The Golden Spoon By Jessa Maxwell

If you told me before I started reading The Golden Spoon that I’d be hooked into a murder mystery surrounding a baking show, I would have told you you were nuts. However, Jessa Maxwell’s intriguing storytelling style, use of multiple viewpoints, and complex characters had me finish this over a couple of nights.  

In a quaint, secluded area of Vermont, celebrity chef Betsy Martin hosts “Bake Week” at her family estate of Grafton. For the past ten summers, six amateur contestants battle it out to see who has what it takes to win it all. “America’s Grandmother”, as Martin is known, is the author of bestselling cookbooks and projects an image of wholesomeness in the public eye. That persona is starting to show cracks and when small acts of sabotage begin to appear in this year’s competition, the stakes keep rising. When a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect, and everyone has a motive. 

Baking shows are not usually my cup of tea and I’ll be honest with you, this was not a book I normally would pick up… but I’m so glad I did. I love a good whodunnit and with interesting and intriguing backstories for each character, there was more than enough action (both mental and physical) to keep me fully engaged. 

If you like a good ‘locked-room mystery’ then this is the book for you. Extra points if you’re into baking… or at least eating baked goods like I am.

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The Frenchman By Jack Beaumont

The Frenchman is a slow burn of a read in all the right ways. Like any good spy thriller, Jack Beaumont methodically builds up the action culminating in the dramatic conclusion. The most anxiety-inducing part of this book is the plausibility of the final scenes, made even worse by the authenticity Beaumont brings from his previous years at the DGSE to the page. This is the most pure espionage book I’ve read this year.

Alec de Payns, one of the top undercover operatives at the DGSE, sees a routine mission to infiltrate a terrorist group goes sideways, nearly costing him his life. All signs point to a mole within the tight-knit group and Alec is being treated as a potential suspect. As he tries to balance his work life with that of his roles as loving husband and father, the pressure to clear his name and identify the intelligence breach mounts.

Even with the long shadow of doubt and betrayal cast over the group, the terrorists aren’t sitting idly by and Alec is sent to determine if a secretive weapons facility in Pakistan is producing a new biological weapon in the form of a weaponized strain of bacteria. With everyone at the DGSE looking over their own shoulders, there hasn’t been a better time to strike.

Not since Kyle Mills explored the vulnerability of the US electrical grid in Total Power has a fictional attack seems not only plausible, but probable. I would not be shocked to find out that this type of assault actually occurred in some form or fashion. It does take a bit for the pace of the story to really get going, but the time Beaumont uses to set the table is well worth it when the plot absolutely takes off. The final action sequences and reveal of the full scale of the attack were wonderfully done, which is all the more impressive in a debut.  

With a level of detail only former intelligence officers and operatives can bring to a story, I can only hope this is the first in a long line of books featuring Alec de Payns.

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Magic City Blues By Bobby Mathews

Magic City Blues is a novel dripping with action, apprehension, and authenticity. With a violent plotline complex enough to keep a seasoned crime reader engaged, it is the personalities and relationships that kept me captivated. Like other gifted writers before him, Bobby Mathews turns his beloved city into a character all its own, driving the story forward to its dramatic finale.

Kincaid, a veteran and low-level enforcer, had thought the toughest part of his new protection gig was going to be keeping his eyes (and hands, if he was lucky) off Abby Doyle. Hired by Abby’s father, Birmingham’s criminal kingpin, Kincaid soon realizes he is facing dangers from all angles, including a few he never wanted to even imagine.

When BPD detective Laura D’Agostino is assigned to find the killer of Abby’s fiancé, Kincaid is confronted with the last thing he thought possible; his own long dormant emotions. As the unlikely pair chase down leads through the urban center of Birmingham and its surrounding suburbs, they uncover horrific secrets, double dealing, and death at every turn. The only real question is if they can stay alive long enough to finish the job.

At first glance, I was tempted to label Mathews’s writing style as streamlined, but it’s so much more than that. While the prose is shorn of any superfluous verbiage, you can tell that he has poured over each word to find the single most impactful descriptor in each sentence. It is this attention to detail in both his setting depictions and witty dialogue that had me staying up into the early hours of the morning to see what happened next.

You can go ahead and add Bobby’s name to the list of authors leading the revival of what I’ve seen called ‘new southern noir’. Call it whatever you will, but if you have even a passing interest in crime fiction, start picking up these books and this one in particular. We are privileged to be reading at a time when there is an abundance of deeply talented writers producing amazing work centered in the south, many with a focus on breaking down historical stereotypes and illuminating the mercurial transitional period many southern cities find themselves in at the present. Don’t make the mistake of missing out. 

Fans of historical giants like Robert B. Parker or our contemporary greats like Ace Atkins and S.A. Cosby, this is a book for you.

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White Smoke By John Gilstrap

When the bombs drop and reality as you know it disappears in the blink of an eye, what do you do next? In White Smoke, John Gilstrap offers a raw and realistic look of just what might happen. With an emphasis on illustrating the benefits of survival skills, Gilstrap is quick to demonstrate that what might seem odd and even extreme in today’s society could in fact be what saves us if the worst should come to pass. 

White Smoke is the third installment in this post apocalyptic series, featuring former Congresswoman Victoria Emerson as she continues to try and forge a functioning community in rural West Virginia. While Victoria tries to keep things progressing in ‘Eden’, as it’s come to be called by outsiders, a request comes down from on high… literally. The small band of violent men and women who have taken over a posh mountain top resort that had served as the cover for the U.S. government’s doomsday bunker. With what remains of the executive branch and congress now imprisoned by a mad man and the masses crying out for blood and retribution, a show trial has been established to quell the bloodlust. The current President of the United States, perhaps in name only, has requested Victoria preside over the trial in an attempt to bring some sense of fairness and normalcy to the process.

While this request is a political minefield in the fledgling society, it is the actual threat of physical violence on the roads that Vicky and her team must overcome to even stand a chance of giving the President what he wants. With marauders, slavers, and desperate souls lurking behind every bend in the road, nothing about this request or journey will be easy.

Gilstrap does an exceptional job of condensing complex societal and interpersonal issues into easy to digest and compelling storylines. The philosophical debates about the nature of man, the cost/benefits of extreme justice, etc. in this story (and series) should make readers ponder “what if”. There is plenty of action and emotional turmoil if you just want to read a fun action thriller without too much thought though. I’m not sure what is in store for this series after three installments, but I hope for more to come in this intriguing universe. 

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Storm Watch By C.J. Box

Storm Watch is everything we’ve come to expect in a C.J. Box novel. With healthy doses of mystery, murder, and misdirection, Joe Pickett finds himself battling blizzards and sidestepping sniper shots. Few fictional characters go out of their way to avoid trouble more than everyone’s favorite Wyoming game warden, but like a moth to a flame, Pickett and his close knit circle of friends and family must once again take it upon themselves to set things right.

While tracking down an injured animal, Joe stumbles upon an abandoned vehicle in a place it never should have been. Still warm to the touch, he follows the trail and finds a dead body in an even stranger place. When the man turns out to be a professor at the University of Wyoming, Joe begins to ask some basic questions and finds himself running into a brick wall of resistance coming down from on high. The governor himself has ordered Joe to stand down and a pair of FBI agents do their best to convince him to stay in line. Not one to sit idle while injustice is playing out, Joe finds himself in a mountain of trouble without much effort. 

Meanwhile, Nate Romanoski, and his new friend Geronimo Jones are looking to set up a crypto farming operation to fund their falconry businesses, but a group of local militia comes calling looking to recruit Nate to their cause. Distrustful of the government, for good reason, Nate is the perfect man to help take their group to the next level. The question is will he or not?

Box continues to explore the evolving demographics and problems of the Mountain West region, while also touching on larger domestic cultural and political issues. With this now the twenty-third book in the series, it’s impressive that Box is able to craft entertaining plotlines that feel simultaneously both contemporary and timeless.

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The Last Kingdom By Steve Berry

The Last Kingdom has a solid share of surprises, a myriad of mysterious moments, and a heaping of historical happenstance. Better than anyone writing today, Steve Berry manages to create an amalgamation of the authentic and absurd. His ability to connect and create seemingly random events of the past into a pulse pounding treasure hunt continues to entertain this long time fan.

Cotton Malone has managed to find himself roped into another adventure, this time at the behest of Luke Daniels, his protégé. Luke has gone undercover in a group seeking Bavarian independence from Germany. While on its face it seems a far-fetched idea, the strange events surrounding the deposition of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1886 manages to bring in a wide variety of present day global powers into the mix. The Mad King’s descendants may finally complete what he set in motion all those years ago and create… The Last Kingdom.

After a year without Cotton Malone, it is great to have the iconic character back in action. Like so many of the books in this series, sorting fact from fiction is half the fun and the other half is enjoying the highly entertaining writing and plot. Unlike some of his previous books, Berry really focuses hard on a singular geographic location and takes a deep dive into the fairytale castles of Bavaria. If you’ve been to the area, then you know how amazing the structures and estates are. If you haven’t, definitely put this on your “bucket” list to check out when you can.

This is not the most action packed stories Berry has written, but the intrigue and mystery more than make up for any lack of bullets flying. As always, highly recommend this for anyone who loves a good treasure hunt.

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Dempsey By Andrews & Wilson

The saying goes.. there is “undercover” and there is “which way is up?”. After reading the latest from Andrews & Wilson, there is now a new level called “Dempsey Deep”. 

Dempsey is a dark, dangerous, and dynamic story full of suffering and sacrifice. Andrew & Wilson not only examine how an elite soldier could withstand the horrific physical environments they find themselves in, but go a step further and examine the psychological hell that is the battlefield of their own minds.

Task Force Ember is reeling after a “successful” mission in Ukraine and the disappearance of team leader John Dempsey. While still in mourning, the President has directed the team to hunt down and finally finish Arkady Zhukov, the Russian spymaster, and his last few Zetas.

While his teammates think he’s dead, Dempsey probably wishes he was. Imprisoned in one of the worst prisons in Russia, Dempsey is on an undercover mission from Vice President Jarvis. Using all of his grit and guile, John manages to form a few alliances within those walls and one outside he never thought possible. In order for his mission to succeed, he must team up with the man he wants to kill above all others. The risks have never been higher and any misstep could drag the major powers into a global war.

Andrews & Wilson continue to prove they are a singularly unique pair of men and writers. They somehow never seem to put out a book that is less than their previous ones. They are always improving their craft, either in the storytelling itself or their choices to explore new themes within this universe. Somehow, some way…  each story in this series keeps feeling as exciting and fresh as the first time I picked up Tier One.

Fans of the Tier One series have been screaming into the void for the past few years for the next installment of our favorite series. Andrews & Wilson heard those pleas and have rewarded our patience with what might be the best book in the already amazing series.

Now, to be fair to the guys… they haven’t been sitting idly by for the last couple of years and have blessed us with books in not one, not two, but THREE different series. All of which are deserving of your consideration if you haven’t picked those up yet. While I love the Sons of Valor, Shephards Series, and W.E.B. Griffin reboot… you never forget your first love and having Tier One group back together makes the pain of the wait all worth it. These boys deserve any and all success and awards in their future.

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Burner By Mark Greaney

Burner is a scorching hot read that should come with a fire warning because you will be… burning… through the pages. Bad jokes aside, this is a story that should be consumed in a single sitting. You should go ahead and clear your day now.

Mark Greaney adds a new wrinkle to Burner and delves more into the gray matter of the Gray Man.This story is full of heart, hope, and heaps of hot lead. Now, for the adrenaline junkies… fear not. Greaney provides some absolutely iconic action sequences, fight scenes, and vehicular pursuits in this one. The added bonus is that there is a bit more emotional turmoil within those events, making them that much more meaningful. And amusing.

When Court Gentry is manipulated into once again joining forces with the CIA to hunt down a drive containing Russian money laundering transactions, the last thing he expected was to be trying to take out the man his former lover is trying to keep alive. Initially on opposing sides of killing vs protecting Swiss banker Alex Velesky, Court and Zoya Zakharova must put their past behind them and future on hold in order to survive the present.

Velesky is on the run after stealing data from his employer that could expose a great deal of powerful people, both in the East and the West, and the dirty money that has been flowing across the globe. They will do anything to keep the information from coming out. That includes killing anyone and everyone tangentially related to those who have possession of the device. Caught between a GRU hit squad and CIA assassins, the unlikely trio must stay ahead of their pursuers if they hope to finish the mission, assuming they don’t end up killing each other before then.

I, for one, appreciate the continued evolution and humanization of Court over the last few books. The additional focus on the emotional and psychological trauma Gentry has suffered and is currently enduring has added another layer and level of tension and intrigue to these novels. Already a master at building suspense in his books, Greaney continues to push this series to new heights with deeper storylines. There seems to be no limit to his talent and no guessing what might be next in this iconic series.

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The Last Orphan By Gregg Hurwitz

The latest installment of the Orphan X series takes readers to places long time fans weren’t sure we’d ever see. In The Last Orphan, Evan Smoak comes up against a new type of threat and comes up against the most difficult enemy he’s ever faced… himself. Gregg Hurwitz continues to elevate the art of storytelling, creating a real sense of the coldness of the gun’s metal, the cutting sensation of an emotional dagger, and the angst of The Nowhere Man deciding the type of man he wants to be.

When the unimaginable happens, Evan is forced to take stock of his life. A single mistake leads to Evan’s capture. His only means of escape is to accept an offer from the President to take out a man capable of bending the rich and powerful to his will. Having sworn to himself to only use his skills against those who truly deserve it, Evan and his allies set off to investigate what is worth more to him - his set of rules or his own survival.

The emotional growth and transformation of Evan Smoak over the last few books has added a new and important dimension to this already stellar series. The impact and effect that Mia, Peter, and Joey have had on Evan allows Hurwitz to raise the stakes even higher than he was able in previous installments. The humanization of The Nowhere Man is now a pivotal part of each story and we are all better off for it.

That being said, don’t let the focus on the emotional side of this story make you think that it is not a top notch action thriller. You like guns? Got ‘em. You like knives? Got ‘em. You like seemingly innocuous items used to kill a man? Got ‘em! There is more than enough action to carry this story on its own, but adding in the moral and ethical quandary that Evan finds himself in, The Last Orphan is everything you’d expect coupled with things you didn’t even know you wanted in a thriller.

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Reckoning From The Shadows By Puja Guha

Reckoning From The Shadows is a tantalizing tale chock full of conspiracy, compromise, and a coup. Puja Guha’s intimate knowledge of the area adds that extra level of detail, bringing this fast paced, action packed story to life.

This is the fourth installment in the Ahriman Legacy series, featuring former intelligence officer Petra Shirazi and the Ahriman, a reformed assassin. The pair are attempting to live a normal life in Paris, when a former CIA colleague renters their lives threatening to expose long buried secrets if they do not assist her in tracking down a former team member turned mole. Intel points to the rogue agent setting up shop in Burundi working for the Chinese as they look to secure a massive energy project in the East African country. As they inevitably are in the world of politics and power, things are never what they seem.

Guha utilizes her personal and professional experience to make the places she describes seem to jump off the page. Her unique worldview and perspective on the inner workings of politics and power dynamics of the region, coupled with a succinct and efficient writing style makes this entire series a must read for espionage thriller fans.

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The Bullet Garden By Stephen Hunter

The Bullet Garden is a masterful mashup of historical fiction, espionage, and a sniper vs sniper showdown. Stephen Hunter employs all of his vast writing skills in this epic story, expertly pricking your emotions like the barbed wire lined hedgerows of the bocage slashed the soldiers battling for every inch of land on the page.

Set in the summer of 1944, the American advancement across France after D-Day has come to a swift and deadly halt. More than any physical damage the German tanks and mortars can inflict, it’s the psychological toll of sniper attacks that has left the GIs unable to move beyond the unofficial boundaries.

Frustrated with the current state of affairs, Gen Eisenhower orders his intelligence services to rid the battlefield of the silent killers. Earl Swagger, of the USMC and hero of the Pacific campaign, finds himself assigned with the incredibly difficult and urgent task to do just that. What he finds is the politics and policy wonks of the OSS are out for his blood as much as any German at the end of a long gun. With no clear idea of who he can trust, Swagger only has one choice… finish the job, no matter the cost.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I do not often read historical fiction, but The Bullet Garden has a timeless feel to it. The tactics and technology may be of a bygone era, but the emotions, the comradery, and the danger are every bit intriguing and engaging as any modern thriller. I was sold initially on the mano e mano sniper battle, but Hunter went and sprinkled some spies in the mix and gave us one hell of a read. With shades of Bands of Brothers meets Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy…there is very little not to like in this sprawling narrative.

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The Devil's Ransom By Brad Taylor

The Devil’s Ransom is not only a ‘ripped from the headlines’ story, but Brad Taylor seems to have delved into our collective psyches and wrenched out our darkest fears as well. Full of kinetic action showing Pike Logan and his team at their very best, the plotline is cleverly balanced out with ethical and moral quandaries that will have you debating long after you’re done with this book. This might be the most balanced and thought provoking installment of this iconic series.

As the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the most important CIA asset in the war on terror finds himself in need of assistance and looking for a way out before the Taliban capture and kill him. While on a research/cover trip for Grolier Recovery Services in neighboring Tajikistan, Pike and company find themselves as the closest team capable of pulling off the extraction. What they didn’t count on was having their legs cutout from under them when the Taskforce’s technological resources are shut down due to a sophisticated ransomware attack. Saddled with not only rescuing the asset, Pike and his crew must now hunt down the hackers responsible for the cyberattack that leads them from the mountains of central Asia to the aquatic beauty of the Adriatic sea. 

This is a relentless story that can easily be read as a simple action thriller, but Taylor’s addition of another layer took my reading experience to another level. What sets this book apart from the rest of the series is the increased attention to the internal debates and decisions that team members are forced to grapple with as the stakes continue to ratchet up. Taylor does an amazing job taking the reader into those positions alongside our favorite characters and had me wondering throughout what I would do in their situation.

Also, if you weren’t jealous of the research trips that Brad and the DCOE take each year, you will be after this one. The details and local knowledge is top notch and he definitely has me yearning for some Croatian gelato despite the fact that it’s the middle of winter right now.

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Everybody Knows By Jordan Harper

Revoltingly realistic and excruciatingly exciting , Everybody Knows is a masterclass of a LA-noir story that should be given instant classic status. Jordan Harper manages to craft scenes that almost seem tangible while forcing our psyches to battle through the gray morass that is the moral code in the world of “black-bag” fixers.

Mae Pruett, publicist by trade and keeper of secrets by necessity, is a woman who seeks to hold back the dark, rather than radiate the light. The high profile PR firm she works for doesn’t so much as promote the good stories in their clients lives, rather they focus on killing bad ones in the cradle. Mae has no qualms about working for “The Beast”, a loose conglomerate of LA’s rich, powerful, and well connected, and is compensated accordingly for her ability to compartmentalize the horrors she bears witness to.

When her boss and mentor is gunned down outside a renowned and reviled Beverly Hills Hotel, everything changes. Mae throws herself into the investigation, hell bent on determining who is responsible and bringing the whole thing crashing down on their heads, no matter the costs.

Everybody Knows is an intimate look at the modern concept of right and wrong, good and evil, just and inhumane. There is no shining night here. No pure hero of impeccable standing. There are only people, wonderfully created with layer upon layer that seem to blur the lines like the smog that hangs over the City of Angels obscures the setting sun. The crime narrative in this book is enthralling all on its own, but it’s the questions Harpers forces the reader to grapple with that really set this book apart for me.

At the end of the calendar year I often find myself thinking back to the earliest books in the year trying to remember how I really felt about them. I won’t have that issue with Everybody Knows. This book is going to stick with me. Harper will certainly be on my (and many others) best of 2023 lists.

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A History of Fear By Luke Dumas

Wickedly wonderful and enjoyably evil,  A History of Fear is a tale of the tortuous journey one man takes into the depths of his own personal hell. Lucas Dumas crafts a compelling story sure to satisfy the deepest desires of psychological thriller fans.

A twenty five year old American is not the first thing that comes to mind when someone might ask you to picture the most infamous murderer in Scotland. Grayson Hale, or the Devil’s Advocate as the tabloids would come to call him, did not fit the profile for violence nor was he the type of person to seek attention. His claim that the Devil made him slaughter a classmate ruined any chance of that..

Serving a life sentence for the crime, Hale is found hanged in his cell. A handwritten manuscript holds the secrets, but will it simply show the rantings of a madman or in the end… was this mild mannered man telling the truth?

Dumas utilizes an interesting structure for the story, leaning heavily on a first person viewpoint as readers watch the slow and inevitable trainwreck that is Hale’s mental state. Supplementing the horrors of the main storyline are snippets of the research and interviews from an investigative journalist as well as court documents. We are sucked and enveloped as the exploration of Hale’s personal anguish, we are snapped back to reality in these perfectly placed interludes that force us to form our own theories on Hale’s sanity.

Fans of horror, psychological thrillers, and general crime can all find elements of their preferred subgenre within these pages. If you like it when things take a darker turn, then you simply must read A History of Fear.

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Red Winter By Marc Cameron

If Red Winter is a preview of the new direction of the Jack Ryan Sr. series, you can go ahead and take my money now for the next dozen installments. Marc Cameron has written a stunning throwback story with all the hallmarks of tradecraft and intrigue of the early Clancy thrillers, but enhances the experience by mixing in the genre’s contemporary focus on the mental and emotional forces characters must overcome.

Cameron transports us back to the height of the Cold War to 1985 Berlin. A lowly state department employee is accosted and given evidence that an East German is looking to defect with the promise of revealing vital secrets to the CIA. With suspicions of a mole on the west side of the wall, the US has no choice but to play ball. Admiral Jim Greer has no hesitation bringing in Jack Ryan and Mary Pat Foley to validate the claims and extract the defector right under the nose of the Stasi. Always one to hedge his bets and protect his assets, Greer dispatches John Clark to cover the duo as they look to complete their mission. Unfortunately for Ryan and Foley, their intended jaunt into the East is leaked before their arrival and the Ministry for State Security is waiting for them. Clark, arguably the most lethal man alive, is forced into playing the “fixer” role from the shadows when the situation calls for it. 

While Foley and Ryan are battling against the bitter cold in Europe, the Nevada desert is heating up after a highly secretive aircraft unexpectedly crashes. A deep cover East German operative tasked with surveillance of the nearby airfields is one of the first to the scene, absconding with a piece of the radar shielding technology that may turn the war from cold to hot.

I’m not sure if Red Winter is a one off, but I certainly hope not. With the Jack Ryan Jr. series in great hands and being able to continue present day adventures, the idea of revisiting some of our long time favorite Clancy-verse characters in their prime sounds absolutely amazing. The ability to look back on history with modern eyes and explore previously unknown exploits of the time should provide an unlimited number of potential stories. And even if this is a one off, we’re the better for it. Marc Cameron has thrown his hat in the ring for "book of the year" with this late entry.

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Whisper Of A Gypsy By J.T. Patten

I’ll be the first to tell you that Horror is not my usual read and I wasn’t sure what to expect from Whisper of a Gypsy and going in blind made it that much more fun. J.T. Patten is known for writing hard hitting, gritty action thrillers and that was on full display in this one. The pacing and violence was on full throttle, but wIth a bit of the supernatural added in, the stakes and danger come at you at a unique angle, making this one heck of a read.

Dwight Skinner, a neurodivergent child, believes he has superpowers. While the rest of the world sees his mental challenges as something to be overcome, there are those who know it’s  the blood in his veins that gives him his power. When a tragic death and subsequent attack brings a strange older man into Dwight’s life, the dark secrets of the past begin to reveal themselves. With death and mayhem following Mr. Mortimer, or so the old man is called, Dwight and his mother are swept up in a world of magic and mystery that only true Gypsies are privy to.

The inclusion of details from past events, particularly those parts that are often not merely glossed over, but have been completely excluded from history classes, was a welcome inclusion and increased the angst and anxiety I felt throughout. Patten should be applauded for bringing attention to this matter. While dark and vicious at times, this is a book for fans of history, action, and horror.

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Rebellious Son By Joe Goldberg

Rebellious Son is one hell of a read and Joe Goldberg brings the heat with a constant supply of action, witty exchanges, and a wonderfully complex plot. Bridger and his Spy Devils are up against worthy advisories as they seek to disrupt the global drug trade and track down a man they were sure they had already killed.

When a series of bombs explode across Europe, it is clear an infamous and long dormant terrorist named Specter has returned to the scene. Wes Henslow, the founder of the CIA’s counterterrorism center and Bridger’s mentor, is hell bent on finding “The Bombmaker” and putting him in the ground, even if it’s the last thing he does. To do that, Wes needs the help of the Spy Devils. Bridger’s mother May, a CIA legend in her own right, tries to dissuade him from assisting Wes in his hunt. Loyalties and wits are tested as the Spy Devils race around the globe following clues and trying to not get blown up in the process.

What sets this series apart is the utterly unique idea of a covert spy organization having not only an existing, but THRIVING, social media presence. While not serving as prominently in the second installment of the series, it’s still a cool addition to the genre. Adding that to the intriguing storylines, fantastic writing, and some of the funniest dialogue you’ll find in the genre, you have yourself a thriller that shouldn’t be missed. Goldberg supports his story by employing a heavy dose of information from his past profession, proving there is no substitute for experience and that the Devil is in fact… in the details.

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Dark Fall By Andrews & Wilson

The third installment of the Shepherds Series will have fans on a knife’s edge from start to finish. Andrews & Wilson continue to craft emotional, action packed stories that draw readers in and never let them go. Dark Fall is the most terrifying book of the trilogy.

When a Peruvian village and its inhabitants are reduced to ash in seconds, Jedidiah Johnson and Bravo team are called in to investigate whether or not the apocalyptic scenes are the work of a man made weapon or a punishment from on high.

The extraordinary rendition of a Chinese scientist proves that while the weapon might be the work of humans, the Dark Ones have their fingerprints all over it. While Jed and his team risk life and limb to secure the game changing weapon, Victor and his followers have multiple targets in mind and the attacks land closer to home than the Shepherds could ever imagine.

Andrews & Wilson are masters at the three book story arc and their skill is on full display here. There is just enough backstory to entice readers who have not read the previous books to go back and read those, while not over explaining it to those who have been on board since Dark Intercept. Several of the long running storylines are fully fleshed out and Dark Fall left me feeling fulfilled and hopeful that we will continue to see more of Jed and Shepherds organization.

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The Blackbriar Genesis By Simon Gervais

The Blackbriar Genesis is a welcome addition and the piece you didn’t know was missing from the Ludlum universe. Simon Gervais brings the action and intensity from the first sentence and keeps you pinned back in your seat as you watch your (sure to be) new favorite duo unravel the global conspiracy they find themselves entangled in.

When a deep cover Treadstone agent is assassinated, Blackbriar counterintelligence agents Helen Jouvert and Donovan Wade are sent in to investigate. The thread they continue to pull leads to some of the most brutal and ruthless men on the planet. Each of the agents has their own interesting and complicated past, but the pair will need to bring all of their skills together to not just find those responsible for the attack, but to simply stay alive.

Creating a completely new fictional counterintelligence agency would be difficult to do on its own, but to have to tie in the history and components of other series would be that much harder. To take it up a notch, imagine then doing so within the world of Robert Ludlum and all the weight and expectation of that. Simon Gervais had his work cut out for him. Luckily, Simon just keeps getting better book after book. The man can flat out write, crafting compelling stories with interesting characters, with plots that are supplemented and elevated by his personal and professional experiences. There is an authenticity to his writing that shines through his works and engages the readers like few others.

If you, like me, had not been fully immersed in the Ludlum universe in a while, then this is the book to welcome you back.

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Their Final Cry By Dea Poirier

Their Final Cry is a haunting and horrifying look at the human capacity for willful ignorance and the evil that thrives in that darkness. With a slow boil pace, Dea Poirier deftly turns up the heat at just the right moments, splashing action across the page until the stunning conclusion.

If, like me, you are into dark, police procedurals with highly complicated protagonists, then the Detective Harlow Durant series was written specifically for you.

What makes this series so unique and chillingly good is Poirier asks the simple question, “what would it be like if my detective had the darkest secret of them all?”. With that premise in mind, the exploration of Harlow’s past is every bit as intriguing and twisted as the cases she works in the present. 

When the body of a teenage girl is discovered on an abandoned farm in a small upstate New York community, Harlow is called in immediately from her work hiatus to investigate. Whether she’s mentally ready to return after her last case is of little consequence when the closest person in her life needs help.

Harlow’s partner is already working a cold case at the same farm, after human remains were found in a cellar. The pair must determine if the newest victim’s body being dumped there is a coincidence or a warning to leave the past buried.

To complicate matters, Harlow is being hounded by a journalist on the verge of publishing a new book about her serial killer father. As she tries to put the past behind her, the case takes a dramatic turn for her partner when he recognizes a piece of evidence at a crime scene. With this new bit of information, he seeks to find answers to the traumatic event that shaped his life.

For fans of Will Dean’s Last Thing To Burn, this book gave me very similar vibes with the key difference being the point of view. While Dean’s focused on the experience of the victims, Poirier flips that on its head and explores what impact that kind of evil hidden in plain sight would have on the investigators and community at large.

And like all good books in a series, this can be read as a standalone… BUT… I highly recommend picking up the first couple books for a richer understanding of Harlow’s past and what makes her tick.

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Purchase Their Final Cry
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
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Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

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