Ever the masterful plotter, international, bestselling
crime writer Val McDermid breaks from her regular series for a stand alone; or
what shows signs of being a new series, The
Skeleton Road to stitch together a cold case that shows signs of ties to
Balkan war crimes.
In the heart of historic Edinburgh builders are
preparing to demo a disintegrating gothic building when skeletal remains are
discovered on the site. McDermid conjures up the perfect skitter-ish tone of
the height fearing demolition man out on the roof tiles when he makes the
grisly find.
Cold case detective Karen Pirie must pull a wide range
of seemingly disparate threads; mixing politics, psychological and criminal
pieces of the overall puzzle as she becomes embroiled in an international
vendetta.
McDermid fans may bear some disappointment at the departure
from her regular characters/series, but she manages to deliver a perfectly
balanced story line that mixes some pretty heavy subject matter.
Done
In One – Grant Jerkins and Jan Thomas (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press)
In the classic soul song, the Persuaders croon about
the “thin line between love and hate” and in the new novel Done In One, authors Grant Jerkins and Jan Thomas posit a question
about the potential for a similar thin line between good and evil.
Could the psychological impact of the high pressure
operations as a SWAT sniper, where one bullet equals one kill; could a police
sniper slip over to the dark side and become a killer? A series of shootings
that have left northern California firmly in the grip of fear and the main
suspect is SWAT sniper on permanent psych leave, Lee Staley’s only firm grip is
on a bottle.
Not sure how this writing duo came together, but clearly
Thomas has honed some insights into the of police snipers from her husband a
retired police sniper. The book offers a compelling, well crafted story, that
offers a peek under the tent and into the world of the law enforcement sniper.
Retribution
– A Kirk McGarvey Novel – David Hagberg (Forge Books)
Abbottabod, Pakistan, a private, walled compound sits a
short distance from the headquarters of the Inter-Services Agency (ISI) the
nation’s intelligence agency. Behind the walls of that compound sits a three
level main house, a guest house and a covered garden area; the home’s resident
is the most hunted, and arguably hated, man in the world Osama bin Laden. May
1, 2011; 24 members of the elite U.S. Navy Seals launch a mission dubbed
Neptune’s Spear to deliver final justice to bin Laden.
When the smoke clears, the ISI is left with at best egg
on its collective face for allowing the most wanted man to live right under its
nose and at worst is guilty of conspiring to protect bin Laden from discovery.
Whatever the case may be; it is enough to drive some within the security service
to seek revenge for the unannounced incursion into their sovereign nation.
It is that revenge that is the basis for the latest
Kirk McGarvey novel, Retribution by
prolific thriller writer David Hagberg. A team of former German special forces
soldiers have been embarked on a new career as assassins for hire and their newest
target are the Seal Team Six members who took out bin Laden.
Former CIA chief Kirk McGarvey and his team get wind of
the plot and race is on; who can get the job done first the killers or the
hunters. Hagberg does his usual masterful job of keeping the action on pace and
on target. The former Air Force cryptographer brings an insider knowledge and
eye to the page and delivers an authentic feel to the story.
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