MADreads

For the thrill of it

October 3rd, 2008 Jane J. - Central Library

I’ve been on a thriller kick lately. Something about the fall makes me want to hunker down and dive in. Oops, sorry for the mixed metaphors but you get the picture. Good thrillers thrill. Sounds so simple but in reality it takes real skill to manage the pacing, characterizations and plot to thrilling effect. Three of my recent reads excelled in all these ways.

Takeover by Lisa Black is a debut novel. Lisa Black, a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, put her expertise to work in creating her protagonist Theresa MacLean. Theresa is a forensic scientist who works for the city of Cleveland. As her day begins she’s called to the scene of a murder. But what starts out as a routine investigation soon veers into more dangerous territory when bank robbers target the Federal Reserve Bank and take hostages, including Theresa’s fiance detective Paul Cleary.  Though Theresa spends less time on the forensics then I could have wished, Black’s debut still intrigues with the puzzle of the bank robbery. Oh, and on a side note I loved that the negotiator and his team set up their command post in the library across the street from the bank!

The Actress by Elizabeth Sims takes a different tack.  Rita Farmer is a single mother who’s struggling to make a living as an actress in L.A.  And struggling is the key word here. To help make ends meet she performs a storytime at the library (hey another library connection <g>) and is spotted by celebrity attorney Gary Kwan. Kwan is currently defending a socialite accused of murdering her own child. His problem is that Eileen is about as unsympathetic a defendent as you can get and he wants Rita to use her acting skills to coach Eileen. Rita, who has sunk to pawning her grandmother’s bracelet, takes the job and is soon caught up in this high-intensity, media driven case. 

And finally the darker, psychological thriller by Lisa Unger (who wrote a great mystery series as Lisa Miscione). Black Out delves into the life of Annie Powers. Annie has a picture perfect existence. She lives in a gated community in Florida, she has a husband who loves her and a beautiful little girl named Victory. But her peaceful present is shattered when the ghost of her past appears. Though Annie has a hard-won normal life now, it wasn’t always that way. And as her past comes out, so too do the dangers. This is a gripping exploration of the difference between being a victim and a perpetrator and the fallout from being both.

As the days get shorter and the weather colder you can’t go wrong with books that will make you forget the loss of summer.

Entry Filed under: Mystery, Thriller