Aug 09
10

Silent Thunder by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen

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Cover of "Silent Thunder"
Cover of Silent Thunder

I’ve read some of Iris Johansen‘s work before and greatly enjoyed them, but have not read any of Roy Johansen (who is her son). If this collaboration is any indication of the quality to be found, I’ll have to hunt his books up.

Silent Thunder is one of those books that gets you from the start. Hannah Bryson is a smart and talented naval engineer who has been hired along with her brother, Connor to inspect every inch of the decommissioned USSR submarine the Silent Thunder before it goes on public exhibition.

From the get-go, there are unsettling events that mark this job as one fraught with danger and intrique. When Connor uncovers a cryptic message behind one of the ship’s panels, a firestorm is unleashed which kills Connor and sets Hannah on a search for his murderer.

Along the way, she finds the enigmatic Kirov who sweeps her into his own quest for justice against the evil Pavski.

Silent Thunder by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
Published by St. Martin’s Press 2008
ISBN: 978-0-312-36800-5

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Aug 09
07

Spare Change by Robert B Parker

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Spare Change is a Sunny Randall novel.

Twenty years ago, Sunny’s father Phil had a series of unsolved murders where the murderer left his victims with a signature of a scattering of coins — never the same coins, but always three of them, he was given the name of the Spare Change killer.

Now he’s apparently resurfaced as victims who exhibit the same M.O. are turning up in all the wrong places and Phil has been brought back out of retirement to head up a task force and asks Sunny to work on it with him. Together the father-daughter team must ferret out who the killer is and stop him.

Sunny comes up with the idea of closing off the area of the last killing and processing everyone present; getting names, addresses, and doing comprehensive investigations of any who fit the profile of the killer. She comes up with several likely suspects and when she personally interviews Bob Johnson, her instincts set off major alarms, but he’s smart and cagey and doesn’t give too much away, so it’s back to careful policework to get him tripped up and caught.

Spare Change by Robert B Parker
Published by The Berkley Publishing Group 2007
ISBN: 978-0-425-22192-1

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Aug 09
05

Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods

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It must be just my luck to have this run on books authored by Stuart Woods. After the last one which was frankly, pretty awful, I approached this one with some trepidation.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Fresh Disasters is a Stone Barrington novel and this one stays well trenched in New York crime and police work which Mr. Woods seems to have some solid grounding in. Stone Barrington is a well defined character who exhibits a polish that is threatened by the case he’s been assigned to by one of the partners in the firm of Woodman and Weld for whom Stone is dependent upon for his livelihood.

Although he knows that Herbie Fisher is bad news, Stone is hired by Herbie to sue a Mafia boss who has sicced his minions on Herbie and rough him up in the process of trying to collect a gambling debt. Stone knows and has been reminded time and time again that he’s putting his life on the line trying to sue a Mafia boss, but Stone is determined to do his best for his client.

One of the twists of the case send Stone a little romance in the form of a masseuse who then brings her own set of complications to Stone’s life — a jealous ex-boyfriend who murders the lovely Celia. Now Stone is embroiled in getting the crafty murderer caught along with being chased by the Mafia boss’s gangsters.

Almost comical in some places, Fresh Disasters is a fun read.

Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods
Published by GP Putnam’s Sons 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-15410-2

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Aug 09
03

Indelible by Karin Slaughter

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Indelible by Karin SlaughterKarin Slaughter is a new author for me, but after this book she’s one I’ll be watching for in the future.

Jeffry Tolliver is the Grant County, GA police chief. Sara Linton is the medical examiner and his ex-wife. They are still in love with each other which is complicating their working relationship.

One morning, Sara resolves to talk it out with Jeffrey. That same morning, two young men arrive at the station and begin shooting everyone in sight and take hostage all who are left alive after their initial barrage is over.

The book keeps going back and forth between Sara and Jeffrey’s current situation as hostages and their beginnings as lovers. It’s Jeffrey’s past that is the root of the current situation they find themselves in.

Ms. Slaughter draws out the revelations of the who, what and how in this book in a delightful sprinkling of hints here and there. You really have to be paying attention to everything going on even if it seems irrelevant because she’s going to catch you napping if you don’t.

Indelible by Karin Slaughter
Published by Harper Collins Books 2004
ISBN: 0-06-056710-4

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