Thrillers, Thrillers and More Thrillers

Interesting January titles abound. Some fiction, some nonfiction. I’ll look at the thrillers that are going to be published in January first.

Robert Crais comes out with Suspect on January 22^nd. A hardened LA cop, Max Kent, loses his partner in a nighttime assault and is assigned a German Shepherd who has survived 3 tours of duty in the Middle East as a new partner. They are charged with finding Max’s prior partner’s killer. Crais is famous for his Elvis Cole series and writes kind of dark, hardboiled mysteries with flawed heroes.

Stephen Hunter is bringing us his 8^th Bob Lee Swagger Novel, The Third Bullet, on January 15^th.  Stephen Hunter is a journalist with the Washington Post and his thrillers tend to be well written, compelling, lots of action and violence. His story lines usually deal with military or political concerns. In this title, John F Kennedy’s assassination is revisited with a slight twist. Swagger investigates why the third bullet exploded. Fans of Swagger are getting in line for this title.

Chris Kuzneski, a name you perhaps not heard of yet, gives us The Death Relic on January 10^th. Kuzneski writes a series about 2 ex-Special Forces trained friends, Jonathon Payne and David Jones. Payne and Jones trade witty barbs as they investigate cryptic mysteries. In this outing, an  archaeologist in the  Yucatan Peninsula hires them when some of her team goes missing. The suspense in this series is always fast moving and the story lines are well researched. If you haven’t tried this author, give him a chance.

Brad Meltzer also writes fast paced suspense. His though, mostly take place in the legal, financial or political arena. He is publishing The Fifth Assassin on January 15, 2012. There have been 4 successful assassination attempts on US Presidents. Beecher White discovers that someone is enacting the crimes of those 4 assassins. Historians have always thought that the 4 successful assassins were working alone. But what if they are wrong? Really a page turner and the climax – well, what can I say, it is worth the wait.

In an intricately plotted debut novel, Jenny Milchman gives us Cover of Snow on January 15th. Nora Hamilton, happily married to a solid, dependable policeman, lives in the Adirondacks. Life is good until her husband commits suicide and then secrets start to come to the fore. Fast moving with lots of good reviews, if you like to take a chance on first authors, give Milchman a try.