A Death in Cornwall (Gabriel Allon #24)

A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva is the 24th book in the Gabriel Allon series - following the life of an art restorer and now-retired Mossad agent. 

Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into London to attend a reception at the Courtauld Gallery celebrating the return of a stolen self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. But when an old friend from the Devon and Cornwall Police seeks his help with a baffling murder investigation, he finds himself pursuing a powerful and dangerous new adversary.

This is my favorite thriller/mystery/espionage series. Gabriel Allon is a great character. Daniel Silva is an amazing writer. If you like books, check out this series.

Silva, Daniel. (2024). A Death in Cornwall. New York: Harper.

The Future

The Future by Naomi Alderman is a science fiction book that takes place a few years from now technology-wise. 

Martha Einkorn was raised on a compound in Oregon. She now works for a social media mogul who wants to control everything. 

Lai Zhen, raised in Hong Kong, is an internet-famous survivalist. She writes articles, interviews and posts videos that have millions of followers. 

Both Martha and Lai have a role to play in a chain of events set into motion to change the course of the world, to hopefully save humanity. If something happens to make people willing to restructure their lives to help the Earth repair itself. One or both of them are unaware of their roles.

Alderman is a masterful storyteller. The twists and turns in this thriller will keep you up late reading. 

Alderman, Naomi. (2023). The Future. New York: Simon and Schuster. 

The Last Ranger

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller is about wolves in Yellowstone - or rather, how humans think of wolves and their place in the world.

Ren is a National Park Service Enforcement Ranger. He is stationed in Yellowstone outside of Cooke City, Montana. Part of why he has this job is his love of nature - from fly fishing to watching wolves, bears, goats, moose, buffalo and more as part of his daily life. 

His day consists of everything from breaking up traffic jams to saving clueless tourists from dying while taking selfies with wild animals to investigating poachers. 

Heller has a way with words. Each of his books are beautifully written, catch you on page one, and stay in your mind for a while. He is one of the most talented writers alive. Read all of his books. Definitely read this one - learn about the wolves and their place in the ecosystem, their family structure and their majesty. (Then consider donating to one of the wonderful organizations fighting to keep them alive.)

Heller, Peter. (2023). The Last Ranger. New York: Alfred A Knopf.

Killers of a Certain Age

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn is the story of a group of four female assassins who have made it to retirement - no easy feat in their field. Now someone is trying to kill them.

Recruited and trained to be assassins in the 1970s, Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie are now retiring. They are the first female team since the one in the OSS during World War II. Forty years of taking out very bad people and surviving. 

For their retirement gift, they are sent on an ocean cruise. But on the very first day at sea, Billie notices someone she worked with on a job. When they search his room, they are sure - he is here to kill them.

These are not easy women to kill. Not only do they need to escape a ship at sea, but they also need to find out who gave the order and have it rescinded. 

Raybourn has written a thoroughly enjoyable story. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys mystery, thrillers, or just badass women who will not let others dictate their lives. 

Raybourn, Deanna. (2022). Killers of a Certain Age. New York: Berkeley Press. 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman (Gabriel Allon #22)

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva is the 22nd book in his Gabriel Allon espionage series.

Gabriel Allon has finally retired from Mossad. His days of traveling the world on secret missions, or even his days of sending others on secret missions, is over. He and Chiara and the twins are moving to Venice where he can concentrate on art.

A few paintings by Old Master have recently been discovered in a private collection - code for likely forged with a small chance of being an authentic lost treasure. 

When an art dealer friend asks for help, Gabriel so be hunting the world's best forger. 

Silva is a great writer and storyteller. Read him!

Silva, Daniel. (2022). Portrait of an Unknown Woman. New York: Harper.

Out of Time

Out of Time by David Klass is an environmental thriller.

Green Man is a terrorist who is committing acts in the name of waking people up to climate change and the fact that soon it will be too late to make the changes that may keep the Earth inhabitable. 

Each target is a threat to the environment. Once the attack happens a letter is sent to the media explaining why that industry must change. 

Tom Smith is a young FBI agent who finds patterns. He is assigned to the task force searching for Green Man. 

This is a great thriller. Klass has written a fast-paced ride. 

Klass, David. (2020). Out of Time. New York: Dutton.

While Justice Sleeps

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams is a thrill ride through the Supreme Court. 

When Justice Howard Wynn slips into a coma, his clerk Avery Keene is as shocked as everyone else that she is his power of attorney. Not his son or his estranged wife, but a law clerk with whom he has only a working relationship.

Justice Wynn is often the swing vote on and otherwise 4-4 court. Nearing the end of the session, there are still some big cases to decide. And it is starting to seem that one of them is related to what happened to the Justice.

Keene has a mystery to solve and little time to do it. Not helping her deadline is the fact that the NSA and FBI think it is fishy that she was named his executor. 

Abrams is a brilliant legal and political mind. She has the knowledge and has had the access to create a story that goes deeper into D.C. politics than most. 

If you are looking for a completely engrossing thrill ride, this is the book you are looking for. 

Abrams, Stacey. (2021). While Justice Sleeps. New York: Doubleday.

Recursion

Recursion by Blake Crouch has been described as a science fiction puzzle box. 

Barry Sutton is an NYPD detective. He is currently investigating a False Memory death. Recently some people have been plagued with what feels like real memories of their lives that never happened - years of other lives suddenly in their brains.

Helena Smith is a neuroscientist studying the brain to try and solve Alzheimer's, a disease affecting her mother. She is working on a chair that can save memories that could be re-loaded into people's brains when their originals ones are not accessible. 

But her memory chair does more than that. Using a described memory, a person can be sent back to that moment. But everyone else effected - anyone in the room with you or who you met after that point - goes too. The chair tests our ideas about how time itself works.

Crouch is a great thriller and science writer. His books have been turned into movies and tv shows. This one is very thought provoking. Not since Replay by Ken Grimwood have I read a book that stays in my head for so long. Get this book from you library today!

Crouch, Blake. (2019). Recursion. New York: Crown.

The Last Astronaut

The Last Astronaut by David Wellington is a thriller set in space.

After the 2034 disaster, manned space flight was stopped by NASA. Mission Commander Sally Jansen made it back to Earth, but lost a crewmember. She was flayed in the press. Now she lives in Florida, a state mostly underwater, working on a salvage crew. Diving is the closest she can get to the feeling of a spacewalk.

Years later: Sunny Stevens, an employee of a private space firm, comes to NASA with evidence of a projectile flying toward Earth. It is not a meteor, because it has slowed down, putting it on a trajectory for Earth's orbit.

Now NASA is in need of astronauts to meet the possible ship that is hurtling toward Earth. And Sally Jansen is the only hope for a commander.

Joined by Sunny and two others - a scientist and a military officer - Sally must face her fears and fly toward the alien ship. But the company Sunny worked for also has a ship on its way to intercept.

Wellington has written a scifi monster story containing all of the elements necessary for a fun read.

Wellington, David. (2019). The Last Astronaut. New York: Orbit.

The Last Woman in the Forest

The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets is murder mystery in which the main character reaches out to a detective because she has questions about her boyfriend.

Marian Engstrom works with the National Parks on studies. She began her first job in the frozen oils sands of northern Alberta. Working with rescue dogs to study endangered wildlife, Marian falls for her trainer, Tate.

Between studies, employees stay at The Den in Colorado. Training dogs who are on breaks as well, keeping them in top form from the next job. Tate is on another assignment and Marian is at The Den when she hears of his death.

Something does not sit right with Marian and she reaches out to a retired forensic profiler, Nick. Not about Tate's death, but about something he told her that does not add up. Tate says he found one of the victims of the Stillwater Killer, a man who is believed to have killed four women and left them in the wilderness.

Combining a fascinating career in wildlife studies with a brutal serial killer mystery, Les Becquest has written another novel in which the outdoors plays a main roll. Her books are an interesting combination of thriller/suspense and the psychology of both killers and their victims. This is a haunting novel of hope and fear.

Les Becquets, Diane. (2019). The Last Woman in the Forest. New York: Berkley.

Breaking Wild

Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets is a story of wilderness, search and rescue, and not giving up.

Amy Raye Latour is hunting elk. She is with two friends in the Colorado wilderness. In late November, rifle season is open, but she prefers to hunt with a bow. First thing in the morning, she leaves with the truck for a day of solitude and stalking.

When she does not return to camp, her friends report her missing. She is off any marked trail, possibly lost or hurt.

Ranger Pru Hathaway of the BLM is an archaeological law enforcement officer, tasked with protecting sites from looting and vandalism. She and her dog spend a lot of time hiking the back country and are both trained in search and rescue.

Alternating chapters between Amy and Pru, this tale of the wilds tells of both women's love for the outdoors, the backgrounds that lead them there and the strength it takes to be alone in the wilderness. This is both a thriller and the story of two lives. A great read. If you are an Anna Pigeon by Nevada Barr fan, this is for you.

Les Becquets, Diane. (2016). Breaking Wild. New York: Berkley.

A Minute to Midnight (Atlee Pine #2)

A Minute to Midnight by David Baldacci is the second book in his mystery thriller series featuring FBI agent Atlee Pine.

After intercepting a kidnapper in the process of stealing a teenage girl, and beating him silly, Atlee has been offered some time off. Since Pine is not much for being idle, she decides to work on her sister's cold case.

Pine and her assistant, Carol Blum, head to Andersonville, Georgia. Atlee has not been there for nearly 30 years. As a child, a man came into her room and kidnapped her twin sister Mercy, while leaving Atlee in the hospital with a massive head injury. There has been no sight of Mercy since that night.

Atlee plans to interview her parents friends and anyone else who is still around and may remember something. But her visit seems to have set someone off - as she practically trips over a dead body in town.

Baldacci writes great mysteries and thrillers. Atlee Pine is a determined, focused FBI agent who will never stop looking for her sister.

Baldacci, David. (2019). A Minute to Midnight. NY: Grand Central Publishing.

Back of Beyond (Cody Hoyt #1)

Back of Beyond by C.J. Box is the first book in his mystery / suspense series featuring Police Inspector Cody Hoyt. Hoyt is likely in his last chance job as a police officer. He is brilliant at solving crimes when he puts his mind to it, but his mind is often more focused on drinking, or not drinking.

When the Helena dispatcher sends Cody to a remove mountain cabin where hikers found a half-burned building with what looks like a person, Cody is afraid he knows who lives there. It is his AA sponsor and friend. While the scene looks like an accidental fire, he is convinced it was murder.

Once he tries to convince his fellow detective it is a crime scene, the forensic team goes to work. One clue, the website last up on the man’s computer, leads Cody to decide that the killer is using an outdoor, five-day horseback through Yellowstone to evade the investigation. Unfortunately, if he is right, it may be the same trip Hoyt’s son is on with his potential new stepfather.

Box has created a terribly flawed cop for whom readers will still root. And a secondary character who readers will be glad to see again in the next book, fourteen-year-old Gracie Sullivan who is on the adventure with her sister and father. The details can be a bit gruesome, but this is a great mystery for anyone who likes the outdoors. Readers of Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series will enjoy the scenery. 

Box, C.J. (2011). Back of Beyond. NY: Minotaur Books.

The Other Woman (Gabriel Allon 18)

The Other Woman by Daniel Silva is the eighteenth book in his series featuring Gabriel Allon, a Mossad spy who just wants to be an art restorer.

In the continued time of every country spying on every other country, whether friend or foe, everyone is fighting for information. Israel has developed an agent from Russia and is sharing their finds with England and the United States.

When that spy thinks he has been burned, Mossad sets up a way to pull him out and resettle him in a safe place for all of his work over the years.

But the layers of espionage have other ideas. There is a French n the mountains of Andalusia whose knowledge could disrupt the spy services of the United States and England. She has been keeping tabs since she fell in love with a spy in Beirut in the 1960s.

Silva is a masterful story teller who weaves current day news into his stories. He is one of the best authors writing today.

Silva, Daniel. (2018). The Other Woman. New York: Harper.

End Game (Will Robie #5)

End Game by David Baldacci is the fifth book in his Will Robie series. Robie is a CIA assassin and sniper who often teams up with his counterpart, Jessica Reel, one of the best snipers in the world.

After each Will and Jessica complete difficult missions separately, they are called to DC to investigate the disappearance of their boss. Each year he goes back to his hometown in Western Colorado. This year, he has vanished without a trace.

Robie and Reel will work with the local sheriff to sort through the unsavory characters who make their lives in super rural America. They will have many to choose from – cults, skinheads, and more.

Baldacci has written a great thriller, mystery. Though Robie and Reel are not investigators, they are the write team for the job – and their sniper skills will come in handy before they find their boss.

Baldacci, David. (2017). End Game. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

Vanished (Nick Heller #1)

Vanished by Joseph Finder is the first book in his Nick Heller series. Heller is a private intelligence operative working for a private firm in Washington, DC.

Roger and Lauren Heller are attacked on their way back to the car after eating at a restaurant. Lauren is hospitalized with a head injury. Roger is missing. Nick is contacted by his nephew, Gabe, while he is on a job about a missing cargo shipment.

Nick and his brother, Roger, have not gotten along since they became adults, but Nick would do anything to help his family. He will use all of his skills to find out where Roger is or what happened to him.

Finder is a master of the suspense/thriller novel. All of his book are fast, engaging reads. Nick Heller is a great character with a unique set of skills in a popular genre.

Finder, Joseph. (2009). Vanished. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Guilty Minds (Nick Heller #3)

Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder is the third book in his Nick Heller series. Heller is a private intelligence operative based in Boston.

A Washington power broker hires Nick to stop a story that is about to break on a gossip news site. Slander Sheet is about to print a fake story - set up to withstand a cursory investigation - about a Supreme Court Justice. Heller has 24 hours to bring them proof that the story is fake and stop them from releasing it to the public.

But someone has got to great lengths to have this story printed, and the Justice ruined. Heller finds a witness, only to have someone kidnap her.

Finder writes great thrillers. I discovered this series at book three, but had no problem following the story. I will go back and read the previous novels. It is a fun read if you like thrillers.

Finder, Joseph. (2016). Guilty Minds. New York: Dutton.

Pacific Burn (Jim Brodie #3)

Pacific Burn by Barry Lancet is the third book in the Jim Brodie series. Brodie owns an antique shop in San Francisco and inherited half of his father's P.I. business based in Tokyo.

Jim Brodie is working the the S.F. mayor on the Pacific Rim Friendship Program - exchanging art with our neighbors around the ocean. Brodie is the liaison with Japan and has convinced his friend and artist Ken Nobuki to come display his art.

A couple of days before the opening of the first art exhibit, Brodie is called by Det. Renna of the SFPD. There has been a death and Brodie is needed. When they arrive in Napa, a young boy is repeating a sentence in Japanese - asking for Brodie.

Shu Nobuki and his father Toru, a sketch artist, have arrived early. But now Toru is dead. The young boy is the only witness to his apparent fall. But Shu says he did it.
Soon a sketch artist is brought in and there is a suspect in the death of Toru Nubuki.

When Shu's grandfather, Ken, arrives in California, he and Brodie are shot at. Someone is targeting the Nobuki family. Brodie Security takes it upon themselves to protect the remaining two siblings as well as guard Ken's wife and grandson who returned to Japan.

An investigation spanning multiple countries, with too many possibilities, beings. Lancet has created a great mystery / thriller. Jim Brodie is a great character who has been compared to Gabriel Allon by Daniel Silva - likely for his expertise in art along with getting into dicey situations because of work. This is a great series - my only complaint is that I now have to wait for him to write another one. Work fast Barry Lancet!

Lancet, Barry. (2016). Pacific Burn. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Powerless

Powerless by Tim Washburn reads like a great disaster movie.

It is the middle of the night in Boulder, Colorado when an alarm goes off at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. The intern on duty was never trained on what to do if an alarm sounded - it was so unlikely to happen.

Satellites have detected a coronal mass ejection. A CME is a geomagnetic solar storm of invisible matter that can cause mass power outages if it hits Earth. Think a giant solar flare. The largest CME on record hit in 1859 - back when the use of electricity was pretty low compared to today.

The scientists best guess is that the storm would hit the northern hemisphere in as few at seventeen hours. If so, it will kill all electronics - from the power grid to cell towers, from the pumps that control fresh water and sewage to the controls at the nuclear plants. Basically, life as we know it will grind to a halt.

President Harris and his advisors have to decide whether to tell the public - causing a mass panic and wars over water and canned goods - or allow it to be a surprise and risk every person in a hospital or on an airplane.

Zeke Marshall lives on the edge of his parents land in Oklahoma. He is a retired army vet who makes furniture. His workshop has been losing power off and on all morning. He doesn't know that soon power from Anchorage to Boston to London will be out. But his time in Afghanistan may give him the skills to survive and maybe even make it to Dallas to collect his sister and her family and bring them home.

Washburn has written a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat, worst-case scenario - one that could actually happen. This is a great read for fans of disaster movies, natural disasters and Earth science. It illustrates how much we rely on electricity for every part of our lives.

Washburn, Tim. (2015). Powerless. New York: Pinnacle Books.

This is Where it Ends

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp is the story of a school shooting from four different student perspectives. The entire novel takes place over 54 minutes.

It is the first day back from Winter break at Opportunity High School in Opportunity, Alabama. As on the first day of each semester, there is an assembly during first period where the principal will give a speech. Of all students who came to school, only a few are not in the auditorium.

The track team is practicing. They have been in the championships for a few years and the coach will train them to death to win this year. Claire is running with her teammates. She and Chris just finish running when they hear two gun shots.

Tomas is in the principals office with Fareed. They are looking through student files to check on someone Tomas is worried about - a kid who dropped out but is rumored to be returning, a kid who scares Tomas's sister Sylv.

Sylv and Autumn are in the auditorium listening to the same speech they have heard every semester. When the speech ends they are talking and waiting for the room to clear, but people are not leaving. Someone has locked the doors, trapping almost every student and every teacher.

Told in two minute chapters, This is Where it Ends is both a thriller and a look at the life of four high school students through flashbacks. The story captures the horror of the shooting and characters within the try to figure out why the shooter is seeking revenge on his fellow students. Nijkamp offers no step by step process to explain the shooters reasoning, but looks at the ups and downs of the lives of a few students in the school - all of whom had a hard time but only one of whom decided to attack others. This is a great book on a subject that, unfortunately, is more and more common.

US release date for This is Where it Ends is January 5, 2016.

Nijcamp, Marieke. (2016). This is Where it Ends. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Fire.