Category: suspense

October is a Great Month for Nordic Noir

Often I will put books on hold with the library and they all tend to come in at once – or in a very short time period.  This is what is happening right now.  I’ve had many items on hold for months which have started to arrive.  First I got Phantom by Jo Nesbø.  I was thrilled to read another Harry Hole story, but I was very disappointed with the ending.

A couple of days after Phatom arrived, The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen showed up.  It’s funny how dissimilar these two books are, in spite of both involving police, being set somewhat geographically close to one another, and being very fast reads.  I knew when I started Phantom that I was in for some serious story.  Harry Hole is an intensely serious character and continues to remain ultra-driven even though he is no longer a police officer.  Of course he has to since – Oleg is in trouble.  Oleg is Rakel’s son and under other circumstances would be Harry’s son, or step-son.  Oleg has become a junkie and is accused of killing another junkie, so Harry has come back to Oslo from Bangkok  to investigate Oleg’s case. Continue reading “October is a Great Month for Nordic Noir”

Gone Girl

By Gillian Flynn

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Crown Publishers, 2012

This book has had over eight hundred holds on it in my library system for the past couple of months.  It is the must read of 2012.  I think I first became aware of it through EarlyWord, but it wasn’t until I put a hold on it for a patron that I decided to get on the waiting list myself.  The patron was raving about what she had heard about it and it got me curious.  I had been waiting at least a couple of months – I was around 250 on the waiting list – when I saw an express copy come through my library.  The express copies are the ones that don’t go on reserve.  Continue reading “Gone Girl”

Promise Me Eternity

By Ian Fox

Place: Publisher & Year: Amazon Digital Services, 2012

Genres: Suspense, mystery

Format: Kindle Book (but I had a print version – no ereader)

ASIN: B004KA9JDK

Audience: Adult

Print length: 370 pages (my manuscript was 137 pages)

Setting: Medford, OR

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Dr. Simon Patterson wishes he could take a break from his job as a neurosurgeon so that he could focus upon his research on aging.  Unfortunately, the demands from both the hospital and his money hungry wife will not allow him to do so.  When Dr. Patterson saves local mobster, Carlo Vucci, after a car crash, he is presented a once in a lifetime opportunity and his life starts changing rapidly. Continue reading “Promise Me Eternity”

Nemesis

By Jo Nesbø; translated by Don Bartlett

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Harper, c2002, 2012

Genres: Mystery, suspense, thriller, crime thriller, police procedural, Scandinavian noir

Series: Harry Hole; 5

ISBN: 9780062119698

Audience: Adult

Number of pages: 480 (501 including an excerpt from The Devil’s Star)

Setting: Oslo, Norway, D’Ajuda & Porto Seguro, Brazil

Time period: shortly after 9/11 2001

Plot summary: While a bank robber terrorizes Oslo by killing people when he doesn’t get his money fast enough, Detective Harry Hole has more intimate concerns.  He has been seeing an ex-girlfriend while his current lover is out of the country.  The morning after their last date, she is found dead from a gunshot wound to the head and Harry is unable to remember most of the night’s events. Continue reading “Nemesis”

The Leopard

By Jo Nesbø; translated by Don Bartlett

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011

Genres: Mystery, suspense,  thriller, crime thriller, police procedural, Scandinavian noir

Series: Harry Hole; 8

ISBN: 9780307595874

Audience: Adult

Number of pages: 513*

Setting: Hong Kong, China, Oslo,  Norway, Kigali, Rwanda & Goma, The Congo

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: After working on The Snowman case, Harry’s life takes a turn for the worse and he finds himself indebted to a gangster in Hong Kong.  Meanwhile, another serial killer is on the loose in Oslo and Crime Squad wants Harry on the case.  Unfortunately for the police, Harry doesn’t want to have anything to do with serial killers or the people trying to track them.  The only thing compelling Harry to return to Oslo is family. Continue reading “The Leopard”

The Redbreast

By Jo Nesbø; translated by Don Bartlett

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Harper, c2000, 2011

Genres: Mystery, suspense, thriller, crime thriller, police procedural, Scandinavian noir, historical fiction

Series: Harry Hole; 3

ISBN: 9780062068422

Audience: Adult

Number of pages: 553 (563 including an excerpt from The Devil’s Star)

Setting: Oslo, Norway, Leningrad, Russia, and Vienna, Austria, & Johannesburg, South Africa

Time period: There are two timelines – one takes place from 1999 – 2000; the other takes place during WWII – from 1942 – 1944.

Plot summary: In the course of duty, Police Officer Harry Hole is required to make a very difficult decision in a few seconds.  As a result, a team member is critically wounded and Harry feels responsible.  Therefore, the last thing he expects is a promotion.  As a new inspector, his job is routine and boring – until one report crosses his desk.  As he follows through with the report, he finds evidence of neo-Nazi involvement in an assignation attempt. Continue reading “The Redbreast”

The Keeper of Lost Causes

By Jussi Adler-Olsen; translated by Lisa Hartford

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Dutton, 2011

Genres: Mystery, police procedural, Scandinavian noir, suspense, thriller, crime thriller

Series: Department Q; 1

ISBN: 9780525952480

Audience: Adult

Number of pages: 396

Setting: Copenhagen, Denmark

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Carl Mørck used to be one of Copenhagen’s best homicide detectives, until two of his team members were shot while he was with them.  Carl never even drew his weapon and now he is ridden with guilt and even more surly than he used to be.  A promotion was the last thing he expected, but it was the easiest way for the department heads to get him out of everyone’s presence.  Hidden in the basement, Carl figures he’ll spend the rest of his career sleeping and surfing the internet, until one of the cold cases he’s now in charge of actually peaks his interest. Continue reading “The Keeper of Lost Causes”

The Snowman

By Jo Nesbø; translated by Don Bartlett

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011

Genres: Mystery, suspense, thriller, crime thriller, police procedural, Scandinavian noir

Series: Harry Hole; 7

ISBN: 9780307595867

Audience: Adult

Number of pages: 384

Setting: Oslo, Norway

Time period: Most of the story takes place in November 2004, but some scenes are from 1980 and 1992.

Plot summary: When a mother disappears in the middle of the night from her home, a snowman is found in the yard outside wearing the mothers favorite scarf.  When a second mother disappears, Detective Harry Hole makes a gruesome discovery.  He soon find himself tracking a serial killer, but at the same time, senses that someone is tracking him. Continue reading “The Snowman”

Before I Go to Sleep

By S.J. Watson

Place: Publisher & Year:

Genres: Suspense, psychological suspense, mystery

ISBN: 9780062060556

Audience: Adult

Number of pages: 359

Setting: England – London area

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Christine Lucas suffers from a rare form of amnesia where she can build memories throughout the day, but then forgets everything she’s learned when she goes to sleep.  She wakes each day thinking that she is about twenty years younger than she actually is and must rely upon her husband, Ben, to tell her about her life every day.  When her doctor recommends that she keep a journal to try and help her memory, she discovers that her husband has been telling her lies. Continue reading “Before I Go to Sleep”

Nickel Plated

By Aric Davis

Place: Publisher & Year: Las Vegas, NV: AmazonEncore, c2010

Genre: Mystery, hard boiled crime fiction, suspense

ISBN: 9781935597322

Audience: Young adult

Number of pages: 197

Setting: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Nickel is a twelve year old child abuse survivor and foster child escapee.  At the age of ten, he ran away from his foster home and has been living outside the system since then.  He makes his money in a variety of ways, including growing marijuana and blackmailing pedophiles he finds online.  While he worries about his income, he also works for free for kids.  When a beautiful high school student, Arrow, comes to Nickel for help finding her younger sister, Shelby, Nickel can’t say no.  Hopefully, he’ll be able to find Shelby soon.  The longer it takes, the less chance she has of being found alive. Continue reading “Nickel Plated”