Staff Pick: Burnt Paper Sky

Burnt Paper Sky by Gilly MacMillan is a 2015 thriller that follows what happens in the days following the disappearance of eight-year-old Ben, the son of a divorced (and bitter) mother named Rachel Jenner. While walking in the woods one day, Rachel lets Ben run ahead to get to the swings. When she catches up a few minutes later, he is nowhere to be found. Set in England, the book alternates between the point of view of Rachel, who is shattered and guilt-ridden, and a detective named Jim, who is assigned to the case.

As we follow the developments, including vicious media scrutiny of Rachel, the exposure of secrets, and police missteps, the list of possible suspects grows. This book is not high literature - at times I felt like it was written to be made into a TV show. However, it was an entertaining weekend read and kept me guessing until almost the end. If you want a few more "missing child" thrillers on your list, keep reading!

Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman begins with two young Baltimore girls who are kicked out of a birthday party. On their way home, they see a baby in a stroller with no one else around, and a disturbing crime results. The story jumps ahead to the girls' 18th birthdays, when they are released from juvenile detention for their convictions in the baby's death. As soon as they're out, another child disappears, and they are the obvious suspects. To find the missing child, we must find out what really happened all those years ago.

The Stranger on the Train by Abbie Taylor is another thriller set in England. A young single mother named Emma is struggling to raise her baby Ritchie. One evening, her worst fears come true as she is separated from her child in the London Underground. Upon reporting the situation to police, Emma's story is doubted and she doesn't know who to rely on. Flashbacks show Emma's life prior to becoming a mother, as the story develops day by day.

The Last Child by John Hart is about two young teens named Johnny and Alyssa. They are twins who had a great life, until one day Alyssa disappeared. A year later, Johnny is still devastated and finds that no one but him believes that Alyssa is still alive. He takes on the search himself, risking his own safety to try and find his sister. A detective frustrated with the unsolved case joins him in the search, but they end up facing twists and turns they couldn't predict.

Happy reading!

Staff Pick: Purity by Jonathan Franzen

The characters in Jonathan Franzen's latest novel Purity are all connected by one person, Purity Tyler, who goes by the nickname "Pip". Like her namesake in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations, Pip Tyler is a young person whose life is shaped by past events she does not understand.

We meet Pip when she is 23, saddled with a huge student debt and an emotionally needy mother. She's smart, funny in an offhand way, unhappy in her job, and fairly unsuccessful in romantic relationships. A seemingly chance encounter with Annagret, a beautiful German visitor, leads to an invitation to join the Wikileaks-like "Sunshine Project" as an intern. Pip is skeptical of the group's founder, Andreas Wolfe, but is eventually drawn in by a promise that the Sunshine Project can help her find out who her father is (her mother will not divulge this information but Pip hopes she can find him and get him to pay off some of her student debt). The story moves around in time and place, between 1960s-1990s East Berlin, 1990s New York, and present day at the Sunshine Project's Bolivian compound.

Purity is divided into seven sections, each relating parts of the story from a different character's perspective: Pip begins, centres, and ends the book, two sections are devoted to the magnetic and strange Andreas Wolfe, and one sections each from the point of view of journalists Tom Aberant, and Leila Helou. Through the narrative another important character emerges: Annabel Laird, an artist who has rejected her large inheritance and creates chaos for those who love her. This is where Jonathan Franzen really excels: creating diverse voices and vivid characters. What first attracted me to Franzen as a writer was his ability to write women characters who were complex and struggled with the social expectations put upon them to be "nice". Reading Purity, as well as his previous novel Freedom, I found many moments of recognition and sometimes unflattering truth. In this novel even though Pip as a character may represent the ideal of Purity pursued by several other characters, she is still very human and imperfect.

The story of Purity is complex and sometimes suspenseful -part of the suspense is created by the reader trying to guess exactly how the characters fit together. There's also a murder, the dread of living in Communist Germany, and the excitement and disillusionment of the Sunshine Project's truth-telling mission. Purity is also about ideas: feminism, the far reaching effects of the internet on our culture, fame, privilege, class, education, love; there is a lot to think about and talk about in this book, but none of it comes at the expense of character and story. I think it would be a great choice for literary minded book clubs.

If you read and liked Purity and haven't read Franzen's other acclaimed novels yet his most notable works are
The Corrections and Freedom.

Purity has also made me want to re-visit Great Expectations "In these literary novels, characters idealistically seeking fame and fortune find instead a rocky, dangerous coming-of-age journey through unforeseen situations while confronting unpredictable people. Both are darkly witty and psychologically rich stories filled with unforgettable, complex characters". -- Jen Baker, Novelist

Staff Pick: In a Dark, Dark, Wood

Maybe you left high school and never looked back. But do you have that one friend that you wish you hadn't lost touch with? Or do you still wince when certain memories of those teenage years surface without warning? Our formative years can be our most emotional, and the protagonist of In a Dark, Dark Wood has spent years trying to forget about her high school days. Leonora (a.k.a Lee, a.k.a Nora) is a solitary crime writer living a unobtrusive life in London, England. Upon returning from a jog one autumn day she checks her email and finds an invitation to a hen party (a stagette for us Canucks). The party is in celebration of Clare Cavendish's upcoming nuptials - Leonora's best friend from high school, who she hasn't seen or spoken to in ten years. Leonora is hesitant to attend, but her curiosity wins over and she makes a pact with a mutual friend that they will both go.

The story flashes back and forth between the after effects of the gathering and the events themselves. Leonora wakes up in the hospital with only scattered memories of the hen party weekend. It takes her time to put the pieces together of what has happened. As she does so, we get to see how the weekend gathering played out and led to tragic consequences. Ware's description of the architecturally striking house Leonora and the others are staying in and the snowy, wooded environment surrounding them also adds to the chilly atmosphere. To say it's a gathering of friends would be stretching the truth - most of them don't know each other and it turns out, they don't really like each other either. This is understandable as the characters are certainly flawed - nonetheless, I was sucked in to the mystery and did not figure out the whodunnit before the end. I would have liked more elucidation about the other characters and their motivations, but it was nonetheless a very enjoyable read. I devoured the book over two evenings, so I hope that Ruth Ware continues to write more books after this bestselling debut. If you like this tale you might also like Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey, Precious Thing by Colette McBeth, and Abroad by Katie Crouch.

 

Staff Pick - "Little Black Lies" by Sharon Bolton

For several years now I have been a huge fan of Sharon Bolton’s novels.

The setting of “Little Black Lies” was one which I’ve never encountered before in popular fiction. The Falkland Islands were portrayed vividly with both geographical and historical accuracy. It reminded me a bit of the Scottish Hebrides with its abundant wildlife, windswept rolling hills and sea.

Aerial photo of Stanley

Amongst this breathtaking scenery we meet some of the inhabitants of Port Stanley, the main town of the Falklands. Stanley has a population of just over two thousand people. Not much at all for the capital of a country the size of Wales.
The narrative of “Little Black Lies” is told over the course of one week via the perspective of three different people. A plot device that is very effective in this instance.
Three years ago the women in “Little Black Lies” were vastly different people. Catrin Quinn was married to Ben and had two healthy boys with another baby on the way. Rachel Grimwood, her best friend, was also the mother of two young boys with a third on the way. The women had been friends since childhood and were closer than sisters, sharing every thought and aspiration.

The narrative begins with Catrin Quinn – a very damaged woman who has endured what is for most people is the very worst thing imaginable. She has lost two young sons in a careless accident and as a result of this trauma she has miscarried a third son… Catrin is coping as well as she can. Her marriage to Ben has dissolved and she now lives alone with her Staffordshire Terrier, Queenie.
Her days are filled with her work as a cetaceans specialist at the Falkland Conservation Headquarters. However, never a day passes that she does not think of her boys and her thoughts have become suicidal… She thinks the only reason she does not ‘end it all’ is the vast rage she feels for who she blames for their death, her former best-friend, Rachel. She keeps a diary detailing her rage and plans for vengeance.

This week is no ordinary week in the Falklands. A young boy has gone missing. This is the third boy to go missing in as many years. This has made the entire island population tense with fear and suspicion. Unlike England or the U.S., where a missing child brings about fear of pedophiles, in the Falklands people fear drowning, animal attacks or something less sinister. But with three missing children the hard-working islanders are desperate for answers and they begin imagining something more fearful. They try to assure themselves that nothing evil could happen here…
In addition, the week holds a natural disaster. Almost two hundred pilot whales have beached themselves on the shores and it is Catrin Quinn’s mandate to cope with this distressing natural disaster.

The book’s second narrative traverses this disastrous week with Catrin’s former lover Callum Murray.  From Scotland, Callum originally came to the Falklands as a soldier in the Falkland’s War. It is as a result of this war that he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Callum is a tall, handsome man who chose to make his home in the beautiful country he so bravely defended.  The country where he accidentally met the married Catrin –  with whom he fell immediately in love.
The third narrative follows Rachel Grimwood’s week. Rachel feels like a pariah. Her guilt weighs so heavily upon her that she has difficulty coping with everyday life. She cannot look people in the eye. She shows little affection for her youngest son, though she loves her two elder sons dearly. She is often home alone with the boys as her husband Sander travels with his work. As a result of a her actions three years ago two little boys have lost their lives.  Little boys that she once cared for deeply.  She has lost her best friend. She is seriously depressed.

An intricately plotted story of how one moment of thoughtlessness can lead to tragedy that impacts upon countless people, “Little Black Lies” is filled with a pervading sense of loss. There are many surprises in store for the reader. With solid, empathetic characters and jaw-dropping plot revelations, it is a novel that will be appreciated by anyone who admires crime fiction with a psychological bent. It contains all of the elements of a great thriller: betrayal, secrecy, passion, despair, fear – and Sharon Bolton uses these elements in a seamless way that grabs you and won’t let go until the very, very end.
Highly recommended!

Staff Pick - The Stranger by Harlen Coben

Adam Price, New Jersey lawyer, is "living the dream" in Harlan Coben's latest thriller The Stranger. The dream includes a comfortable life in a close knit town where residents consider it a privilege to live out their whole lives, with their major preoccupation being family, children and sports.

Then the stranger arrives, and with a few brief words, begins to shatters lives. Adam and Corinne have been married for years with two sons. Adam's world is rocked when the stranger tells him that Corinne faked her third pregnancy just a few years back. This pregnancy, which Adam believed ended in miscarriage, was actually purchased from an online store which sold novelty items like positive pregnancy tests and false bellies. Since we live in a world where it is very difficult to hide anything, Adam is able to determine, with a search of his computer, that this information was genuine. So what next? What's real? Are his sons actually his own children? Adam confronts Corinne who asks for more time before they have that conversation, and poof, she vanishes. In the meantime, more secrets are being revealed, more lives are destroyed and the bodies are beginning to pile up.

Harlan Coben is the master of the plot twist and this is certainly the case with The Stranger. Like all good thrillers, The Stranger is fast paced, suspenseful and is populated by characters who are both engaging and relatable. The thing that I enjoy the most about a Harlan Coben novel is that all the plot twists make sense and are logical as the story unfolds. The thing that I least enjoyed about this particular novel was the ending - a little too tied up with a bow for my taste - but I'll say no more on that. Overall a fun, fast paced read, perfect for a summer weekend.

So what to tackle next? How about:

What I’m looking forward to …

It’s now August and lately I’ve been feeling like summer is whizzing by at high speed.   As I await the release of several new hot mysteries and thrillers, there are days when time can’t move fast enough.  Here’s a sample of what I can’t wait to get my hands on!

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny 

Louise Penny is back with the 11^th in her highly successful Chief Inspector Gamache series.  Penny tells a marvelous tale set in Three Pines, a fictional village in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, where there are more serious crimes than residents.  This latest is the second novel since Gamache retired from the Surete du Quebec and he has lost none of his charm or ability to catch a killer. 

Hardly a day goes by when nine year old Laurent Lepage doesn't cry wolf. From alien invasions, to walking trees, to winged beasts in the woods, to dinosaurs spotted in the village of Three Pines, his tales are so extraordinary no one can possibly believe him. Including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, who now live in the little Quebec village.  But when the boy disappears, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true – Publisher

Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs is back with another Dr. Temperance Brennan forensic anthropologist mystery.  Her last novel Bones Never Lie ended on a great personal note for two of her main characters and we’ll have to wait a little longer to see where that leads.  In this latest in the Bones series Dr. Brennan investigates what looks to be a typical missing person case, only to find herself digging up bones possibly left by a serial killer, a cult, or perhaps something not entirely of this world.

For every case that Temperence Brennan has solved, there remain numerous bodies that remain unidentified in her lab. Information on some of these cold cases is available online, where amateur detectives sometimes take a stab at solving cases.  When Tempe gets a call from Hazel “Lucky” Strike, a web sleuth who believes she’s successfully connected a body in Tempe’s lab to a missing eighteen-year-old girl, Tempe writes it off as another false alarm. Tempe has little patience for chasing false leads. But when the bones in the lab match the missing girl’s medical records, Tempe re-opens the case, returning to the spot where her remains were originally found.--Publisher

Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay I tell anyone who asks (and some that don’t) that if they enjoy thrillers and haven’t been introduced to Linwood Barclay then they must absolutely read his novels.  His books have all been stand alones and that makes it easy to pick up any one of them and enjoy.  However, this is about to change with the release of Broken Promise, the first in a thriller trilogy.

After his wife's death and the collapse of his newspaper, David Harwood has no choice but to uproot his nine-year-old son and move back into his childhood home in Promise Falls, New York. David believes his life is in free fall, and he can't find a way to stop his descent.
Then he comes across a family secret of epic proportions. A year after a devastating miscarriage, David's cousin Marla has continued to struggle. But when David's mother asks him to check on her, he's horrified to discover that she's been secretly raising a child who is not her own--a baby she claims was a gift from an "angel" left on her porch.—Publisher

X by Sue Grafton

I rarely think about how many letters are in the alphabet but X by Sue Grafton reminds me that there are only 2 more left and for that I am deeply sad.  I have been a fan of Grafton’s since the early 1980s when I first met her abrasive, single, street smart P.I. Kinsey Millhone.  Her stories still take place in the eighties and that is both confusing for some and refreshing for others who remember life without cell phones and the internet. Kinsey and I have been her through many ups and downs including exploding residences, broken relationships and suspects that would have sent an ordinary P.I. running in the other direction.  Here’s a sample of what X has in store for Kinsey and her readers.

PI Kinsey Millhone's life is going smoothly for once. She has money in the bank from an inheritance, and she has just collected an advance for the fairly simple job of locating a recently released prisoner. But the good times don't last long, as Kinsey finds that her fee was paid with counterfeit money and her client isn't who she claims to be. Further complicating her life is the discovery of a case file in a deceased colleague's business records, which puts Kinsey on the trail of a possible serial killer.  – Library Journal

The Girl in the Spider’s Web: a Lisbeth Salander novel by David Lagercrantz.

Like many fans of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy I did a double take when I first heard about this latest Lisbeth Salander novel.  After Larsson’s death in 2004 there was a huge public battle over his estate between Eva Gabrielsson, Larsson’s long-term partner and Erland and Joakim Larsson of the Stieg Larsson Estate.  Rumours swirled of a possible fourth manuscript on Larsson’s computer, secret plans to publish this book under Larsson’s  name, and of course financial battles between Gabrielsson and the estate.  Now the estate has given David Lagercrantz permission to continue the Millenium series.   Erland and Joakim Larsson of the Stieg Larsson Estate have said that “by letting Lagercrantz write his own ‘Millennium’ novel we keep alive the characters and the universe Larsson created”.  Fans of Larsson’s work will get to decide if he’s truly kept that universe alive.

Louise

Recent Eco-Thrillers

White Plague by James Abel

"In the remote, frozen waters of the Arctic Ocean, the high-powered and technically advanced submarine U.S.S. Montana is in peril. Adrift and in flames, the boat—and the entire crew—could be lost. The only team close enough to get to them in time is led by Marine doctor and bio-terror expert Joe Rush. With only thirty-six hours before the surviving crew perish, Joe and his team must race to rescue the Montana and ensure that the boat doesn’t fall into enemy hands. Because a fast-approaching foreign submarine is already en route, and tensions may explode. But that’s the least of their troubles. For the surviving sailors are not alone on the sub. Something is trapped with them. Something deadly lethal. Something that plagued mankind long ago, when it devastated the entire world. And the crew of the Montana has unknowingly set it free. " publisher

Ark Storm by Linda Davies

"The Ark Storm is coming—a catastrophic weather event that will unleash massive floods and wreak more damage on California than the feared “Big One.” One man wants to profit from it. Another wants to harness it to wage jihad on American soil. One woman stands in their way: Dr. Gwen Boudain, a brave and brilliant meteorologist." publisher

Blackmail Earth by Bill Evans

"The Morning Show’s star meteorologist, Jenna Withers, reports on the blistering conditions of a nationwide drought every day.  But nothing this alluring young woman has ever experienced can prepare her for the terrifying intersection of extreme weather and extreme politics. After Jenna receives a controversial appointment to a special White House task force on geoengineering, she learns about a lot more than the President’s desire to use technology to address global warming.  Through old contacts, Jenna hears that Muslim extremists in the Maldives have begun to publicly blame the West for the rising seas that imperil the tiny Pacific island nation.  They are planning a suicide bombing that could lead to a sudden and disastrous cooling of the planet. Rick Birk, an aging, alcoholic colleague of Jenna’s, is dispatched to report on the turmoil in the Maldives. To his—and everyone else’s—shock, he becomes a central – and bizarre – figure in the unfolding panic." publisher

Don't Cry, Tai Lake by Qiu Xiaolong

"Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is offered a bit of luxury by friends and supporters within the Party - a week's vacation at a luxurious resort near Lake Tai, a week where he can relax, and recover, undisturbed by outside demands or disruptions. Unfortunately, the once beautiful Lake Tai, renowned for its clear waters, is now covered by fetid algae, its waters polluted by toxic runoff from local manufacturing plants. Then the director of one of the manufacturing plants responsible for the pollution is murdered and the leader of the local ecological group is the primary suspect of the local police. Now Inspector Chen must tread carefully if he is to uncover the truth behind the brutal murder and find a measure of justice for both the victim and the accused." publisher

Ice Fire by David Lyons

"In this explosive debut thriller, a judge from the Louisiana bayou goes up against a company on the verge of causing an ecological disaster.  Cajun-born Jock Boucher has overcome modest beginnings to assume the prestigious position of U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. One of his first cases on the bench involves a scientist who has been hiding in mortal fear for more than twenty years. The fugitive claims that another judge accepted bribes and helped a relentless global energy company steal his intellectual property: a way to recover energy from below the subsea bed that could end America’s dependence on foreign oil. Boucher takes on the company and its powerful founder, risking not only his judicial career but his life. He follows a trail of cryptic clues to the bottom of the ocean, and soon finds himself the target of killers—and too far from the law to ever return. " publisher

2015 International Thriller Awards

The International Thriller Writers Association present this award to the best writers in their genre as a means of mentoring and supporting fine thriller writing.


Best Hardcover Novel
The Fever by Megan Abbott

"The panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community. The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hockey star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community. As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town's fragile idea of security. A chilling story about guilt, family secrets and the lethal power of desire, THE FEVER affirms Megan Abbott's reputation as "one of the most exciting and original voices of her generation." publisher

Best First Novel
The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh

"The Dane family's roots tangle deep in the Ozark Mountain town of Henbane, but that doesn't keep sixteen-year-old Lucy Dane from being treated like an outsider. Folks still whisper about her mother, a bewitching young stranger who inspired local myths when she vanished years ago. When one of Lucy's few friends, slow-minded Cheri, is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost girls--the mother she never knew and the friend she couldn't protect. Everything changes when Lucy stumbles across Cheri's necklace in an abandoned trailer and finds herself drawn into a search for answers. What Lucy discovers makes it impossible to ignore the suspicion cast on her own kin. More alarming, she suspects Cheri's death could be linked to her mother's disappearance, and the connection between the two puts Lucy at risk of losing everything. In a place where the bonds of blood weigh heavy, Lucy must decide where her allegiances lie..." Discover

Best Young Adult Novel
Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

"A math-whiz from a trailer park discovers she's the only student capable of unravelling complex clues left by a serial killer who's systematically getting rid of her classmates.
Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school-- a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance... on her!" Discover

Staff Pick - How to be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman

If you want to see the Internet shaking with rage, just google the phrase How to Be a Good Wife.

How to Be a Good Wife is not only the title of Emma Chapman's novel, it is also the book that the novel's wife Marta is given by her mother-in-law. How to be a good wife instructs:

Make your home a place of peace and order.

Your husband belongs in the outside world. The house is your domain, and your responsibility.

Before he arrives home, freshen your make-up; put a ribbon in your hair.

Let your husband take care of the correspondence and finances of the household. Make it your job to be pretty and gay.

It's very obvious, very quickly that something is wrong with Marta Bjornstad. Marta has been married to Hector for so long that she cannot recall her life prior to their marriage when she was just a girl. Hector tells her that her parents were killed in a car crash and he rescued her, sick and starving on a doorstep. Hector gives her little pink pills to keep her on an even keel and instructs her never to leave their valley. She tries to be a good wife, she tries to follow the rules set out in her book, but she begins to unravel when her son Kylan leaves home.

It's hard to trust Hector.

Marta then decides to stop taking her pills and her behavior becomes erratic. She is having hallucinations (or are they memories?) of an emaciated blond girl, who reminds her of the girl her son brings home as his fiance. During a horrendous dinner party Marta behaves monstrously toward the girl, distressing all around her with her jealousy and insecurity, while Hector calmly and compassionately cares for Marta.

It's hard to trust Marta.

How to Be a Good Wife is a suspenseful and disturbing tale.  Who can we trust? The husband who conceals his faults from his wife, who controls her behavior, or, is he rather a beleaguered man worn down by years of caring for his fragile wife. Or do we trust Marta, who may have been drugged to forget her past, or perhaps is slipping into psychosis. Overall a gripping story that may leave you with more questions that answer.

One reviewer compared it to the classic The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an early example of American feminist literature, in which another unreliable female narrator relates in first person her physician husband's treatment of her "nervous" condition. This rest cure so lacks in stimulation that the woman descends into psychosis eventually seeing a woman creeping in the pattern in the wallpaper.

Staff Picks - The Stars' Tennis Ball by Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry, actor, writer, director, producer, television presenter, technology aficionado, and also novelist, is a very busy man. He has written a number of funny novels, however, one that takes a different turn is The Stars' Tennis Balls. Released under the title Revenge in the US, the stars' tennis balls refers back to a scene in the Duchess of Malfi expressing how we are all subject to fate's cruel whims.

Disaster strikes with what appears to be a series of fairly innocuous events. The sum of all the events adds up to catastrophe. It begins with Ned and Portia, two charmingly delightful teenagers, who meet and fall deeply in love. They are intelligent, kind-hearted, attractive and privileged, and very irritating to some of their less advantaged friends. What begins as a (relatively) harmless plot to give Ned his comeuppance by planting marijuana in his pocket, spirals completely out of control. Unbeknownst to the conspirators is that Ned (without his full knowledge) has been entrusted with a letter from an dying IRA terrorist. The drugs become the least of his problem as he is caught up a series of bewildering events which strip away of life and land him in a remote psychiatric facility. He has decades to formulate his revenge.

This psychological thriller delivers frustration that is palpable. The sense of unfairness and helplessness is enough to make you want to stamp your feet. And then the revenge. At first you expect that the life well-lived, plus a little financial ruin, plus public humiliation will be enough, but no, events continue to spiral and the revenge takes a very dark turn.

The Stars Tennis Balls is a reworking of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. The similarities are fairly obvious (Ned=Edmund Dantes, Leclare=Leclere, Babe=Abbe Faria). Like Ned, as Dantes exacts his revenge on his enemies, he reveals his true identity worsening their despair.

For other stories told in the style of The Count of Monte Cristo, consider:

Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer - "...Danny is sentenced to twenty-two years and sent to Belmarsh prison, the highest-security jail in the land, form where no inmate has ever escaped. However, Spencer Craig, Lawrence Davenport, Gerald Payne and Toby Mortimer all underestimate Danny's determination to seek revenge..." - dust jacket.

Exact Revenge by Tim Green - "For twenty years, Raymond White has waited. Living in a maximum security prison in upstate New York and convicted of a murder he didn't commit, his only thoughts are find the men who put him there....Outside the prison gates, unimaginable wealth from a hidden cache awaits. That and a new name would give White the power to make every one of his enemies pay, and pay dearly. For those men, death would be a blessing." -dust jacket.

Nextreads - Thrillers and Suspense

Are you looking for a few good books to read? Sign up for our e-newsletters and get great book suggestions by email. We'll deliver reading lists right to your inbox along with new gems, bestsellers, and related titles. Select from your favourites (Biography and Memoir, Mystery, Romance and more), or choose them all!

This month we feature the Thrillers and Suspense newsletter with a selection of new and recent titles with a spotlight on Fire and Ice! For more information about these titles check out the March 2015 Nextreads Newsletter.

One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis

The Swimmer by Joakim Zander

Twelve Days by Alex Berenson

Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm



Focus on: Fire and Ice

Fireproof: a Maggie O'Dell novel by Alex Kava
Ice Cold: a Rizzoli and Isles novel by Tess Gerritsen
The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
Line of Fire by Stephen White
White Fire by Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child