Blogs and Stories
5 Hot Summer Thrillers
Look Again by Lisa Scottoline St. Martin’s Press, 352 pages, $26.95
Look Again
By Lisa Scottoline
Lisa Scottoline takes a break from her popular series of legal thrillers with Look Again, the story of Ellen Gleeson, a strong woman who’ll do whatever it takes to protect her family.
Ellen is a journalist, but her real passion in life is her three-year-old adopted son, Will. She’s enjoying her new role as a mother when a flier arrives in the mail publicizing a kidnapped child—with a picture of a young boy that looks exactly like Will. Ellen is immediately struck by a horrifying thought: Could this missing child be the same little boy that she adopted?
Being a reporter, as well as a mom with a conscience, Ellen can’t just leave it alone. She begins to investigate, hoping to prove that her son isn’t the kidnapped little boy. What she finds instead is a chilling story filled with doubt and heartache.
Scottoline mines the tension and fear of this scenario without ever crossing the line into exploiting the situation. (Few things ruin a novel faster than an author who crassly puts children in jeopardy just to earn a thrill.) Look Again is easily Scottoline’s best novel to date. There are moments that might be intense for some parents to read, but the story generates significant suspense that will keep readers enthralled.
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver Simon & Schuster, 416 pages, $26.95
Roadside Crosses
By Jeffery Deaver
Jeffery Deaver returns to his latest creation, series character Kathryn Dance, in Roadside Crosses, the third book to feature the body-language expert for the California Bureau of Investigation. Dance is billed as a “human lie detector,” and she needs all her skills as she tracks a troubled teen preying on other kids who bullied him via the Internet.
Deaver is one of the best thriller writers at incorporating the latest technology into his plots, and he’s got the world of social networking and blogs down cold, from the flame wars to the lingo to the dysfunctional personality types. That dose of realism adds a fresh, contemporary edge to the story.
Deaver puts the emphasis in his books on intricate plot twists rather than breakneck pacing, which makes Roadside Crosses the perfect book for a quiet summer afternoon where a little relaxation—accompanied, naturally, by a jolt of suspense—is the order of the day.
Plus: Check out Book Beast, for more news on hot titles, authors and excerpts from the latest books.
David J. Montgomery has written about authors and books for many of the country's largest newspapers.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Why America Must Learn to Bow
Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
Going Rogue: The Index
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
Thriller Night
David J. Montgomery is a critic for The Daily Beast and has written about authors and books for many of the country's largest newspapers.
A Wicked L.A. Noir
David J. Montgomery is a critic for The Daily Beast and has written about authors and books for many of the country's largest newspapers.
Thriller Lovers' Guilty Pleasure
David J. Montgomery is a critic for The Daily Beast and has written about authors and books for many of the country's largest newspapers.
Good to see more reviews from you. I think you nailed the Child and Sandford books. And you almost make me amenable to reading Scottoline and Deaver again.
Such a tasty list, David. I'll forward it to a nice woman I know whose summer book club chose The Brothers Karamazov--an amazing novel, but a February read if ever I've seen one!
Terrific list. While I'm already a fan of Connelly, Deaver and Sanford, I have never read Scottoline.
Thanks to you I've found my book for this summer!
Great list. I'm going to download The Scarecrow onto my kindle tonight.
I was not blown away by Scottoline's earlier books, but this one surprised me. If you're interested in a nice domestic drama, I recommend it.
The Deaver book reminded me of a lot of his work. Very twisty, lots of tech stuff. I liked it better than the past couple Lincoln Rhyme books.
-David J. Montgomery
Thanks for the recommendations. Now all I need is a sunny beach, a chaise lounge and a pina colada. And a vacation. A girl can dream...
My dad loves John Sandford. I was disappointed with the few "Prey"-series books I read, but maybe I'll try this one.
The Sandford books all tend to have some similarities, although the plots differ, of course. I would say the main thing is the protagonist, Lucas Davenport -- if you were interested in him, it might be worth trying another book. But if he didn't appeal to you...Well, the other books probably won't either.
-David J. Montgomery
A good list, with your typical keen eye. Is it summer yet?
Great list of titles and it's especially exciting to see The Daily Beast is going to be reviewing books people actually want to read as opposed to think they should read but don't really want to:)
It might look like summer if it weren't for this Biblical rain we're having.
DC doesn't handle the rain terribly well. Not as bad as the snow, though.
-David J. Montgomery
David, Thanks so much for the very nice review - and for an open mind! And yes, it is summer!No more pencils, no more books...well, okay, more books. Congrats on the new gig, and I'll keep reading Book Beast! Love, Lisa
The Connelly is the only one I would have picked up without the review but I'll keep an eye out for the others.
Very enjoyable column, David, and the insightful reviews I've come to expect from you. Thanks so much.
Blessings,
Vicki Hinze
This is excellent. Very pleased to see thrillers on here. The Connolly book sounds good.
David, I have followed your reviews in my local Florida paper for years, and now am so glad to find you on the internet.
I always enjoy your honest, insightful opinions. Now, I'm not a particular fan of "thrillers" so are there any more traditional mysteries you might recommend for the summer?
Thanks, and so glad you are at the Daily Beast!
DeniseV,
Great question. The traditional mystery that I've enjoyed most lately is Alan Bradley's "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie." It's a charming debut that introduces a wonderful new character: Flavia de Luce, an 11-year-old English girl who loves chemistry, poisons, and solving mysteries. I highly recommend it.
-David J. Montgomery
Terrorist,serial killers, murder and kidnapping.Not very warm for the beach.I find all the crime I need on the news...in real life.
At least thrillers have a happy
ending. The news seldom does.
Always like to read about books. My local newspaper has dropped its book review section. I have read the latest John Sandford and all of his other books and Wicked Prey is very good. Highly recommended. The Charlemagne Pursuit by
Steve Berry is very good. You'll want to pull out The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service to go along with it.
David, I'm so pleased to find you in this new venue. Michael Connelly is one of only a very few authors who I ALWAYS look forward to reading--no matter the character or subject. I am embarrassed to admit that I've never read anything by Jeffrey Deaver or Lisa Scottoline (though one of Mr. Deaver's books has been sitting in my TBR stack for far too long).With the nudge of your reviews, I will correct my oversight in the coming weeks.
I hope your ark is coming along and will be completed by the time you need it :)
Great Job David. I tired to post that the other day but it didn't show up. So if it shows up twice - that's why. Kudos to the Daily Beast for having a reviewer who reviews the kind of books people want to read not just books they think they should read.
Looking forward to your honest reviews.
Great list of titles here to start summer reading.
Who are the new up and comers in the thriller field? Let us in on the secret.
There are a lot of great up-and-coming new thriller writers... Here are a few to get you started. I've enjoyed books by all of these writers:
Alex Berenson, Brent Ghelfi, Alafair Burke, Nick Stone, Brett Battles, Alison Gaylin, Charles Cumming and Tom Rob Smith.
That's just off the top of my head. There are others, of course, whom I'm forgetting.
Terrific to see you writing here, David. Congrats on the gig, and thanks for turning me on to The Daily Beast.
Thank you.
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