The Crime Review

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Read this book for: serial killer, abduction thriller, kidnapping, amateur investigation, woman-led, psychological thriller

Quick Review: An interesting twist on a familiar premise, you’ll want to know how this one ends!

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He won’t forget her…

Erin and her brother Alex were the last children abducted by ‘the Father’, a serial killer who only ever took pairs of siblings. She escaped, but her brother was never seen again. Traumatised, Erin couldn’t remember anything about her ordeal, and the Father was never caught.

Eighteen years later, Erin has done her best to put the past behind her. But then she meets Harriet. Harriet’s young cousins were the Father’s first victims and, haunted by their deaths, she is writing a book about the disappearances and is desperate for an interview with the only survivor. At first, Erin wants nothing to do with her. But then she starts receiving sinister gifts, her house is broken into, and she can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. After all these years, Erin believed that the Father was gone, but now she begins to wonder if he was only waiting…

THE FINAL CHILD is a psychological thriller about a serial killer who has taken children — from the perspective of someone who survived the ordeal but has yet to confront it.

This is Fran Dorricott’s second novel; her first, AFTER THE ECLIPSE, and some of the same elements that made it great are present in this book. She shows the same sensitivity to unstable mental states, has a female journalist character leading an amateur investigation, and that wish to leave a few questions open.

One of the things Dorricott does well is taking an interesting approach to a common premise. In this case, she tackles the serial killer/abduction premise… but the abductions happened long ago, and the lone survivor doesn’t remember what happened to her. Now, decades later, she is dragged back into the past by strange happenings.

This type of story, and her approach to it, relies heavily on the ability to portray nuanced mental and emotional states in the characters, and Dorricott does it well. The characters’ uncertainty, conflicted feelings, and deep terror come across very clearly throughout the novel, and the emotional engagement really helps pull the reader in, and keep them turning pages.

The plot, in the end, is not overly complex, but is reasonably satisfying to watch unravel. As is usually the case with serial killer thrillers, there’s a bit of a forced feel to pieces of it, but Dorricott’s tendency toward a simpler plot with a few more vague elements helps to smooth over the major points of disbelief.

If you are looking for a bit of a different take on the genre and an emotionally engaging read, THE FINAL CHILD is a story you should consider picking up!

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Read this book for: psychological thriller, unreliable narrator, female lead character, twisting plot, suspense, forgotten past

Quick Review: Unsettling and unexpected, a thriller that will subvert your expectations at every turn and leave you with an experience that you will remember.

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Heather Hornne is going home.  Haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her family, Heather finds herself back in Hunther, Wisconsin after twenty years running from it.   She returns to finally put the past to rest, but uncovers another tragedy and finds herself in the beguiling grip of a young woman who knows more of her family secrets than Heather does.  To survive this homecoming, Heather must piece together a toxic history that she long tried to forget.

CONFESS TO ME is a stand alone psychological thriller from author Sharon Doering, following a woman who attempts to unravel her forgotten past when she returns to her hometown after many years.

We have reviewed another of Doering’s thrillers here on the blog: SHE LIES CLOSE was another psychological thriller that involved a woman trying to unravel a mystery as she becomes increasingly erratic in her behaviour. Those elements are somewhat present in this novel as well, but it is definitely a very different story.

One of the best things about that story is that it tends to subvert some of the tropes of the typical ‘finding out about a dark past’ narrative. Without spoiling any of the plot points, nothing is quite as you expect in this novel, and the way the plot twists around itself makes it extremely difficult to guess what the actual explanations will be revealed to be.

This difficulty in guessing in what is happening is really driven by the unpredictability of the characters, as it becomes apparently that not only might the main character have something to hide, but so do several of the other supporting characters. No one is quite what they seem, and no one’s actions seem to be quite what you would expect.

The slightly off actions of the characters help to underpin that feeling of doubt that pervades the novel. Doering has done an exceptional job of creating a particularly unsettled mood throughout; one that will keep you guessing even outside of the plot. The inability to predict how the characters will behave makes this novel a very immersive and slightly disturbing experience, with a pervading sense of paranoia.

CONFESS TO ME is definitely worth the read if you are looking for something that will truly immerse you in an unsettling experience.

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Read this book for: medical thriller, serial killer, moral questions, amateur detective, personal stakes

Quick Review: Uniquely interesting and thought-provoking, with a solid thriller core, this pushes genre boundaries for a great read!

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When her elderly patients start dying at home days after minor surgery, anesthesiologist Dr. Kate Downey wants to know why. The surgeon, not so much. “Old people die, that’s what they do” is his response. When Kate presses, surgeon Charles Ricken places the blame squarely on her shoulders. Kate is currently on probation, and the chief of staff sides with the surgeon, leaving Kate to prove her innocence and save her own career. With her husband in a prolonged coma, it’s all she has left.

Aided by her eccentric Great Aunt Irm, a precocious medical student, and the lawyer son of a victim, Kate launches her own unorthodox investigation of these unexpected deaths. As she comes closer to exposing the culprit’s identity, she faces professional intimidation, threats to her life, a home invasion, and, tragically, the suspicious death of someone close to her. The stakes escalate to the breaking point when Kate, under violent duress, is forced to choose which of her loved ones to save, and which must be sacrificed.

FATAL INTENT is a medical thriller that pits an amateur sleuth doctor against an extremely clever serial killer.

The first thing you will notice about this book is that it is distinctly not a police procedural. This is a series of crimes that takes place largely in hospitals, investigated by a doctor, lawyer, and an elderly lady. The police are involved to some degree, but the main investigative force here is distinctly a team of medical professionals. That different perspective — one which Euliano weaves in comfortably and knowledgeably — makes this a refreshing read.

The characters themselves are also believable, with lots of detail about things going on in their personal lives that make them feel real. None of them suddenly develop super-sleuth skills; it’s fairly straightforward logic and an investigation that is sensible for them to be taking on themselves. The characters are human in a way that makes the story much more real, which is particularly important given some of the difficult moral and emotional topics that this novel tackles, which are not often present in a standard thriller.

That said, this is still a solidly plotted, page-turner of a thriller. Euliano has done an excellent job of keeping it tightly paced without feeling forced or contrived, or like the characters are in unreasonable amounts of danger. The peril and tension fit well with the story and the circumstances, and make this novel very easy to lose yourself in.

FATAL INTENT is definitely one that you should pick up if you are a thriller fan, especially if you are looking for one that is a bit different in terms of setting and style!

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Read this book for: classic Holmes pastiche, Sherlock Holmes, cozy mystery, supernatural elements, classic mystery, whodunnit

Quick Review: Packed with familiar faces and places but with a fresh twist, this is a novel perfectly suited to classic Holmes fans. 

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1894. The monstrous Hound of the Baskervilles has been dead for five years, along with its no less monstrous owner, the naturalist Jack Stapleton. Sir Henry Baskerville is living contentedly at Baskerville Hall with his new wife Audrey and their three-year-old son Harry.

Until, that is, Audrey’s lifeless body is found on the moors, drained of blood. It would appear some fiendish creature is once more at large on Dartmoor and has, like its predecessor, targeted the unfortunate Baskerville family.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are summoned to Sir Henry’s aid, and our heroes must face a marauding beast that is the very stuff of nightmares. It seems that Stapleton may not have perished in the Great Grimpen Mire after all, as Holmes believed, and is hell-bent on revenge…

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE BEAST OF THE STAPLETONS is Holmes writer James Lovegrove’s follow up to the classic HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, and a fitting continuation of that story written by a proven expert.  

James Lovegrove is one of the most prolific Holmes writers currently working, and writes a convincing Holmes in a number of situations, often with a supernatural or semi-supernatural twist. Check out reviews for SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CHRISTMAS DEMON, SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE DEVIL’S DUST, and SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MISKATONIC MONSTROSITIES on this blog.  

Lovegrove writes Holmes extremely well. Once again in this installment, the character feels like the Holmes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. In fact, this is probably his most traditional edition that we have read, with the inclusion of Watson as biographer (also captured very well), the type of story, the mention of other major players and adventures in the canon Holmes catalogue, and the type, pace and style of plot. 

The plot itself is pure Baskerville, part two. A giant, man-eating beast, the darkness and mystery of the moor and even the characters themselves are all drawn directly from HOUND. Lovegrove carefully balances nods to the original with his own new elements to create a tale that feels as fresh as it does familiar. It’s also a fairly gratifying plot in itself; not overly complicated but satisfyingly twisting. 

If you are a Sherlock Holmes fan looking for some new material to read, you will definitely enjoy the familiar feeling and faces present in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE BEAST OF THE STAPLETONS!

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Read this book for: horror, supernatural mystery, mixed genre, short stories, mob stories, creepy stories

Quick Review: Creepy, suspenseful, and showcasing a vast range, Bradbury’s crime stories should be read, whether you are a Bradbury fan or love crime novels with a horror edge. 

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Time travelers…dark carnivals…living automata…and detectives? Honoring the 100th birthday of Ray Bradbury, renowned author of Fahrenheit 451, this new, definitive collection of the master’s less well-known crime fiction, published in a high-grade premium collectible edition, features classic stories and rare gems, a number of which became episodes of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER, including the tale Bradbury called “one of the best stories in any field that I have ever written.”
Is it murder to destroy a robot if it looks and speaks and thinks and feels like a human being? Can a ventriloquist be incriminated by the testimony of his own dummy? Can a time traveler prevent his younger self from killing the woman they both loved? And can the survivor of a pair of Siamese twins investigate his own brother’s murder? No other writer has ever rivaled the imagination and narrative gifts of Ray Bradbury, and the 20 unforgettable stories in this collection demonstrate this singular writer’s extraordinary range, influence and emotional power. 

KILLER, COME BACK TO ME is a collection of short crime stories written by Ray Bradbury, collected and published in a special edition for his 100th birthday.   

This is one of the many brilliant Hard Case Crime novels published by Titan Books.  Hard Case Crime pulls unpublished or lost crime stories, sometimes from famous authors that you would never have guessed have written in the genre. Check out reviews for screenwriter Donald E. Westlake’s FOREVER AND A DEATH,  and Stephen King’s THE COLORADO KID, as well as Scott Von Doviak’s excellent CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL, and director Brian De Palma and Susan Lehman’s ARE SNAKES NECESSARY?, for more of their published stories.

Bradbury is not the first author you would think of when it comes to crime stories, but he has written quite a few of them, and they span genres from 30’s and 40’s mob stories, to the supernatural, to those involving androids, to the downright creepy and sinister. Most of these stories incorporate at least some sort of horror element.

And most of these stories are genuinely creepy. Bradbury’s straightforward, matter-of-fact tellings of bizarre situations lend them a distinctly unsettling edge. He uses the middle America and white picket fence setting to great effect here, although is equally at home in one or two stories that have more exotic settings – a circus sideshow, a few mob stories, a ventriloquist’s show.  

The range of stories, settings, time periods, characters, and even the feel of the stories themselves – from suspense, to horror, to psychological thriller – makes this a collection that feels fresh every time you turn the page. A few of the stories pair nicely together (or were written as pairs), and the editors have done a fantastic job of arranging the stories into an order that makes a lot of sense when read straight through. However, each of the stories can be easily read on their own for a bite-sized bit of crime fiction.

I devoured this set of short stories, and if you are a fan of Ray Bradbury, or like crime stories that are especially chilling, KILLER, COME BACK TO ME, is definitely one to pick up. 

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Read this book for: psychological thriller, unreliable narrator, missing person’s case, female lead character, twisting plot, suspense 

Quick Review: Intense, emotional, and chilling, this twisting story will grip you, and make you question your opinions about the characters again and again.  

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Five-year-old Ava Boone vanished without a trace six months ago. No witnesses, no sightings or arrests. But Grace Wright just moved in next door to the only suspect the case had: quiet, middle-aged Leland Ernest. Recently divorced, Grace uprooted her two small children to start again and hopes the move will reset her crippling insomnia. With whispered neighborhood gossip and increasingly sleepless nights, Grace develops a fierce obsession with Leland and the safety of her children. Could she really be living next door to a child-kidnapper? A murderer? With reality and dream blurring more each day, Grace desperately pursues the truth – following Ava’s family, demanding answers from the police – and then a body is discovered…  

SHE LIES CLOSE is a recently published stand-alone psychological thriller by Sharon Doering. It tracks the emotional and mental spiral of Grace Wright, a recently divorced mother of two whose anxiety over her children’s wellbeing has led her to obsess over her neighbour, a suspect in the kidnapping of a little girl the same age as her own.  

That fear and anxiety permeates this novel, and the emotional intensity of Grace’s worry is one of the most prominent and powerful aspects of the story. Her nerves are palpable, and somehow make her actions – even though they are unreasonable – completely understandable, rather than over the top. Doering also handles Grace’s slipping grip on reality with subtlety and deftness. 

This subtlety means we’re never quite sure what is real and what isn’t in Grace’s experience, which is perfect, because as time goes on, neither is she. Without spoiling anything, it’s this unreliability that drives the plot, but it also makes you desperate for answers as to what is actually going on, and turns a fairly simple plot scenario into something much darker and more twisted. 

I was expecting a fairly simple resolution to the plot of this novel: a woman who is completely obsessed with a particular crime and suspect suddenly becomes much more involved than you expect at the outset. However, Doering has created a couple of fascinating twists on that particular theme that made the ending a bit of a surprise to me; the reversals and changes are almost Hitchcock-ian. 

If you are looking for a tense psychological thriller that will drag you in with tension and keep you riveted, desperate for a resolution, SHE LIES CLOSE is definitely worth picking up! 

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