Thrillers Archives - Page 4 of 4

Caught In the Cross-hairs of a Killer…”The English Spy”, by Daniel Silva

The English Spy is another successful international spy thriller novel by author Daniel Silva. Silva has thrilled his readers with 17 spy novels featuring amazing characters and plots that have taken his brilliant hero, Gabriel Allon, around the globe and back. Silva’s background as a journalist for UPI covering the Middle East, then an executive producer with CNN, has given him some factual base as he began his first novel, The Unlikely Spy.

The English Spy features Silva’s acclaimed Israeli operative, Gabriel Allon. The author’s timing of his novels is just short of serving as a prediction of future events. The English Spy deals with the Iran nuclear negotiations, bringing that modern-day aspect seamlessly into the stories plot. Once again a former character, Madeline Hart (the English girl), gets caught in the cross-hairs of a killer and depends on Allon to survive.

It is said that Daniel Silva can write like no other in his ability to describe wondrous works of beauty on one line, then acts of raw brutality on another, with such a seamless span from one to the other. In The English Spy, he opens with a suspenseful situation, then backs it up with all the intrigue and adventure that he is famous for. The reader or listener can just sit back and enjoy the ride.

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For Good, For Bad, Forever…”Finders Keepers”, by Stephen King

Once again, the genius author Stephen King, masters another thriller novel with a brilliant title…… Finders Keepers. The book is the second volume of a planned trilogy with main character, Detective Bill Hodges. Mr. Mercedes was volume one in the trilogy, and introduced Detective Hodges. The main theme of Finders Keepers is somewhat of a recurring theme (as was his novel, Misery) of a reader whose obsession with a favorite writer has become very dangerous. The new novel, published on June 2, 2015, promises to fulfill the high expectations that Stephen King’s readers have come to expect.
A thirty year old murder of a writer sets the stage for the premise of the novel. Detective Hodges gets drawn into the complicated story, but does not realize how it will lead to more mystery involving the decades old murder. It is a deadly cat and mouse game that he walks into, but he is the detective who brought down the murderer, Mr. Mercedes.
“Finders Keepers is spectacular, heart-pounding suspense, but it is also Stephen writing about how literature shapes a life……… for good, for bad, forever”.

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Who Is She??? Who Is She Not???….”The Girl on the Train”, by Paula Hawkins

New author, Paula Hawkins, has transitioned from her beginnings as a journalist to her debut novel, The Girl on the Train. She has written an intense psychological thriller that follows the engrossing tale of strangers crossing paths with others and the eventual intimate betrayals. It has been likened to Alfred Hitchcock’s, Rear Window, as being that story for a new generation. Another fictional story, Gone Girl, has also been used as a comparison.

The actual girl on the train is Rachel, who commutes from her home to London and back every day. From her window, she has taken interest in a couple along the way in their backyard. She has made up names for the couple, calling them Jess and Jason. One day she sees Jess kissing another man. The next day, Jess is missing. Rachel is so obsessed with what she thought to be the idyllic life of these two people, that it lures her into an investigation of Jess’s disappearance. During the investigation, Rachel comes closer to a better understanding of herself…….who she really is, and is not.

Paula Hawkins debut novel has all the elements of a perfect psychological thriller: lives that are not what they seem, jealousy, betrayal, wounded hearts, obsession, and a haunting unease.

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Which is Good, Which is Evil???…”Prodigal Son”, by Danielle Steel

The New York Times bestselling author, Danielle Steel, has sold more than 800 million books in her career. Her newest novel, Prodigal Son, has debuted at #1. She has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors. Besides her well known best sellers, she also wrote a novel about her son’s life and death, a memoir about her work with the homeless, a book about all the dogs she and her family have had, and a children’s book.

Prodigal Son is about twin boys who, even though growing up in the same family and same town, are very different. So different, that they become bitter enemies. They are separated when one twin leaves town and one stays behind. But eventually, the “prodigal son” returns home after twenty years. The relationship between the two seems like old “injuries” had been healed, but eventually the truth of their good and evil comes out. Steel “tells a brilliant, suspenseful story of suspicion, betrayal, and life-and-death struggle for survival………which twin is good and which is evil………the tables turn again and again”.

Prodigal Son is powerful and filled with complexity in subject and characters. It is “a riveting novel of secrets, salvation, and redemption from master storyteller, Danielle Steel.

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Small Towns…Big Secrets…”Gray Mountain”, by John Grisham

Popular author, John Grisham, introduced his latest novel, Gray Mountain, in October of this year. It is proving to be a very controversial work, since Grisham’s liberal ideology is not so subtly reflected in this novel. The storyline revolves around the main character, Samantha Kofer, who in 2008, has the fast track upward career on Wall Street with a high powered , prestigious law firm. Suddenly, the recession hits and her law firm downsizes, furloughing Samantha without notice, and escorts her out of the building. She is offered a position with no pay for one year as a legal aid, with a slight chance that after that period of time, she might get her Wall Street job back.

Samantha experiences a cultural shock when she moves from Manhattan to a very small town, Brady, Virginia. Being in the heart of Appalachia, the area is one that she had only read about. She is to work at the legal aid clinic where she is supposed to help “real people”. She must actually represent ordinary clients in the courtroom, where she quickly finds out that small towns can be hiding some big secrets.

The author’s liberal leaning political views comes through when he is describing Samantha’s journey “into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining, where laws are often broken, rules are ignored, regulations are flouted, communities are divided, and the land itself is under attack from Big Coal. Within just a few weeks, Samantha realizes that she is embroiled in litigation that could turn deadly.

Gray Mountain concentrates on Grisham’s relentless, negative case against what he calls Big Coal. This biased novel comes on the heels of his previous novel, Sycamore Row (2013), that takes a very critical look at racism in Mississippi (Grisham’s home state). There has been much controversy surrounding Gray Mountain with anti-coal people and those who believe coal mining has significantly improved into a safer, cleaner industry.

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