Blogcritics Category: Books: Suspense

Book Review: A Trial of One - The Third in the Osgoode Trilogy by Mary E. Martin

Gerry Weaver — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:06:39 EDT

A Trial of One, Mary E. Martin's legal thriller, concludes The Osgoode Trilogy.
Toronto writer Mary E. Martin wraps up her Osgoode trilogy with A Trial of One, the strongest book in the series. The trilogy is a legal-based crime thriller, with an emphasis on the psychology of both the protagonists and antagonists. This is fertile territory, well explored by authors like Ruth Rendell. However, Martin is not yet writing at a...

Book Review: Notorious by Michelle Martinez

Ruthie — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:21:01 EDT

Drugs and deceit combine to make this legal thriller a fascinating look at courtroom drama and drug-related gang violence.
Notorious by Michelle Martinez, is a novel about New York prosecutor Melanie Vargas, who's handling a high profile case involving a drug king pin turned rap star, Atari Briggs. Death, drugs and deceit blend into a provocative and edgy story about courtroom battles and frightening gang violence.With time about to run out before the hearing...

Book Review: The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford

Mel Odom — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:16:11 EDT

Jeffrey Ford has written a coming-of-age page-turner filled with suspense, menace, and honesty.
The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford stands as one of the most striking pieces of fiction I’ve read so far this year. It’s a coming-of-age novel and a statement on dysfunctional families that partially masks itself as a creepy mystery story. It starts out with a face in the window, a prowler in the neighborhood. The time is the 1960s and...

Book Review: The Dark Tide by Alex Gross

Ruthie — Fri, 9 May 2008 18:19:27 EDT

Karen is surprised and finds it hard to believe her husband led a secret life that put him and their family in danger.
The Dark Tide is a suspense-filled thriller written by Alex Gross. The story begins with explosions in Grand Central Station, which widow the protagonist, Karen. As she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her husband, she is shocked to find out that he was living a double life, one that has now put her and her children in danger. ...

Interview with Karen Harrington, Author of Janeology

Mayra Calvani — Mon, 5 May 2008 22:54:00 EDT

Harrington's novel explores a controversial issue: what prompts a mother to kill her own child?
Karen Harrington's novel, Janeology, is a controversial work about a man trying to understand why his wife suddenly snapped and drowned their toddler son. This psychological thriller was just released by Kunati Books. In the short time Kunati has been on the publishing scene, it has become known as a company with a taste for controversial...

Book Review: Twisted by Andrea Kane

Ruthie — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:28:37 EDT

A wide range of readers will enjoy how the author blends a passionate love story with high suspense.
Andrea Kane brilliantly blends third and first person narratives in Twisted, an edge-of-your-seat suspense novel about a serial killer. This is the first of a series involving the main character Sloan Burbank. Sloan is a former FBI agent who hooks up with her former colleagues to find a serial killer, who may be behind the disappearance of her...

Book Review: Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis

Mayra Calvani — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:11:49 EDT

Black Magic Woman marks the beginning of a new exciting series of supernatural thrillers, featuring kick-ass investigator Quincey Morris.
Quincey Morris isn't your typical private investigator. For one thing, he happens to be a straight descendant of Bram Stoker's Quincey Morris. He also specializes in supernatural cases involving vampires, werewolves, succubis, and other terrifying beings. In this first book in the series, Quincey is called to help a family who is being...

Book Review: The Devil's Bones by Jefferson Bass

Ruthie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:18:28 EDT

This writing team combines bone chilling real-life forensic knowledge into the work of fiction.
The Devil's Bones by Jefferson Bass is the third in his series involving forensic scientist Dr. Bill Brockton. The author has Dr. Brockton tell his story in a first-person descriptive manner; readers will feel like they are watching a movie in their mind rather than reading a book. In this novel, as Dr. Brockton is trying to determine whether a...

Women's Murder Club

Ruthie — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:28:27 EDT

Women's Murder Club can be for ABC what Law & Order SVU is for NBC.
Author James Patterson's characters come to life on ABC's Women's Murder Club. The show focuses on a small group of professional women: a cop, medical examiner, deputy district attorney, and reporter, who all work together to solve crimes. The relationship among the women is an essential element and the key to making this show work. If...

Comic Review: Locke & Key #3 by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Mel Odom — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:54:17 EDT

Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez continue threading mysteries into the chilling horror story about the Locke children and Key House.
Joe Hill switches points of view again in Locke & Key #3. This time the focus is on Kinsey, the middle child of the three Locke children. She's fifteen years old and noticeably troubled by the savage murder of her father. That death precipitated the family's move back to the ancestral home, Key House in Lovecraft, Massachusetts.The story so far...