2nd Chance (2003) by James Patterson

An action-packed crime thriller, about a female homicide detective hunting a trained killer, who seems to be attacking black victims with a link to the police.

Opening with a horrific shooting at a local church, where one black choir girl was killed amongst all the flying bullets, detective Lindsay Boxer is put on the case after returning from a break in her tumultuous career. With the help of her three closest friends; a reporter, a medical examiner, and a lawyer, she hopes to find the killer known as Chimera before he can take his next victim.

Fast-paced throughout, Patterson writes with gripping ease, leading the reader through an exciting and dangerous cat and mouse plot. Lindsay is a brilliant protagonist, with complex issues about her family and career, and we see her develop as the story unwinds. Her relationship with her three close friends forms the foundation for this book, and while at times it seems a like a professional version of Sex and the City, it is quite a refreshing dynamic which works well to develop different subplots.

Playing out like a cop show, 2nd Chance does lack lengthy description, leaving some of the aspects of the story underdeveloped, but for those who enjoy a book which doesn’t bore you to tears in each chapter, this is a thrilling read.

Severed (2007) by Simon Kernick

Tyler is an ex-soldier, who served during the tumultuous years of the IRA. He now sells cars for a living in London, and has a pretty ordinary life. However, at the beginning of the story, Tyler awakes with no recollection of his past 24 hours, his girlfriend Leah lies beheaded next to him, and there is a video in the room that shows him decapitating her. Now, a voice over the phone forces Tyler into completing a series of dangerous tasks in exchange for the evidence of the beheading.

Tyler must delve deep into the seedy, criminal underworld of London streets in order to keep his blackmailers at bay, whilst trying to understand what has happened to him, and who is behind it.

A pulsating, action thriller this book gives absolutely no chance for the reader to breathe. It is a hurricane of a story, one filled with plenty of tense stand-offs and explosive near-misses, and the revelations come thick and fast as Tyler pieces together this insane plot against him. He moves through each stage barely, and the death toll rises with the tension.

Not too much character exploration, this book tends to stay in the shallow waters. One criticism would be that very little attachment is made to any other character in the book, and Tyler’s journey seems laden with misery and defeat with very little light at the end of the tunnel.

However, it is a brilliant read for fans of a lot of action, those who want a book to entertain rather than muddle through. Kernick’s writing is clear and concise, with very little dribble, and his penchant for building each dramatic scene is masterful.

The Devil's Feather (2005) by Minette Walters

Racing psychological thriller about a war correspondent who tries to hide in the South West of England after she is released from a three day abduction in Iraq.

Connie Burns is a successful journalist who was born in South Africa, and has seen some of the world’s most devastating conflicts. Working for Reuters via London, she reports on modern wars, and at the beginning of the book is working is Bagdad during the recent War on Terror. After looking into a spate of vicious attacks and murders against women, Connie finds herself investigating a man whom she knew from her life in Sierra Leone, a man calling himself McKenzie, who is a brutal ex-SAS soldier who is known for his violent outbursts.

Living in Bagdad has its immediate dangers, and one of the most prevalent is hostage taking. Many professionals, politicians and indeed journalists have been abducted by terrorist groups in order to send a message to the Allies, and Connie finds herself within this unlucky group, when she is snatched outside her hotel. Luckily though, she is released only three days later with no apparent injuries. Her escape comes as a huge relief to the watching world, but also an intriguing mystery; viewers want to know why she was so fortunate.

To avoid the bombardment of personal invasions, Connie rents herself a house in Dorset under a different name while the heat dies down. Once there though, she soon finds herself mixed up in a complicated family squabble involving the owner of the house she now rents, the spoilt socialising daughter who wants her inheritance, and a local farmer, whose complete inability to conform to social norms makes her very interesting to Connie.

So while Connie tries to uncover the secrets behind this house and those who have lived in it, she must also stay undetected by the world’s media, as well as the evil-doers who abducted her who are now seem to be wanting her dead. Her paralysing fear which resulted from the three-day confinement will be her biggest challenge.

It is a mild book, a few good twists and turns, but nothing remarkable. The story is nothing more than something you would find on daytime television thillers, and the actual evolution of the plot is seems timid and slow. Her writing style is great, and the flow of her words seem to make it an enjoyable read, but by the end, some viewers may find themselves thinking: why did I keep reading?

The threatening aspects of the book seem impotent compared to some of those in modern thrillers, and Walters seems unwilling to get her hands dirty with the really gutsy stuff. It is a book for people who don’t like anything too tense or dramatic, nothing that will make you squirm as you read, which definitely has its appeal to some readers…but not this one.

The Cold Moon (2006) by Jeffery Deaver

Expertly written crime thriller, about a serial killer loose in New York City, with an obsession with time and a passion for elaborate murders.

Two seemingly unrelated deaths quickly become the hottest new chase for a killer, after an old fashioned, ticking clock was found at each of the crime scenes. The face of the clocks show a moon image, representing the lunar calendar, which bears a great importance to the murderer. Detective Lincoln Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs become the lead investigators for the case, with the help of a handful of colleagues. Rhyme is a quadriplegic, who has to do all of his research from a base in his home, although, his masterful attention to detail and an unrelenting persistence with evidence have made him one of the most revered detectives in the city.

Sachs is a determined street cop, whose family has been born and bred in the service, making her resolve to find this killer even more solid.

The killer, known as The Watchmaker, utilizes a terrifying book of torture methods as inspiration for his evil deeds, and once he teams up with a sexual predator, their goals become even more threatening.

It is a brilliantly written book with outstanding attention to character details. The author brings these people to life with a delicate grace, rather than immediacy, making them even more interesting and rewarding. The plot becomes a raging bull, uncontrollable and deadlier with every minute gone by. The twists and turns are very difficult to see coming, and few would be able to foresee the ultimate conclusion.

The freezing temperatures of NYC make for an excellent setting considering the subject matter, and the little moments of comedy and poignancy are perfectly chosen within what is otherwise a pretty harsh story.

Perfect reading if you like gritty crime thrillers that hold no punches when it comes to killing. Deaver has created a place for himself within the literature industry for being brutal with a pen.

The Associate (2009) by John Grisham

Anyone who has read a book by John Grisham knows his style within the first 50 pages. Tense, legal-based stories with a main character being subjected to all the drama that comes with being associated with the law. The Associate is no different.

Young and promising lawyer-to-be Kyle McAvoy, has the world at his feet. Soon to be set out into the world as a graduate with plenty of smarts and qualifications behind him. However, his dreams of becoming a defender of the poor and helpless are soon shattered, when an event from his past comes back to haunt him. A video from a college party he threw emerges, whereby a possible rape took part and it shows him and his friends. Now, a dangerous group of people are blackmailing him to join a particular law firm, in order to steal information and secrets which they can then use for their own ends. Kyle must now become an undercover associate in the big bad city of New York, where he will barely sleep, going through all the trappings of life as a rookie lawyer in a massive firm, whilst also leading a secret life.

The premise of this book is good, and the twists and turns do well to make it a page-turner. The problem comes from not having many pages to turn! Less than 400 pages, I went through this novel rapidly, and found myself unsatisfied by the end. It plays out like a film, moving from scene to scene without much character development, instead focusing on the action.

If you like Grisham, which I most certainly do, there are much better examples of his work out there. This is a half-hearted attempt, which will entertain you for a while, leave you cold. Instead, try A Time To Kill, The Chamber, or most definitely The Firm.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - By Stieg Larsson

The final instalment of the addictive Millennium trilogy, a book that fails to deliver the same excitement and thrill of its predecessors.

Going into the third book, I was desperate to learn of Lisbeth Salander’s condition, after being buried alive and shot in the head at the end of the second. The exhilarating finale to The Girl Who Played With Fire had been a tremendous achievement, but sadly, the third book lost the momentum.

The initial couple of chapters are interesting, as the follow immediately on for the action before. However, once the new story begins, it soon loses pace and excitement. Too many characters are introduced, with two many different agendas, that the plot becomes a web of barely coherent rumours and conspiracies. Lisbeth plays such a minor role that the book should not even mention her in the title, and her absence is a crying shame. Blomkvist is there, but his heroic investigations do little to bring tension to the story. Throughout the novel the twists and turns are predictable and, in some cases, boring.

The writing is still good, Larsson has a talent for crime fiction. The locations are enjoyable (if not a bit too plentiful), and his main character of Lisbeth is still devilishly intriguing.

A must-read for those who have read the previous two books, but The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest is a weak successor.

The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009) by Stieg Larsson

The second installment of the Swedish phenomenon.

After the enthralling first book to the Millennium series, expectations were very high for The Girl Who Played With Fire. From the outset, it sets a pace that is far quicker than the first book, and the story gets going almost instantly. Because the main characters are already established, Larsson is able to move on much faster, which is useful to maintain the momentum.

The story is of a new book that Millennium wish to publish, after the success of main character Blomkvist's book which destroyed the enemy of the first book Wennerstrom. This new book is written by another journalist called Dag Svensson, in corroboration with his student girlfriend who is publishing a thesis on the same subject: sex trafficking. The book will expose many high flying citizens such as politicians, judges, police officers, and even fellow journalists, for their involvement in the sex trade. However, Svensson and his girlfriend Mia are murdered in their home one night. To make the situation even more intense, the police have a prime suspect almost immediately, Lisbeth Salander (the girl who owns a dragon tattoo).

Now, Blomkvist must do his own research and try to clear Salander's name, before Detective Bublanski catches the girl.

This book is a great story. In places there is a bit too much going on, but the majority is a brilliantly written, entertaining book. The characters are vivid and their interaction is humorous, tense, and engaging. Fans of the first book should not be disappointed. A word of caution however, you may get confused with all the Swedish place names in the book, but it is worth trying to remember them.

The themes of the book, such as female empowerment, and sex trafficking will always make for enigmatic discussion, and Larsson does well not to become preachy. For the most part, the book is just an entertaining story that follows on well from the first book, and leads excellently into the third!

Coming up: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest...