Book Review: Creep by Jennifer Hillier

Saturday 3 September, 2011 By 6 Comments

Title: Creep
Author: Jennifer Hillier
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: July 5, 2011
Hardcover: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1451625844
Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

From the Publisher:

If he can’t have her . . . Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behavior. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, riddled with guilt when they weren’t, she knows the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she’s finally engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and she’s taking control of her life. But when she attempts to end the affair, Ethan Wolfe won’t let her walk away

. . . . no one else can.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex video that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancÉ discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail . . . and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn’t resist—who is now the monster who won’t let her go.

My Review:

Creep by Jennifer Hillier is an intense debut suspense thriller that will keep even the most reluctant reader entranced until the very end.  Readers are thrown into the deep end as Hillier wastes no time in developing the plot straightaway on page one.  Hillier crafts an excellent and most creepy scenario as the basis for this story involving a college professor, Dr. Sheila Tao and her not-so-willing-to-let-things-go teaching assistant, Ethan.  Hillier introduces readers to Sheila and Ethan while Sheila is revealing to him that she was just engaged and that their own taboo affair would have to end.  With Ethan not seeing why their affair must end, the intensity escalates and threats of blackmail ensue.  And this is all in the first chapter.  Readers will not be disappointed by the early and rapid developments as Hillier maintains the plot progression at an astounding pace.  In this psychological thriller, Hillier has made her first mark in the suspense genre an extraordinarily memorable one.  I highly recommend Creep to adults interested in a fast-paced thrill ride for their next read.

To learn more about author Jennifer Hillier, please visit her website: www.jenniferhillier.org

I received a complimentary copy of Creep by Jennifer Hillier from Gallery Books Publicity to review. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo

Friday 2 September, 2011 By 2 Comments

Title: Calling Mr. King
Author: Ronald De Feo
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Date: August 30, 2011
Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-1590514757
Genre: Fiction, Thriller


From the Publisher:

Long considered cool, distant, and absolutely reliable, an American-born hit man, working throughout Europe, grows increasingly distracted and begins to develop an unexpected passion for architecture and art while engaged in his deadly profession. Although he welcomes this energizing break from his routine, he comes to realize that it is an unwise trajectory for a man in his business, particularly when he is sent on the most difficult job of his career.
Set in London, Paris, New York, and Barcelona, Calling Mr. King is at once a colorful suspense tale, laced with dark humor, and a psychological self-portrait of a character who is attempting, against the odds, to become someone else.

My Review:

Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo is an absolutely unique debut novel about Mr. King, a killer-for-hire who suffers an identity crisis while on “leave” from his job. Told in first person, readers do not get a descriptive introduction to Mr. King, but instead De Feo slowly leaks information throughout the novel, making for a quite intriguing mode of storytelling.  It is hard for me to fully articulate my feelings on this work, but I can say it was highly entertaining with a great combination of De Feo’s wit with a suspenseful plot.  Though the parallels are not all there, Mr. King reminded me a bit of Walter Mitty as he longed for a rebirth into an art or architecture career. De Feo’s writing, defying the typical mold of the suspense genre, really makes Calling Mr. King an enjoyable read for I found myself as captivated by his writing as I was by the unfolding plot.  Though unusual for the protagonist to be the bad guy, it just seemed to work with De Feo’s dark humor.  I highly recommend Calling Mr. King  to suspense fans and I look forward to what Mr. De Feo has to offer next.

About the Author:

Ronald De Feo has written reviews for The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, The New Republic, National Review, and Commonweal. His short fiction has appeared in such literary magazines as The Brooklyn Rail, The Hudson Review, and The Massachusetts Review. He worked at the Museum of Modern Art, was a senior editor of ARTnews Magazine, and served for many years on the editorial advisory board of Review Magazine, devoted to Latin American literature and the arts. This is his first novel.

I received a complimentary ARC of Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo from Other Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon

Thursday 18 August, 2011 By 8 Comments

Title: Shut Your Eyes Tight (Dave Gurney, No. 2)
Author: John Verdon
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: July 12, 2011
Hardcover: 528 pages
ISBN: 978-0307717894
Genre: Fiction, Thriller

From the Publisher:

 When he was the NYPD’s top homicide investigator, Dave Gurney was never comfortable with the label the press gave him: super detective. He was simply a man who, when faced with a puzzle, wanted to know. He was called to the investigative hunt by the presumptuous arrogance of murderers – by their smug belief that they could kill without leaving a trace. There was always a trace, Gurney believed.

Except what if one day there wasn’t?Dave Gurney, a few months past the Mellery case that pulled him out of retirement and then nearly killed him, is trying once again to adjust to his country house’s bucolic rhythms when he receives a call about a case so seductively bewildering that the thought of not looking into it seems unimaginable—even if his beloved wife, Madeleine, would rather he do anything but.The facts of what has occurred are horrible: a blushing bride, newly wed to an eminent psychiatrist and just minutes from hearing her congratulatory toast, is found decapitated, her head apparently severed by a machete. Though police investigators believe that a Mexican gardener killed the young woman in a fit of jealous fury, the victim’s mother—a chilly high-society beauty—is having none of it. Reluctantly drawn in, Dave is quickly buffeted by a series of revelations that transform the bizarrely monstrous into the monstrously bizarre.  Underneath it all may exist one of the darkest criminal schemes imaginable. And as Gurney begins deciphering its grotesque outlines, some of his most cherished assumptions about himself are challenged, causing him to stare into an abyss so deep that it threatens to swallow not just him but Madeleine, too.
Desperate to protect Madeleine and bring an end to the madness, Gurney ultimately discovers that the killer has left a trace after all. Unfortunately, the revelation may come too late to save his own life.With Shut Your Eyes Tight, John Verdon delivers on the promise of his internationally bestselling debut, Think of a Number, creating a portrait of evil let loose across generations that is as rife with moments of touching humanity as it is with spellbinding images of perversity.



My Review:

Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon is a captivating thriller and the second book in the Detective Dave Gurney series, a series beginning with Verdon’s debut Think of a Number.  In Shut Your Eyes Tight, Gurney is once again called out of retirement to investigate a heinous beheading and readers will delight in the superior style that Verdon has adopted in this most compelling series of thrillers.  Verdon masterfully crafted this mystery thrill ride where Gurney finds evil far beyond his wildest expectations as he investigates the gruesome and bizarre death of a new bride in the middle of her wedding reception.  Verdon has cleverly crafted an exceptional thriller while exemplifying beautiful literary characteristics in his use of vivid descriptions and details of the characters, their lives, and their surroundings.   Shut Your Eyes Tight was a book that could have gone on forever and I would not complain, and I am glad to see he has continued in the tradition of excellence set out with the original Dave Gurney novel.  Without reservation I recommend Shut Your Eyes Tight to anyone looking for an exceptionally thought out thriller.

About the Author:

JOHN VERDON has held several executive positions with Manhattan advertising firms, but like his protagonist, he recently relocated with his wife to rural upstate New York. Shut Your Eyes Tight is his second novel.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the TLC Book Tour.

I received a complimentary ARC of Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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Book Review: Long Gone by Alafair Burke

Saturday 13 August, 2011 By 4 Comments

Title: Long Gone
Author: Alafair Burke
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Hardcover: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-0061999185
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

From the Publisher:

What if everything you thought you knew turned out to be a lie? 
…more may be read by clicking the click above, I want to avoid potential spoilers…

My Review:

Long Gone by Alafair Burke is a tantalizing and taught suspense thriller that will take readers on an exciting journey with Alice Humphrey whose new job, working as the curator of a Manhattan art gallery, has just become a nightmare. I have read other works from Burke, so by saying Burke has kept up with the pattern of her previous novels, I imply that Long Gone is another excellent and suspenseful mystery that is sure to please mystery fans. Burke, in Long Gone, has yet again crafted in masterful fashion a plot with more twists and turns than a small intestine, keeping readers on the end of their seats as this story is hard to read in anything but one sitting. When the man who hired Alice is found dead in the art gallery, and all of the art has disappeared, the story takes on a life of its own as Alice finds herself the prime suspect in the murder. Told from various perspectives, readers will delight in following Alice along of path of deception, littered with secrets that will disturb the very foundations of Alice’s upbringing. The plot twists are well placed and Burke has crafted exceptional characters with realistic flaws. Lone Gone is an all around great suspense mystery that drew me into the plot early and kept me engaged through to the unexpected conclusion. I recommend Long Gone to all fans of suspense mysteries, but must caution the profanity at times may be too harsh for some readers.

To learn more about author Alafair Burke or her books, please visit her website: alafairburke.com

I received a complimentary ARC of Long Gone by Alafair Burke from Harper Collins. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm

Wednesday 10 August, 2011 By 3 Comments

Title: The Glitter Scene
Author: Monika Fagerholm
Publisher: Other Press; Reprint edition
Publication Date: August 9, 2011
Paperback: 528 pages
ISBN: 978-1590513057
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

From the Publisher:

Teenage Johanna lives with her aunt Solveig in a small house bordering the forest on the outskirts of a remote coastal town in Finland. She leads a lonely existence that is punctuated by visits to her privileged classmate, Ulla Bäckström, who lives in the nearby luxury gated community. It isn’t until Ulla tells her the local lore about the American girl and the tragedy that took place more than thirty years before that Johanna begins to question how her parents fit into the story. She sets out to unravel her family history, the identity of her mother, and the dark secrets long buried with her father. In the process of opening closed doors, others in the community reflect back on the town’s history, on their youth, and on the dreams that play in their minds. Soon a new story emerges, that stirs up Johanna’s greatest fears, but ultimately leads to the answers she is searching for. The Glitter Scene is a riveting mystery that explores the roles of truth and myth, reality and fiction, and the repercussions of family secrets.

My Review:

The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm is a tantalizing mystery about disloyalty, resentment, and vengeance set amidst a backdrop of coastal Finland where Johanna, a teenager living with her aunt, becomes far more than simply curious to learn more about a past unexplained tragedy in the coastal village region about First Cape.  As Johanna uncovers more and more secrets kept well hidden throughout the three decades since the happenings described in The American Girl, the prelude to The Glitter Scene, readers can almost feel the pain, guilt and suspense as though they were immersed in the scene with Johanna.  With each piece of the puzzle, the intensity of Johanna’s quest strengthens as the trail of secrets begins to bring her full circle.  The Glitter Scene is such a compelling tale that readers will want to get prepared with a good stretch of time to take it all in from a single sitting or perhaps over a weekend.  Fagerholm’s follow on to The American Girl is a brilliantly engaging mystery for all fans of gripping suspense novels and while I have not read The American Girl, I felt at home with jumping into The Glitter Scene.

About the Author:

Monika Fagerholm’s much-praised first novel, Wonderful Women by the Sea, became one of the most widely translated Scandinavian literary novels of the mid-nineties and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 1998 it was followed by the cult novel Diva, which won the Swedish Literature Society Award. Her third novel, The American Girl, became a number-one best seller and won the premier literary award in Sweden, the August Prize, as well as the Aniara Prize and the Gothenburg Post Award.

I received a complimentary ARC of The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm from Other Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Blood Trust by Eric Van Lustbader

Saturday 30 July, 2011 By 2 Comments

Title: Blood Trust
Author: Eric Van Lustbader
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication Date: May 10, 2011
Hardcover: 416 pages
ISBN: 978-0765329745
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller


From the Publisher:

It was once said that you must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible . . .

Alli Carson has been through her own personal hell. With her father, the President of the United States, recently dead and her mother in a coma from a terrible accident, she has poured herself into her training to become one of the best FBI agents at the Fearington Institute. Her inspiration and solace comes from the one man with whom she has ever felt a kinship, National Security Adviser, Jack McClure. But when Alli becomes the prime suspect in a murder at Fearington, a wide ranging investigation is triggered, involving local homicide detectives, the secret service, the FBI itself, and Alli’s own uncle, the billionaire lobbyist Henry Carson. And yet nothing is what it seems.

What follows is a treacherous journey that leads Jack and Alli into a complex web of lies and deceit. Using Jack’s unique gifts to see the through the labyrinth of manipulation, their investigation leads them into the dark heart of the international slave trade, tied to a powerful Albanian crime lord whose ability and influence in global terrorism grows with each day.

The two find themselves in the crosshairs of vast global enterprise, one that lurks in the shadows of power and has infiltrated Washington and their lives in ways neither of them could ever have imagined. And hidden deep among it all sits a terrifying criminal mastermind, someone fueled by a hatred that can never be quenched, and a mind that knows neither feeling nor mercy.

My Review:

Blood Trust by Eric Van Lustbader is an action-packed suspense thriller and the third novel in Lustbader’s McClure-Carson series featuring National Security Advisor Jack McClure and Alli Carson, daughter to the late President of the United States. Van Lustbader continues with his stylish crafting of a plot that is loaded with intrigue, suspense, twists and double crosses as readers see Alli become the focus of a homicide investigation at her FBI training institute.  Readers will be lead down various dead-ends, sure that the case is a simple one, but in a masterfully-crafted series of turns, the case ultimately leads Alli, Jack and the investigation into the dim and gruesome world of human trafficking.  Even more shocking are discoveries yet to be made by these two protagonists as the evil and powerful mastermind they seek has brought business to Washington.  Van Lustbader will keep his readers’ attention focused in this engrossing thriller that is definitely hard to set down.  Mystery thriller fans will find Blood Trust to satisfy and I recommend it to those who are looking to see the pair in McClure and Carson in action once again.

To learn more about Eric Van Lustbader and his books, please visit his website at www.ericvanlustbader.com

I received a complimentary copy of Blood Trust by Eric Van Lustbader from Zeitghost Media. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Something For Nothing by David Anthony

Friday 22 July, 2011 By 2 Comments


Title: Something for Nothing
Author: David Anthony
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-1616200220
Genre: Fiction, Thriller

From the Publisher:

Martin Anderson has a racehorse, a deep-sea fishing boat, a vacation home in Tahoe, and a Caddy in the garage. But his life is in freefall. It’s the 1970s, and with the arrival of the oil crisis and gas rationing, his small aircraft business is tanking, as is his extravagant suburban lifestyle. Martin keeps many secrets from his wife, such as his mounting debt and his penchant for sneaking into neighborhood homes and making off with small keepsakes. So when he’s given the opportunity to clear his debt by using one of his planes to make a few drug runs between California and Mexico, Martin doesn’t think twice . . . or at all, for that matter.

Things quickly spiral out of control when Martin’s simple plan lands him in the midst of gun-toting Mexican thugs. After a narcotics agent arrives on his doorstep, he becomes increasingly paranoid, both about the police and about his associates in the drug world—a feeling that seems justified when he stumbles upon the scene of a brutal double murder. Martin wants out, but he wants his money, too.

Deeply funny and suspenseful, David Anthony’s novel is a perfect snapshot of the excesses of American culture.

My Review:

Something for Nothing by David Anthony is a sharp, funny, and decidedly witty debut novel about Martin Anderson, a hapless (and hopeless) man seeking the good life in all the wrong places in 1970s San Francisco. Anthony has crafted an exceptional and thrilling storyline that achieves more than just the telling of a good story, but also captures simultaneously a vivid portrait of misguided Americans, drawn to the almighty dollar like bugs to a bug zapper. With tremendous insight Anthony portrays Martin, whose material possessions would suggest high socioeconomic standing, as one who works hard to keep up appearances even when faced with the stark reality of the 1970s oil crisis. Martin’s metamorphosis from running an airline business to becoming a drug-trafficker is developed so well, it is easy to feel some sympathy for him as he has long been off track in his search for what he considers to be success. Ultimately, Anthony leaves a valuable message with readers; a message that illuminates the underlying problem of greed and its manifestation in not only the life and poor choices of Martin, but in people in general. For thriller fans, I strongly recommend Something for Nothing, but I further recommend this novel to all readers as Anthony comments on greed through the tale of Martin Anderson.

To learn more about author David Anthony, please visit his website.

I received an arc of Something For Nothing by David Anthony from Algonquin Books to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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Book Review: Delirious by Daniel Palmer

Saturday 22 January, 2011 By 19 Comments


Title: Delirious
Author: Daniel Palmer
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: January 25, 2011
Hardcover: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-0758246646
Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

From the Publisher:

In Daniel Palmer’s blistering, fast-paced debut, one man is taken to the edge of sanity in a mind-bending novel of paranoia, deception, and revenge…

Charlie Giles is at the top of his game. An electronics superstar, he’s sold his startup company to a giant Boston firm, where he’s now a senior director. With his dog, Monte, at his side, Charlie is treated like a VIP everywhere he goes.

Then one day, everything in Charlie’s neatly ordered world starts to go terrifyingly wrong. His prestigious job and his inventions are wrenched away from him. His family is targeted, and his former employers are dying gruesomely, picked off one by one. Every sign, every shred of evidence, points to Charlie as a cold-blooded killer. And soon Charlie is unable to tell whether he’s succumbed to the pressures of work and become the architect of his own destruction., or whether he’s the victim of a relentless, diabolical attack.

In a desperate struggle to save his life, Charlie races to uncover the truth, all the while realizing that nothing can be trusted—least of all his own fractured mind…

My Review:

Daniel Palmer’s debut book Delirious is a fast-paced emotional and psychological thriller that does not disappoint. Schizophrenia runs in Charlie Giles’ family and he has spent his adult life trying to avoid his schizophrenic brother Joe, their mother, who has devoted her life to caring for Joe, and desperately trying to forget their schizophrenic father who walked out on all of them. Charlie is a man in charge, his life is organised and appears to be going quite well until he starts finding notes he has absolutely no recollection of writing, and as things begin to escalate, he begins to fear for his own sanity and reaches out to Dr. Rachel Evans at Walderman Hospital. There his brother is still treated on an outpatient basis, but will he receive the answers he is longing to hear? Charles cannot decipher whether he is losing his mind or if someone is framing him, as both are symptoms of the disease he has grown up with and fears. Delirious is fraught with intense moments, extraordinary characters and exceedingly brilliant and unexpected plot developments and twists along the way. Palmer creates scenes where the reader will be questioning Charlie throughout the book. Filled with vivid scenes and an exceptional plot I was unable to set Delirious down. Daniel Palmer has made a name for himself with Delirious and is an author to keep an eye on. I highly recommend Delirious to anyone who enjoys an exceptional psychological thriller.

*Up until the book’s release, on January 25, 2011, Daniel Palmer will be posting the prologue and first three chapters of Delirious on his Facebook fan page.

About the Author:

Daniel Palmer spent a decade as an e-commerce pioneer, helping to build first generation Web sites for Barnes & Noble and other popular brands. An experienced musician and songwriter, Daniel has recorded two CDs and licensed his songs for commercial use. A graduate of Boston University, Daniel lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two children.

For more information about Daniel Palmer and his books:

Website
Twitter
Facebook

I received a complimentary ARC of Delirious by Daniel Palmer from the author to review. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Senseless by Mary Burton

Tuesday 18 January, 2011 By 15 Comments


Title: Senseless
Author: Mary Burton
Publisher: Zebra; 1 edition
Publication Date: January 1, 2011
Paperback: 416 pages
ISBN: 978-1420110197
Genre: Fiction, Romantic Suspense

From the Publisher:

Every Serial Killer Knows…

The vicious burns scarring the victims’ flesh reveal the agony of their last moments. Each woman was branded with a star, then stabbed through the heart. With every death, a vengeful killer finds a brief, blissful moment of calm. But soon it’s time for the bloodshed to start again…

The Perfect Time…

Ten years ago, Eva Rayburn and her sorority sisters were celebrating the end of the school year. That party turned into a nightmare Eva can’t forget. Now she’s trying to start over in her Virginia hometown, but a new nightmare has begun. Every victim is linked to her. And Detective Deacon Garrison isn’t sure whether this mysterious woman needs investigating—or protecting…

To Make His Mark…

Only Eva’s death will bring peace. Only her tortured screams will silence the rage that has been building for ten long years. Because what started that night at the sorority can never be stopped—not until the last victim has been marked for death…

My Review:

I enjoy suspense novels that are clever, dark, and complex and Senseless, by Mary Burton satisfied me completely. Burton does not waste time; the beginning is a scene of a brutal murder and the reader is kept as much in the dark as the police, learning at about the same pace as lead homicide detective Deacon Garrison. The reader early on meets Eva Rayburn who by the young age of 27, has already served ten years for manslaughter and is working three jobs to make ends meet. Eva has been beaten but is not down when the homeless shelter she works at burns and a victim tied to the Sorority House Murder is discovered. Is Eva a suspect or a potential next victim? Eva is a courageous woman and has some of the most intriguing friends; many whom she happens to work for, my personal favourites from early on were Toby King and Bobby. Senseless is a wonderfully crafted and delightfully clever suspense novel with well-developed characters and a plot that is pieced together as one might piece a puzzle together. Burton takes the reader to Alexandria, a city which is filled with at least one serial killer, deep, and complex relationships and secrets that are slowly being unearthed. I enjoyed Senseless immensely and look forward to what Burton has in store for the town of Alexandria in her next book, Merciless, which is released in February and my review will be up in a few weeks, so do check back. In the meantime I recommend all who enjoy an excellent suspense novel to read Senseless, the sleepless night will be well worth it.

About the Author:

Mary Burton lives with her family in Central Virginia. She is an avid hiker and enjoys the occasional triathlon.
For more information about Mary Burton and her books:
Website
Twitter
Facebook

I received a complimentary ARC of Senseless by Mary Burton from Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting to review. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Snow Angels by James Thompson

Friday 7 January, 2011 By 8 Comments


Title: Snow Angels
Authors: James Thompson
Publisher: Putnam
Publication Date: January 7, 2011
Hardcover: 272 pages
ISBN: 978-0399156175
Genre: Mystery & Thriller

From the Publisher:

The first thriller in a new series featuring Inspector Kari Vaara: the haunted, hardened detective who must delve into Finland’s dark and violent underbelly.

Kaamos: Just before Christmas, the bleakest time of the year in Lapland. The unrelenting darkness and extreme cold above the Arctic Circle drive everyone just a little insane . . . perhaps enough to kill.

A beautiful Somali immigrant is found dead in a snowfield, her body gruesomely mutilated, a racial slur carved into her chest. Heading the murder investigation is Inspector Kari Vaara, the lead detective of the small-town police force. The vicious killing may have been a hate crime, a sex crime-or one and the same. Vaara knows he must keep this potentially ex­plosive case out of the national headlines or else it will send shock waves across Finland, an insular nation afraid to face its own xenophobia.

The demands of the investigation begin to take their toll on Vaara and his marriage. His young American wife, Kate, newly pregnant with their first child, is struggling to adapt to both the unforgiving Arctic climate and the Finnish culture of silence and isolation. Meanwhile Vaara himself, haunted by his rough childhood and failed first marriage, discovers that the past keeps biting at his heels: He suspects that the rich man for whom his ex-wife left him years ago may be the killer.

Endless night can drive anyone to murder.

My Review:

Snow Angels by James Thompson is the first book in his Inspector Vaara series. The story takes place during Finland’s Kaamos, which is the perfect backdrop for Thompson’s dark book. Vivid imagery of the stark bleakness during Kaamos and how the lack of sun works on the psyche of different individuals in conjunction with the horrific murder make for a well-balanced setting. Thompson expertly describes the Lapland region of Finland and gives a broad idea of those who live in the region, however the sense of getting to know any one character was lacking, yet again this is the first book, so it may be a slow progression or just Thompson’s way of showing how quiet the peoples of Lapland can be. As the murder investigation proceeds, the reader learns bits and pieces about Kari’s life, his divorce and how he and Kate, his second wife, met, yet I still did not feel I knew Kari Vaara, which may have been Thompson’s goal as I am uncertain Kari himself is certain just who he is. Snow Angels is bleak and stark, much like that of the landscape in which the murder occurs. As strange as it may sound, it is the very darkness of the novel which makes it so wonderful to read with the exception of the profanity, there were times when it helped advance the story along, but other instances it was utterly unnecessary and at times offensive. Yet Thompson is quite gifted with beautiful prose, filling the book with further contrasts which help to make Snow Angels a brilliant mystery. While the story does indeed take place in Finland, it is quite Americanized, which may or may not be evident to readers depending on how familiar a reader is with foreign books. While I truly enjoyed Snow Angels, the first in the Inspector Vaara novels, and look forward to the next in the series, I do not think it is for every reader. There are scenes of graphic violence and liberal use of profanity and racial slurs. With that being said, I would recommend Snow Angels to adult readers who are not easily offended and caution while this is an excellent mystery, it is very dark and at times quite disturbing, yet masterfully written.

About the Authors:

James Thompson, eastern Kentucky born and raised, has lived in Finland for the past decade and currently makes his home in Helsinki with his wife. Before becoming a full-time writer, Thompson studied Swedish and Finnish, in which he is fluent, and worked as a bartender, bouncer, construction worker, photographer, rare coin dealer, and soldier.

I received a complimentary copy of Snow Angels by James Thompson from G.P. Putnam’s Sons to review. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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