These are good reads for every taste …
The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die – A Dr. Siri Mystery
By Colin Cotterill
Soho Crime. $25.95 (Rating-Very Good)
If you enjoy exotic settings and characters that don’t travel the beaten path, you’ll love this thriller set in Laos and featuring Dr. Siri Paiboun, the country’s newly retired national coroner, and his wife, Madame Daeng.
The amateur sleuth and his insightful wife are involved in a multi-faceted investigation in this latest adventure. Paiboun is sent to oversee the attempt to locate and exhume the remains of a soldier who died in 1969 when the riverboat he was on sank in the Mekong River.
Assisting the doctor and his wife is Madame Keui, a “used-to-be woman.” A clairvoyant, Madame Keui was reputedly shot and killed and her remains, according to local custom, were cremated, yet she is still walking around and appears to be none-the-worse for her experience.
While Madame Daeng has some serious doubts about the “credentials” of the comely woman who is going to help her husband find the dead soldier’s resting place, she has her own problems to deal with. A vestige of Daeng’s past in the form of a man she betrayed who is seeking to settle a score that dates back to the French loss of Dien Bien Phu.
Coupling these apparently disparate plot strains, there’s the additional issue of royal treasure that went missing in the early 1900s and the clever plot that has been hatched to reclaim the lost loot.
There’s a lot happening in this fast paced novel and Colin Cotterill, who teaches at a university in Thailand, knows exactly how to manipulate each part of this complicated storyline to keep the reader totally spellbound. This is the ninth episode in this unusual and quirky series, so if you have never followed Siri Paiboun’s adventures you’ll have some catching up to do, but that could be a lot of fun!
The Madness Underneath – The Shades of London / Book Two
By Maureen Johnson
Putnam. $17.99 (Rating-Excellent)
A near fatal run-in with a Jack the Ripper wannabe left Rory Deveaux with not only a nasty knife scar (no bikinis for her) but also with a new, awesome power. The American teenager, who is attending school in London, not only has second sight and can see ghosts, but now she has also discovered that she is a “terminus.” This means that Rory has the unique and scary ability to eliminate a ghost with just the touch of her finger.
In the first book in this series, “The Name of the Star,” the young woman was enlisted by some other young people to assist Scotland Yard’s secretive ghost-fighting unit. That’s also what led to her life changing experience with the Ripper.
With her return to school, Rory finds herself again called upon to use her considerable skills to sort out another series of mysterious deaths. In this instance being a terminus means the American has attracted some unwanted attention that will not only disrupt her life but also the lives of her three close ghost-busting buddies.
An edgy heroine, lots of local color and a clever use of the supernatural make this a new series that has attracted a lot of attention from young adult and older readers alike. The debut title was nominated for an Edgar Award and don’t be surprised if this sequel actually wins the prestigious award.
Maureen Johnson not only spins a convincing tale of suspense and riveting action but she knows exactly how to end her story in such a manner that the reader is guaranteed to want to continue to follow this young girl’s adventures.
Frozen Solid
By James Tabor
Ballantine. $26 (Rating-Very Good)
Asked about his writing, author James Tabor says, “My novels are about three things: realistic threats to the planet, plausible science, and extreme environments.”
From a super cave in Mexico in his last thriller, “The Deep Zone,” Tabor turns to the Antarctic in this latest story featuring CDC microbiologist Hallie Leland.
The South Pole’s Amundsen Scott Research Station averages winter temperatures 100 degrees below zero and hurricane-force storms. After the death of a scientist at the station, Hallie is sent to complete the woman’s research. When three more women mysteriously die, it becomes apparent something very strange is happening in this hostile environment.
The folks back in Washington who sent Hallie to the South Pole realize there is a frightening plot unfolding at the bottom of the world that not only endangers her life but will, if successful, also alter the course of history.
A group of dangerous scientists dubbed Triage is determined to release a virus that will save the world from the perils of overpopulation while greatly improving the existing “stock.”
As you read this chilling novel, it won’t be the frigid setting that sends tremors up your spine but rather the dark premise of this horrifying and engrossing story.
Heralded as the new Michael Crichton by some critics, James Tabor has already tackled a pandemic in Hallie Leland’s first outing and now it is time to look at an intriguing situation involving depopulation and eugenics. Those who relish a good thriller with a scientific basis will find this a hard book to set aside.
So Pretty It Hurts – A Bailey Weggins Mystery
By Kate White
Harper. $14.99 (Rating-Good)
When celebrity crime reporter Bailey Weggins accompanies a friend to a weekend house party, she doesn’t expect she’ll be called upon to use her skills as an amateur sleuth to solve a murder.
The guest of honor, supermodel Devon Barr, is being a tad difficult, which sets the other guests on edge. The two women accidently stumble into one another in the woods surrounding the isolated estate and Devon shares her fears that she doesn’t feel safe.
Bailey dismisses the woman’s comment as just an attention seeking device until shortly thereafter the beautiful woman is found dead in her bed. Although foul play isn’t suspected, Bailey isn’t so sure the model has died of natural causes.
A snowstorm and power outage plunge the retreat into darkness and the when someone shoves the reporter down a staircase, she is convinced that there’s definitely cause to informally investigate Devon’s demise.
Back in New York, Bailey begins digging into the past of not only the dead woman but also the other guests at the party. It will come as no surprise to discover that she finds that the Big Apple’s celebrity scene is as sleazy as anything found on the West Coast.
Even with her own life in jeopardy, Bailey keeps digging and the result is a highly entertaining read.