Tag Archives: usa

Chinatown Beat, by Henry Chang

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Maxine

Chinatown Beat (Detective Jack Yu) Soho Crime, 2006. I recently read a very positive review of the latest in the series of books about Jack Yu, a Chinese police detective in New York, so I thought I would try the … Continue reading →

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Play Dead, by Harlan Coben

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Maxine

Play Dead I probably should not review this novel. It’s an early book by the now-bestselling Harlan Coben which was published in the USA 20 years ago but never made it to the UK until now.  In his preface to … Continue reading →

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A Beautiful Place to Die, by Malla Nunn

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Maxine

A Beautiful Place to Die This impressive debut novel is set in South Africa in 1952, in the immediate aftermath of the election which resulted in the Boer government and specifically the Immorality Act, by which the “white”, coloured” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Australia, Books, Crime fiction, Debut, England, Police procedural, Series, Social comment, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Acts of Violence by Ryan David Jahn

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Maxine

Acts of Violence Acts of Violence is inspired by a murder case in the 1960s, in which none of 38 witnesses who saw a woman being attacked did anything to help. In this novel, the woman becomes Katrina Marino, who … Continue reading →

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Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Maxine

Twenty-five years ago, a poor farming family in Florida was massacred, the only survivors being two of the children, Ben, the eldest, and Libby, the youngest. Libby was taken in by her aunt who lived in a nearby trailer park, … Continue reading →

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Black Water Rising, by Attica Locke

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Maxine

Black Water Rising Feted by wondrous reviews and on any number of award shortlists (including the Edgar and the Orange prize), I was predisposed to like this first novel about a lawyer in 1980s Houston, Texas. The book opens promisingly … Continue reading →

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This Body of Death, by Elizabeth George

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Maxine

This Body of Death (Inspector Lynley Mysteries 16) Elizabeth George is back on form with This Body of Death, the sixteenth outing for Inspector Thomas Lynley of Scotland Yard. Thankfully back from his sojourn in Cornwall, Lynley decides to return … Continue reading →

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The Last Child, by John Hart

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Maxine

The Last Child Thirteen-year-old Johnny’s twin sister Alyssia disappeared a year ago. Katherine, his beautiful mother, could not cope with the strain and has become a fragile, hysterical addict; and his father, wracked by guilt as he was late to … Continue reading →

Posted in Award winner, Books, Crime fiction, Domestic, North America, Police procedural, Psychology, Social comment, Thriller, USA | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Neighbour, by Lisa Gardner

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Maxine

The Neighbour A domestic thriller in the tradition popularised by Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay (even down to the white picket fence on the cover of the UK paperback, the edition I bought), The Neighbour is a tense thriller that's … Continue reading →

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Supreme Justice, by Phillip Margolin

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Maxine

Supreme Justice Supreme Justice by Phillip Margolin, June 2010 (HarperCollins).  What do you do next when you’ve just written a thriller in which the president of the USA is bought down? Unfazed by this challenge, Phillip Margolin here turns his attention … Continue reading →

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