Suspense/Thriller novels feature in this month’s selection of ‘Other Genre’ fiction. We have also added some psychological thrillers to the mix. The new novel from popular thriller writer Matthew Reilly titled, The great zoo of China, is highly recommended.
Prague summer : a novel / Jeffrey Condran.
“Stephanie and Henry are Americans living in Prague; she works for the State Department, he is a rare books dealer. They live the life of a comfortably married couple. Until one day their world is turned upside down by the arrival from the States of Stephanie’s old friend, Selma Al-Khateeb whose husband has been mysteriously arrested and indefinitely imprisoned. At first it appears that Selma has come to escape her problems, but soon her reasons for coming to Prague grow sinister and murky. Stephanie and Henry’s placid existence is turned upside down in ways they couldn’t have imagined.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
Crooked River / Valerie Geary.
“Sam’s mother has recently died and she’s trying to hold on to some sense of normality after she and her selectively mute younger sister Ollie move to rural Oregon to live with their societal-dropout, tent-dwelling father. Sam is exhausted with trying to care for Ollie, who communicates by pointing at apt sentences in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Then there’s a murder that’s close to home in every sense of the phrase, and Sam fears that all that is familiar to her, shaky though it is, will come asunder.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
Blue warrior / Mike Maden.
“Troy, the CEO of Pearce Systems, a company specializing in drone operations, is more comfortable in the field than behind a desk. His work takes him to a number of hot spots around the globe, in particular to Mali, where the Chinese plan to gain control of important rare earth elements. His trip to Mali at the behest of former U.S. president Margaret Myers, a friend of Troy’s, to rescue a wounded American on a secret mission there, lands him in the middle of a nasty fight between rebel forces led by Mossa Ag Alla, the Tuareg known as the Blue Warrior, and highly trained Chinese soldiers led by the ruthless Guo Jun.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
The hunter / Tony Park.
“Safari guide and private investigator Hudson Brand hunts people, not animals. He’s on the trail of Linley Brown who’s been named as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Linley’s friend, Kate, supposedly died in a fiery car accident in Zimbabwe, but Kate’s sister wants to believe it is an elaborate fraud. South African detective Sannie van Rensburg is also looking for Linley, as well as a serial killer who has been murdering prostitutes on Sannie’s watch. Top of her list of suspects is Hudson Brand. Sannie and Hudson cross paths and swords as they track the elusive Linley from South Africa and Zimbabwe to the wilds of Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
The neighbour / Julie Proudfoot.
“When Luke is implicated in the tragic death of a child, he struggles to assert his innocence to those around him. While the accident invokes haunting memories of Luke’s late brother, who died when they were children, he strives to maintain a grip on reality as his relationships begin to unravel.” (Adapted from Amazon.co.uk)
The great zoo of China / Matthew Reilly.
“It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles. The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
To the grave : a Jefferson Tayte genealogical mystery / by Steve Robinson.
“Genealogist Jefferson Tayte wants to reunite his client with her birth mother, but uncovers a secret with tragic results.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
Closer than you think / Karen Rose.
“Deacon Novak has returned home. The experienced FBI Agent knows that his move to Cincinnati’s Major Crime Enforcement Squad will be challenging, but the greater challenge will be saving his younger brother before he becomes the kind of criminal Deacon is chasing. Faith Corcoran has escaped her identity. Being a therapist to victims of sex crimes was rewarding, but her work with their offenders has jeopardized her life. Her move represents a chance to build a new life in the empty old house her grandmother has left her. What Faith doesn’t know is that a killer has made the house his playground, taking girls into the basement and murdering them. With a murderer focused on her, Faith is going to have to put her trust in Deacon if she’s going to survive.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
No fortunate son : a Pike Logan thriller / Brad Taylor.
“When veteran operator Pike Logan and partner Jennifer Cahill receive a letter from Blaisdell Consulting, the umbrella cover company for their real employer, a top secret counterterrorist unit called the Taskforce, they expect orders for their next mission-impossible tasking. Instead, they learn that their latest actions have gotten them fired, despite having saved thousands of innocent lives. Pike’s shock and fury is redirected when their commander, Colonel Kurt Hale, asks him and Jennifer for help with a personal matter: His niece Kylie, an exchange student in England, has gone missing. Neither Pike nor Jennifer understands how critical her disappearance will become.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)
Insatiable appetites / Stuart Woods.
“After celebrating the election of his friend Kate Lee to the U.S. presidency, Stone Barrington is saddened by the death of his elderly mentor, Eduardo Bianchi. Because of Eduardo’s rumored past mob connections, settling the estate is not simple and brings Dolce, Bianchi’s crazy daughter, back from the convent in Italy where she has been confined. Meanwhile, Evan Hills, a “first-term Republican congressman from Pennsylvania,” goes public with a story that will taint his party and even Stone can’t save him from paying a high price for doing so.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)