Tag Archives: Crime

Lush Life

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Title: Lush Life

Author: Richard Price

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, March 2008

Summary: I am not a reader of crime stories – but from now on I plan to make an exception for the works of Richard Price. His latest explores the ‘butterfly effect’ of a seemingly random  murder on the Lower East side, and turns a sharp, unflinching eye on the trendy hipsters and the urban poor that live there.

As you follow detectives on the trail of the killer, you meet characters you’ll not soon forget: The getting-too-old-for-this restaurant host simmering with resentment, the grieving father who in his desire to help only hinders police efforts, and a young street kid ground down by unwanted responsibilities.  Written with a gritty, pull-no-punches realism, this book is a haunting story of two worlds that co-exist, but rarely intertwine.

Who will like this book: People who like detective stories that are more about character than procedure. Fans of the HBO series The Wire.

If you like this, try this: Clockers by Richard Price. For a different take on Lower East Side bohemia, try the adventurous No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew it Cauze Bill Bailey ain’t Never Coming Home Again by Eduardo Vega Yunque.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

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Title: The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

Author:  Charlie Huston

Publisher: Ballantine, January 2009

Summary: Charlie Huston has a reputation for using vulgarity and profanity in his writing. His newest novel will cement that reputation. The dialogue, however, did not offend me because it was true to the characters. I couldn’t imagine them speaking any other way.

Webster Fillmore Goodhue, Web for short, is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and has been slacking off a bit. Once a middle school teacher, he is now living off his best friend Chev. Web is offered and encouraged to accept some part time work with Clean Team. Apparently, the trauma scene and waste cleaning industry is very competitive and the employees of Clean Team have to watch their backs. It doesn’t help that Web gets involved with a beautiful young woman who needs him to “clean up” a mess in a seedy motel room. Web finds himself in all kinds of trouble, and even though his life has been in a downward spiral, he still tries to be a good person and do the right thing.

The descriptions of the trauma scenes are grisly and may be too much for some readers. If you can get over past the language and the gore, this book is really rather amusing.

Who will like this book?  Anyone who will admit, even if its just to themselves, that they like inappropriate dialogue and blood and guts.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Too Close to Home

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Title: Too Close to Home

Author:  Linwood Barclay

Publisher: Bantam, September 2008

Summary:  Derek was looking forward to the coming week. He was finally going to have a place for he and his girlfriend Penny to be together without any interruptions. So what if the place was his friend Adam Langley’s house. So what if Adam and his parents didn’t know Derek was hiding in their basement waiting for them to leave on their week long vacation. He wasn’t hurting anyone – he just wanted to have a good time with Penny. Too bad that, 10 minutes into the trip, Adam’s mom decided she didn’t feel well enough to travel that day. Perhaps the next day she would feel better.

As Adam and his family return to their home and Derek scrambles around in the basement looking for a new hiding place, a visitor appears at the Langley’s front door. Derek hears voices, then gunshots, footsteps, and finally silence. Derek ventures upstairs after he hears the shooter leave and discovers Adam and his parents have been shot dead. Frightened and confused, Derek flees the house and runs down the drive to his house set far back from the road. And this is just the prologue!

This is an action-packed page turner that will make you thankful for your security alarm and the two large dogs sleeping at the end of your bed.

Who will like this book?  Anyone who likes a good thriller.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Lost Girls

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Title: Lost Girls

Author:  George D. Shuman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, September 2008

Summary: Sherry Moore is a blind woman with a unique gift. She has the ability to see the last 18 seconds of a deceased person’s memory, simply by touching their hand. When Sherry’s best friend. Admiral Garland Brigham, asks her to help rescuers searching for a lost climbing team on Mt. McKinley, she agrees. One member of the team has been spotted on a ridge, frozen to death during an unexpected storm. When Sherry holds the hand of the dead climber, Sergio Mendoza, she is able to direct the rescuers to the cave where the other climbers have taken refuge from the storm. Sergio’s last memories are not only of the deadly climb. While holding his hand she sees visions of a castle in a jungle and young women confined in cages and chained to walls. Admiral Brigham realizes that Sherry has seen the images of victims of human traffickers and Sergio Mendoza was somehow involved.

Now a young, rich American girl has gone missing during an excursion from a cruise ship, and is later found by a boater off the shore of the Dominican Republic. The victim bears the same voodoo tattoo on her cheek that Sherry had seen on the victims in Mendoza’s memory. Sherry is called upon again and the memories this young girl holds are very similar to the memories of Mendoza. It is now up to Sherry, Brigham, the young victim’s mother, and the few people they find along the way who are willing to risk their lives to battle the criminals responsible for the horrible crimes against these women. This is a fast paced story that takes you from the mountains to the jungle in no time.

Who will like this book?  People who like thrillers with a bit of the supernatural thrown in.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

HeartSick

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Title: HeartSick

Author:  Chelsea Cain

Summary: Archie Sheridan was the lead detective tracking the Beauty Killer, a prolific and monstrous serial killer. When he himself is kidnapped by the murderer, Gretchen Lowell,  she tells him he will be her 200th victim. Gretchen keeps Archie longer than her other victims but eventually turns herself in and allows Archie to be rescued. This, however, doesn’t happen until after she has so cruelly tortured his body and mind, that he will never be the same person he was. Since her arrest Archie has visited Gretchen in prison every Sunday, hoping that she will give him information about her other victims. Archie’s obsession has led to his divorce and an addiction to pills.

Now Archie has been asked to come back to investigate another possible serial murderer. He asks to have a young journalist follow along with him on his investigation so she can report on the current case. He also hopes her reports will end the speculation about what happened to him while he was held captive, and if he really is irreparably damaged. Will Archie ever break away from the psychological hold that Gretchen has on him? Will he be able to catch this new killer that is stalking high school girls? You’ll just have to read HeartSick and find out.

Who will like this book?  This one is a little gruesome, but if you like thrillers this is a great book.

If you like this book, try this: The follow up to this book, Sweetheart, will be out in September 2008.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

A Prisoner of Birth

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Title: A Prisoner of Birth

Author: Jeffrey Archer

Summary: A modern day version of The Count of Monte Cristo, this enthralling story is full of interesting characters and suspenseful twists and turns, A young British auto mechanic, Danny Cartwright, is wrongly accused of killing his best friend, who is also the brother of his pregnant fiance. He is imprisoned, and he spends his time reinventing himself and creating an elaborate revenge plan.

This is not a literary masterpiece and some of the plot is far-fetched, but the story still makes for an exciting and engrossing read. Archer is a great storyteller, and this book was hard to put down.

Who will like this book?:Readers of this would also like Archer’s other books, and Harlan Coben

Recommended by: Laurie, Circulation Clerk

MADicine

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Title: MADicine

Author:  Derek Armstrong

Summary:We all know where the path of good intentions leads, and it is clearly illustrated in the newest novel by Derek Armstrong. Hoping to cure his son, Dr. Gies has engineered a virus to cure violence in psychopathic patients. When Dr. Ada Kenner of the CDC notices a sharp increase in violent rampages conducted by seemingly “normal” citizens, she suspects a Rabies type virus is to blame. Hmm. Could Dr. Gies’ genetically altered virus be to blame? With the help of Alban Bane (who brings to mind the cranky Dr. Gregory House), and a host of unconventional characters, Ada must find the source of this new virus and find out why Braxis, a shady pharmaceutical company, conveniently has enough serum to vaccinate millions of people and make billions of dollars.

This novel is filled with suspense, humor, adventure and satire. If you’re looking for something a little offbeat with colorful characters, you’ll want to read this.

Who will like this book?   People who like medical thrillers and also want to crack a smile or two while reading them.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Sacrifice

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Title: Sacrifice

Author: S.J. Bolton

Summary: Tora Hamilton and her husband Duncan have just moved to the Shetland Islands. Tora is new to the Islands, but Duncan is returning after a 20 year absence. Soon after Tora moves in, she accidentally digs up a body buried on her property and soon realizes she has unearthed more than just human remains. She has quite a few questions to ask the authorities about the body. Simple questions like why was the woman’s heart removed and why did she have ancient symbols carved into her back? The more questions Tora asks, the more secretive the people around her become. She finally decides to do some investigating on her own and discovers that the symbols carved in the woman’s body are ancient runes and the manner in which she was killed is eerily similar to a ritual described in Shetland Island folktales. Unfortunately for Tora, as one character puts it, “…tucked away inside all legends, a kernel of truth can be found”.

If you like a book that has some chills,  and a setting that is not commonly used, this may be the book for you.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Hold Tight

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Title: Hold Tight

Author: Harlan Coben

Summary: First, let me just say “WOW”. I have not stayed up well past 2:00 a.m to finish a book in a long time, but this book was worth it. Hold Tight has suspense, thrills, chills… you name it. I found myself rushing through my day so I could get back to reading this book.

One woman is missing. One turns up dead, beaten beyond recognition. Mike and Tia Baye’s teenage son Adam goes missing soon after his best friend commits suicide. Mike has an idea where to look for Adam because Tia insisted on installing a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer. They can read his email, his instant messages, and track the websites he has visited. Oh, and Adam’s phone has a GPS. The Bayes’ soon find out that having too much information can lead to disaster.

Betsy Hill finds a picture of her son Spencer, taken the night he committed suicide. She sees Adam in the background of the picture. Betsy now believes Spencer was not alone on the rooftop when he overdosed on prescription drugs and alcohol. Are all of these events connected? You bet they are. Everything comes together in the end, which makes this a great read from cover to cover

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

The Savage Garden

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Title: The Savage Garden

Author: Mark Mills

Summary: The Savage Garden, written by Mark Mills, is the story of two murders, committed 400 years apart, and the attempt to solve the mystery of both crimes.

It’s 1958 and Adam Strickland, Cambridge undergraduate, has just been dumped by his girlfriend. When he is offered the opportunity to study a Tuscan Renaissance garden for his art history thesis, he accepts the offer. The garden was built in 1577 as a memorial to the villa owner’s wife Flora, who died at a very young age. During his research, Adam begins to see the garden’s statues and inscriptions as clues to Flora’s murder, not as a memorial to her death.

As Adam deciphers the clues in the garden, he begins to suspect that the more recent murder-that of the current villa owner’s son, may not be as clear cut as everyone thinks. Signora Docci’s son, Emilio, was shot and killed by Nazi officers on the third floor of the villa and the area has been sealed off ever since. Though everyone is excited about the revelation of Flora’s murder, Adam finds himself in danger when he begins to question the events surrounding Emilio’s death.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator