Wow! Amazingly, it is already February. The new year is not so new anymore. And I have two months of good crime reads to catch you up on, so before any more of this year just ups and disappears, here are the six novels that tickled my fancy in December and January, along with what I’m reading now.
Disclaimer:
Being a crime fiction addict and lover of series books, expect lots of my reading to fall into these categories. You can also expect to only hear about the books I have enjoyed – but as I have honed my selections to my tastes over the years, I am rarely disappointed, and I get that reading enjoyment is subjective anyway. I love to jump over to Goodreads and share the books I’ve enjoyed with the reading community, and this led me to posting my standouts in a “Good Reads” column each month or so.
The Argument (standalone) Victoria Jenkins – 4 stars
The Argument all starts with a party that fifteen-year-old Olivia is desperate to go to, and that her parents have forbidden her to attend. She goes anyway and does some things that maybe she shouldn’t. But she’s desperate to be like other teenagers and to not be the odd outsider. When Olivia’s mother, Hannah, discovers that her daughter defied her, the already-strained familial relationships are pushed to breaking point. Olivia stops talking to her parents, but she draws even closer to her little sister. Things are happening in and out of home, and it looks like Olivia is to blame in a desperate cry for help. For the most part, The Argument centres around this family drama, and we are wrestled between the points of view of mother and daughter. Then, about three-quarters into the novel, the twists begin in earnest and the psychological thriller gains a momentum that takes The Argument to its conclusion. This novel has the sense of being set anywhere, though of our time, and a part of me wanted the author’s Welsh background to shine through, but I found it a compulsive read through the drama stage and then gripping after the first twist. The Argument released 10 December 2019. Advance review copy received with thanks from NetGalley and the publisher
The Subjects (standalone) Sarah Hopkins – 4.0–4.5 stars
After finishing The Subjects, I’m still processing it. It is an intriguing, thought-provoking literary crime novel (it is difficult to decide the right category for it, but not sure mystery/thriller/psych thriller fit). In this story, the now-adult Daniel relates his experiences as a sixteen-year-old drug dealer facing jail time but instead sent to the School, an institution for gifted delinquents. Throughout the whole read, I kept thinking: “where is this going? how will this end?” There were times when the science and chronicle of day-to-day became heavy, and the pace flagged, but the need to know the answers to those two questions prevailed. And I enjoyed the conclusion, when the whole truth about the School and some of the players in the story was revealed to the adult Daniel, alongside me the reader. I’m quite in awe of how author Sarah Hopkins thinks and how she crafted this unique story. Curiously, The Subjects brings to my mind Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Sulari Gentill’s Crossing the Lines. The Subjects is out now. Review copy received with thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.
Her Last Goodnight (Detective Finnegan Beck #3) Michael Scanlon – 4 stars
Her Last Goodnight is an Irish police procedural that puts a new twist on old crime fiction tropes and an enjoyable, atmospheric read. While it’s the third Detective Finnegan Beck story, it was my first read of the author and series, and it works well as a standalone. Set in the small, rural Irish town of Cross Beg, the story stars Finnegan Beck, a senior detective with plenty of backstory in his personal life, used to working the streets of Dublin, out of his comfort zone away from the city and the woman he is drawn to despite being all wrong for him, while fighting terrible memories from his childhood and the temptation of the Irish whiskey bottle. Investigating the brutal murder of old Eddie Kavanagh with his talented offsider Garda Claire Somers, Beck discovers chinks in stories, links to powerful players and twists back to the past. He is determined to uncover the truth, follows his instincts and disregards procedure. It may be a race to see if this quest or the whiskey bottle kills him yet. Advance review copy received with thanks from the publisher and NetGalley. Her Last Goodnight released 14 Jan 2020.
The Keeper (also known as Keeper) (standalone) Jessica Moor – 5 stars
Keeper is a tense, powerful, thought-provoking literary thriller, and an assured debut novel by UK writer Jessica Moor. It centres on Katie’s story. A young woman working in a refuge for women and children victims of domestic violence who drowns in the nearby river. Police investigate her death. A suicide? Connected with a man supposedly spotted outside the shelter several times lately? Attributable to her boyfriend, Noah? An escalation upon vicious messages someone (or more than one person) is sending the women’s shelter? As we learn more of Katie’s story, the reader is also taken into the lives of women she has been helping. All so different, yet all so similar – each a victim of male violence and each having lost something of themselves in their journey, and some with children born into a messy, unhappy, toxic environment. Gradually, Katie’s past is revealed, along with how that ties in with her death. Do the police uncover the truth? The full truth? Can there be a happy ending for any woman in such a situation? What will happen to the women in the refuge as they try to pick up their lives? Keeper is a story that touched me and will stay with me. I will be keen to read more of this new author with a voice for stories that need to be told. Keeper publishes on 19 March 2020 (you might find it as The Keeper or Keeper). Advance review copy received with thanks to publisher and NetGalley.
Buying Thyme (Thyme Trilogy #1) TJ Hamilton – 4 stars
Buying Thyme is like the Australian equivalent of the romance in Pretty Woman but with crime and suspense. It’s a slow build as we explore Miranda’s world, setting up an empathy for the woman hiding behind the professional seductress (or high-class escort) before the first actual crime or dangerous moment occurs. She is surrounded by strong, sexy men who want more of her than she can give, in particular one who is a crime boss, and another who is an enigma. Besides the playing off of these two men, Buying Thyme also features plenty of sex, along with fashion, fitness, undercurrents of danger and simmering suspense. It builds momentum through the story and rollicks home. Some key crime and character threads are carried over into the next part (which I hadn’t expected), so it’s probably best to look at each book in the Thyme Trilogy as part of a serial rather than a standalone. I found Buying Thyme to be a very enjoyable and quite addictive romantic suspense novel with a fun and energetic style.
133 Hours (standalone) Zach Abrams – 4.5–5.0 stars
This brand-new UK psychological thriller grabs from the first page, when Briony turns up to work to discover she has lost 133 hours over five and a half days. What happened? Is she mentally unstable? Did someone abduct her – and if so, why, and what did they do to her over those missing hours? All she recalls are snippets of muted scenes of brutality and the sensation of hands over her – or are they false memories? Who can she trust to help her now? Everyone is a suspect, including her workmates, her old friend, her ex-boyfriend and herself. Could she really have staged the whole thing? Over the next 133 hours, Briony pieces it together, with twists and turns along the way. Quite descriptive in parts, but overall 133 Hours is a gripping read with excellent intrigue and good pacing. 133 Hours is out now.
I am currently enjoying The Nowhere Child by Australian author Christian White. I will share more about that, along with other great crime reads in my next bimonthly Good Reads blog. Meanwhile, happy reading!
Cheers, Sandi
