This is the latest in the series by Paul Grossman about the famous and highly respected German homicide detective Willi Kraus. Over the course of Grossman’s several earlier books which I’ve reviewed, the thuggish fringe National Socialist movement grows into the terrifying Nazi juggernaut which destroys the Germany Kraus has known and loved, and soon drives German Jews—himself and his family included—into exile. As one of the last to flee before all escape hatches were slammed shut, the widowed Kraus arrives in Paris without belongings, […]
A high-octane thriller that stretches credibility — if you care
This bloody action-packed Norwegian police procedural/thriller is as exciting and fast-paced in its telling as it is absurd in its plot. The “hero” is young Sonny Lofthus, a lifer and a drug addict who has spent the past 15 years behind bars copping to crimes committed by the crime syndicate that runs all manner of nasty operations in Oslo. In return, he is kept happily supplied with top quality heroin, to which the assistant warden is well paid to keep a blind eye. The broken […]
Buddhism, Sex and Snakes: Culture Shock in Thailand
Apparently Bangkok thrillers have a certain notoriety for sensationalism, and Burdett’s Bangkok 8 doesn’t fail in that regard, but it is also so much more. In fact, this noir detective story could be a Phillip Marlowe, if it weren’t for the fact that its hero’s name is a little harder to pronounce. Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep is the son of a Thai bar girl and a long-gone Vietnam-era American soldier, is a little too comfortable with many of the denizens of Bangkok’s notorious red-light districts, is […]
Another tangled web of suspense by a true master
Lescroart has managed to produce another masterpiece of murder, corruption, and deceit in The Keeper, with the action this time centered around the character of Abe Glitsky in a brand-new role. Los Angeles prison guard Hal Chase’s wife has gone missing, and Hal—as the lead suspect in the as-yet unproven murder—hires defense attorney Dismas Hardy. It turns out Hardy’s wife had been the missing woman’s therapist and knows a few things about the marriage that she’s not allowed to tell. The tension ratchets up very […]