’s steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll. But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey’s most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before. From the Hardcover edition.

NY. Harper Collins. 2006. 378p.

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By Fiona McIntosh

Evie, a widow and stationmaster’s daughter, helplessly looks out for the weekly visit of the handsome man she and her sister call The Southerner on their train platform in the wilds of northern England. When polite salutations shift to friendly conversations, they become captivated by each other’s reticent manner. After so much sorrow, the childless Evie can’t believe love and the chance for her own family has come into her life again.

With rumours coming out of Germany that Hitler may be stirring up war again, local English authorities have warned against spies. Even Evie becomes suspicious of her new suitor, Roger. But all is not what it seems.

When Roger is arrested, Evie comes up with an audacious plan to prove his innocence that means moving to Germany and working as a British counter-spy. Wearing the disguise of dutiful, naïve wife, Evie must charm the Nazi Party’s dangerous officials to bring home hard evidence of war mongering on the Führer’s part.

But in this game of cat and mouse, it seems everyone has an ulterior motive, and Evie finds it impossible to know who to trust. With lives on the line, ultimate sacrifices will be made as she wrestles between her patriotism and saving the man she loves.

From the windswept moors of the Yorkshire dales to the noisy beer halls of Munich and grand country estates in the picture-book Bavarian mountains, this is a lively and high-stakes thriller that will keep you second-guessing until the very end.

Penguin. Random House. 2021. 434p.

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by J. P. Pomare

When private investigator Reid is sent to look into a suspicious car crash, he finds himself in the one place he swore he'd never go back to - the town where he grew up.

Returning to Manson brings back traumatic memories that Reid has spent a decade burying; and keeping his past separate from the investigation is futile. People remember what he did all those years ago.

As rumours swirl about the couple involved in the crash, Reid's line of questioning is taken in a new direction when the Chief of Police's daughter goes missing. Was the car crash just an isolated tragic accident, or is there something darker beating at the heart of this small town? Can Reid escape Manson again, or will it finally swallow him whole?

AUSTRALIA. HATCHETTE. 2022. 327p.

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By Dean Crawford

Some monsters only exist in nightmares - others exist for real . . .

While hunting in the Nez Pearce National Forest, Idaho, two men are just about to take a prize-winning shot when their prey unexpectedly bolts. From the forest behind them lunges a huge, horrific creature that crushes one man and tears after the other in a loping mass of rage.

Just as he has embarked on a search to find his missing fiancée, Ethan Warner and his partner, Nicola Lopez, are summoned to a meeting with Doug Jarvis of the Defence Intelligence Agency at a research laboratory outside the city. There, they learn that they are being sent north to interview Jesse MacCarthy, a man accused of a double homicide.
But all is not as it seems. Jesse swears blind that the other men were killed by a monster. But as Warner and Lopez dig deeper, they uncover a military secret that has been kept under wraps for generations, an experiment that went terribly wrong, and danger lurking in the highest echelons of the US government.

NY. Simon and Schuster. 2013. 528p.

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By Susan Hill

A woman vanishes in the fog up on 'the Hill', an area locally known for its tranquility and peace. The police are not alarmed; people usually disappear for their own reasons. But when a young girl, an old man and even a dog disappear no one can deny that something untoward is happening in this quiet cathedral town. Young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case, she's new to the job, compassionate, inquisitive, dedicated and needs to know - perhaps too much. She and the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler have the task of unraveling the mystery behind this gruesome sequence of events. From the passages revealing the killer's mind to the final heart-stopping twist, "The Various Haunts of Men" is an astounding and masterly crime debut and is the first in a magnificent series featuring Simon Serrailler.

NY. Vintage. 2004. 557p.

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By Michael Connelly

Jack McEvoy specializes in death. As a crime reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, he has seen every kind of murder. But his professional bravado doesn't lessen the brutal shock of learning that his only brother is dead, a suicide. Jack's brother was a homicide detective, and he had been depressed about a recent murder case, a hideously grisly one, that he'd been unable to solve. McEvoy decides that the best way to exorcise his grief is by writing a feature on police suicides. But when he begins his research, he quickly arrives at a stunning revelation. Following his leads, protecting his sources, muscling his way inside a federal investigation, Jack grabs hold of what is clearly the story of a lifetime. He also knows that in taking on the story, he's making himself the most visible target for a murderer who has eluded the greatest investigators alive.

Australia. Allen and Unwin. 1996. 509p.

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Dean Koontz

In the stunning title story 'Strange Highways', a failed author returns to his hometown after many years to attend his father's funeral, only to find himself suddenly and inexplicably thrust back through time to relive a traumatic event from his past.

One rain-swept Sunday night when he was twenty years old, on his way back to college after a weekend with his family, Joey Shannon took the wrong highway - and from that moment, nothing ever went right for him again. Now, exactly twenty years later, on another rain-swept night, Joey finds himself at the same crossroads, looking down the road never taken. Which is odd. Because that road no longer exists. A superhighway replaced it nearly twenty years ago, and the old state route - which had crossed a web of perpetually burning, abandoned coal mines - was condemned as too dangerous and was torn up. But now the highway is exactly as it was on that long-ago night, and when Joey turns on to it, he begins an eerie, terrifying journey toward a truth so dark and stunning that it will change everything he believes about himself, his past, and the nature of life.

LONDON. HEADLINE BOOKS. 1995. 445p.

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By Tara Moss

"A sexy, smart thriller" - Publishers Weekly Makedde Vanderwall is a woman with a past. She is beautiful, street-smart and single, a model paying her way through a degree in forensic psychology. But behind the wit and winning smile is a woman haunted by violent nightmares and plagued by thoughts of Detective Andy Flynn, the ex-lover who saved her from a serial killer in Sydney. Mak has returned to Vancouver, her hometown in Canada, eager to finish her studies, move on from the ordeal, and find some peace of mind. But instead she walks straight into a city gripped by fear, and a campus where the students are fair game. As winter closes in and the days grow shorter, Mak is drawn into a shifting world of unstable minds and untrustworthy men, where motives are unclear and desires are unchecked. Her past cannot be so easily forgotten, and she must face her greatest challenge yet.

NY. London. Harper Collins. 2003. 404p.

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MICHAEL CONNELLY

Jack McEvoy is at the end of the line as a crime reporter. Forced to take a buy-out from the Los Angeles Times as the newspaper grapples with dwindling revenues, he’s got only a few days left on the job. His last assignment? Training his replacement, a low-cost reporter just out of journalism school. But Jack has other plans for his exit. He is going to go out with a bang — a final story that will win the newspaper journalism’s highest honor — a Pulitzer prize.

Jack focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer from the projects who has confessed to police that he brutally raped and strangled one of his crack clients. Jack convinces Alonzo’s mother to cooperate with his investigation into the possibility of her son’s innocence. But she has fallen for the oldest reporter’s trick in the book. Jack’s real intention is to use his access to report and write a story that explains how societal dysfunction and neglect created a 16-year-old killer.

But as Jack delves into the story he soon realizes that Alonzo’s so-called confession is bogus, and Jack is soon off and running on the biggest story he’s had since The Poet crossed his path years before. He reunites with FBI Agent Rachel Walling to go after a killer who has worked completely below police and FBI radar — and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. What Jack doesn’t know is that his investigation has inadvertently set off a digital tripwire. The killer knows Jack is coming — and he’s ready.

NSW. Allen and Unwin. 2020. 527p.

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By James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

A calculating killer who calls himself The Teacher is taking on New York City, killing the powerful and the arrogant. His message is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences! For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is a call to terror.
Only one man can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Mike Bennett. As time ticks down and his children fall ill, he has only hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history. From the world's #1 writer, discover an electrifying story of action, thrills, and heart-stopping suspense.

London. Random House. 2009. 398p.

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By Ruth Rendell

A bypass is planned in Kingsmarkham, but before the protestors make their presence felt, the badly decomposed body of a young woman is discovered. Burden thinks he knows the identity of the murderer, but Wexford is not convinced.

London. Random House. 1997. 389p.

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By Andrew Gross

A breathtaking novel of suspense from the co-author of five No 1 James Patterson bestsellers including Judge and Jury and Lifeguard, and the hit thrillers The Blue Zone and Don't Look Twice

Ty Hauck has left law enforcement for a job with a big-time private security firm. But he quickly learns that life in the private sector can be every bit as dangerous as wearing a badge - if not more so.

When a successful trader at one of Wall Street's largest firms is murdered his suburban home along with his wife and daughter, it seems at first to be a case of burglary gone wrong.

Then another financial executive is found dead in a very suspicious 'suicide'. As Hauck digs deeper he uncovers a horrifying financial conspiracy that stretches from New York to Central Europe to London. And the masterminds behind it will kill anyone who gets in their way...

NY. Harper. 2010. 496p.

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MICHAEL CHABON

A “towering, swash-buckling thrill of a book” (Newsweek), hailed as Chabon’s “magnum opus” (The New York Review of Books), The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a triumph of originality, imagination, and storytelling, an exuberant, irresistible novel that begins in New York City in 1939.

A young escape artist and budding magician named Joe Kavalier arrives on the doorstep of his cousin, Sammy Clay. While the long shadow of Hitler falls across Europe, America is happily in thrall to the Golden Age of comic books, and in a distant corner of Brooklyn, Sammy is looking for a way to cash in on the craze. He finds the ideal partner in the aloof, artistically gifted Joe, and together they embark on an adventure that takes them deep into the heart of Manhattan, and the heart of old-fashioned American ambition. From the shared fears, dreams, and desires of two teenage boys, they spin comic book tales of the heroic, fascist-fighting Escapist and the beautiful, mysterious Luna Moth, otherworldly mistress of the night. Climbing from the streets of Brooklyn to the top of the Empire State Building, Joe and Sammy carve out lives, and careers, as vivid as cyan and magenta ink.
 
Spanning continents and eras, this superb book by one of America’s finest writers remains one of the defining novels of our modern American age.

4th ESTATE • London. Harper Collins.. 2010. 634p.

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Linda La Plante

When the body of a young woman is discovered close to a highway service station, Detective Inspector Anna Travis is brought on to the team of investigators by her former lover and boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Langton. As more evidence is uncovered, the team realizes that they are contending with a triple murder investigation—and no suspect.

But then a murderer Anna helped arrest years ago makes contact from prison. Cameron Welsh insists that he can help track down the killer, but he will divulge his secrets only to Anna herself. Does he really have an insight into another criminal’s mind, or is he merely intent on getting into hers?

The team soon realizes that they are dealing with a killer whose deviousness has enabled him to commit horrific crimes, yet remain undetected for years. As the case draws to a close, Welsh’s obsession for Anna fuels a terrifying rage that will have disastrous consequences for Anna, who finds herself staring into the face of a desperate personal tragedy.

London. by Simon & Schuster. 2011. 490p.

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By Kathy Reichs

From bestselling author, forensic anthropologist, and producer of the Fox television hit "Bones" comes Kathy Reichs's most compelling mystery yet, pitting Temperance Brennan against an enigma out of her own past.

Temperance Brennan, like her creator Kathy Reichs, is a brilliant, sexy forensic anthropologist called on tosolve the toughest cases. But for Tempe, the discovery of a young girl's skeleton in Acadia, Canada, is more than just another assignment. vangline, Tempe's childhood best friend, was also from Acadia. Named for the character in the Longfellow poem, vangline wasthe most exotic person in Tempe'seight-year-old world. When vangline disappeared, Tempe was warned not to search for her, that the girl was "dangerous."

Thirty years later, flooded with memories, Tempe cannot help wondering if this skeleton could be the friend she lost so many years ago. And what is the meaning of the strange skeletal lesions found on the bones of the young girl?

Meanwhile, Tempe's beau, Ryan, investigates a series of cold cases. Three girls dead. Four missing. Could the New Brunswick skeleton be part of the pattern? As Tempe draws on the latest advances in forensic anthropology to penetrate the past, Ryan hunts down a serial predator.

WILLIAM HEINEMANN : LONDON. 2007. 301p.

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GUSTAF SKÖRDEMAN. Translated by lan Giles

FROM CHAPTER 1: “The Royal Copenhagen coffee cups were still on the table, with just the dregs in the bottom; the cake-dishes were cleaned out and the glasses of juice empty. Blue polka-dot napkins - both fresh and soiled - were lying all over the place. The tablecloth was covered in coffee stains and crumbs, and here and there were red rings left by the glassware. The youngest children had rushed off, leaving the chairs pulled out from the table.”

London Zaffre. 2021. 429p.

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Robert Whitaker

In 1735 a team of French scientists set out on a daring expedition into the South American wilderness to resolve one of the great scientific challenges of the time: the precise size and shape of the Earth. Scaling the Andes and journeying along the Amazon, the mapmakers faced all manner of danger, while madness, disease and violent death each took their toll. However one, Jean Godin, fell in love with a local girl called Isabel Grameson. When the time came for the expedition to return to France, Godin travelled ahead to ensure the way was safe for his new family. But on reaching French Guiana, disaster struck: Spain and Portugal closed their borders and he was stranded, unable to return to Isabel. What followed lies at the core of this extraordinary tale - a heartbreaking 20-year separation that ended when Isabel, believing she might never see her husband again, decided to make her own way across the continent: a journey that began in hope but became hell on earth...

Drawing on his own experience retracing Isabel's epic trek as well as contemporary records, Robert Whitaker recounts a captivating true story of love and survival set against the backdrop of what many still regard as 'the greatest expedition the world has ever known'.

LONDON. BANTAM. 2004. 416p.

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PATRICIA CORNWELL

In "Hornet's Nest" by Patricia Cornwell, readers are plunged into a gripping world of crime and suspense set in Charlotte, North Carolina. As Deputy Chief Virginia West and her rookie partner investigate a series of brutal and baffling murders, they uncover a web of corruption and deceit that threatens to shake the city to its core. Cornwell weaves a complex and thrilling narrative, delving into the minds of both the victims and the perpetrators, keeping readers on the edge of their seats until the final page. "Hornet's Nest" is a riveting mystery that showcases Cornwell's talent for crafting compelling characters and twisty plots.

London. LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY. 1997. 374p.

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JEFFREY ARCHER

In "Honour Among Thieves" by Jeffrey Archer, readers are taken on a gripping journey through the world of espionage and deception. The story follows an unlikely alliance between two individuals from different walks of life, brought together by a common goal that tests their values and loyalties. As they navigate through a web of political intrigue and high-stakes risks, they must rely on each other to outsmart their enemies and survive in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. With Archer's signature flair for storytelling and plot twists, "Honour Among Thieves" is a thrilling tale of honor, betrayal, and the ultimate quest for redemption.

London. Harper Collins Publishers 1993. . 452p

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Minette Walters

CRIME & MYSTERY. In 1970, Harold Stamp, a retarded twenty-year-old was convicted on disputed evidence and a retracted confession of brutally murdering his grandmother the one person who understood and protected him. Less than three years later he is dead, driven to suicide by isolation and despair. A fate befitting a murderer, perhaps, but what if he were innocent? Thirty years on, Jonathan Hughes, an anthropologist specialising in social stereotyping, comes across the case by accident. He finds alarming disparities in the evidence and has little doubt that Stamp's conviction was a terrible miscarriage of justice. But how far is he prepared to go in the search for justice? Is the forgotten story of one friendless young man compelling enough to make him leave his books and face his own demons? And with what result? If Stamp didn't murder Grace Jeffries then somebody else did, which means there's a dangerous killer still at large.

Crows Nest, Australia. ALLEN & UNWIN. 2003. 408p.