Some Quick Reads Featuring Adventure and Suspense …

Corridors of the Night

By Anne Perry
Ballantine. $27

This new William Monk novel, the 21st installment in the series, finds the Thames River Police commander and his wife, nurse Hester, engaged in an investigation to derail two obsessed scientists who have resorted to murder to find a cure for the fatal “white-blood disease”.

Magnus Rand, a doctor, and his brother Hamilton, a chemist, are dead set on conducting experiments that will provide a miracle cure for the deadly disease. Unfortunately, their work involves purchasing and imprisoning young children for unspeakable laboratory activities.

When Hester is caring for one of the brothers’ dying patients at London’s Royal Naval Hospital, she stumbles upon the secrets the duo has tried to keep quiet.

Convinced they are ever so close to a breakthrough, the Rands make Hester their prisoner so she can’t reveal what they are doing. As her husband and his friends launch a search for Hester that stretches from inner London to the bucolic countryside, the clock is ticking. If Hester is not quickly found she’ll fall prey to these monomaniacal men of science.

A quick read set in Victorian England, this is a novel that you’ll whip through in just a few days because Anne Perry is very proficient at creating a taut, intriguing plot filled with unforgettable characters.

The Last September

By Nina de Gramont
Algonquin. $25.95

In college Brett was involved with two brothers. Eli was her best friend and his brother, Charlie, eventually became her husband. Now, years later, Brett and Charlie are living on Cape Cod and their marriage is on shaky grounds. The situation becomes even more difficult when Eli arrives at their doorstep for an unannounced visit and brings his bipolar problems with him.

Just when things couldn’t get any worse, they do when Brett arrives home one day to find her husband dead and her brother-in-law freaking out. Obviously Eli must be responsible for the crime, but that remains to be seen.

As Brett mulls over her life and relationship with both these men as well as their connection with one another, the reader is treated to an intimate look at the lives of these attractive but flawed individuals.

This is a murder mystery but one that offers a far greater depth of character than what one normally finds in novels in this genera. Alternating between the past and present, the narrative not only totally engages the reader but also keeps subtly tightening the suspense as more is revealed about these fascinating individuals.

Say Yes to the Death: A Debutante Dropout Mystery

By Susan McBride
Witness. $7.99

This delightful series that has stretched to five installments now features Andrea (Andy) Kendricks, a young woman who has refused to be pulled into the high-society life her mother had always hoped she would be part of.

Sitting on a healthy trust fund left her by her deceased father, Andy has said no thank you to her socialite mother’s lifestyle and runs a website design company that specializes in non-profits. Although they are definitely not on the same page when it comes to the Texas version of “high society”, Andy and her mother are on speaking terms and do things together from time to time.

That explains why Andy is attending a very upscale Dallas wedding where she bumps into an old high school nemesis. Olivia Le Belle tormented Andy as a teen, and now, when they meet again, the wedding planner seems to be starting in where she left off years ago.

When Olivia is found dead in her office the day following the wedding, Andy becomes involved in the case because a family friend is accused of the murder. Andy knows the woman is innocent but she’ll have to prove it to the authorities that believe they have an open and shut case.

Plenty of humor makes this mystery one that will keep you chuckling from start to finish as Andy once again plays amateur sleuth with the assistance of her fiancé, lawyer Brian Malone, and her social butterfly parent. Trust me, this novel is a fun read and a “hoot” from start to finish!

Those We Left Behind

By Stuart Neville
Soho. $26.95

Set in Northern Ireland, this thriller centers on two brothers and the law enforcement authorities that must deal with them. Ciaran Devine was convicted of his foster father’s death when the boy was just twelve years old. Now the “school boy” killer, as the press dubbed him, is about to be released from prison.

Ciaran’s confession of guilt took his old brother, Thomas, off the hook for the crime but DCI Serena Flanagan never believed the youth was fully responsible for the killing. Reunited with his older sibling who has always had a dangerous influence on him, Ciaran is going to be a handful for his probation officer, Paula Cunningham.

As Serena and Paula are about to discover, there is going to be some to major trouble on the streets of Belfast now that the Devine brothers are reunited.

Stuart Neville has been shortlisted for a number of literary awards. His electrifying crime novels have attracted a wide audience on both sides of the Atlantic and his legion of fans continues to grow.

Pretty Girls

By Karen Slaughter
William Morrow. $29.99

Since their sister Julia disappeared in her youth, Claire and Lydia have gone their separate ways. Claire is the wife of an Atlanta millionaire while Lydia struggles to make ends meet as a single mother.

For two decades the sisters have avoided all contact and tried to bury the memories of their shared loss within the family, but that’s all about to change. With the murder of Claire’s husband, the women call a truce and reconnect.

The traumatized siblings not only must finally acknowledge and deal with the secrets that tore their family apart years ago but they also come to realize that these two events, separated by so many years, are related.

This poignant and unsettling psychological thriller demonstrates that Karin Slaughter hasn’t lost her touch when it comes to creating best sellers. “Pretty Girls” is as gripping and entertaining as any of her previous successful novels.