ONE SUMMER by David Baldacci

In One Summer, David Baldacci tells us about Jack Armstrong, who is dying. After surviving against all odds through years of military service, being shot at and nearly blown up, Jack Armstrong is terminally ill, with very little time left, Jack tries to hold on til Christmas, living one day at a time.

 

The doctors gave him 6 to 8 months, and now that time is nearly up, Jack is reduced to marking his last days off the calendar, one by one.

On Christmas Eve, in the cruellest twist of fate, Jack's wife, Lizzie, is killed in a car accident. Jack is left to take care of their 3 children. Lizzie was the glue holding the family together.

Devastated at their loss, her parents make plans for Jack and the children. They will all be separated, and Jack will be left to die alone. But miraculously, Jack's health takes a turn for the better.

Slowly but surely, he begins to improve and grow stronger. Almost back to his old self, he makes plans to fetch his kids and be a family again. But Jack has no idea how difficult it is being father and mother, breadwinner and caregiver, all in one.

His kids suddenly resent him, he was supposed to die, not their mom, huge adjustments need to be made.

Slowly, painstakingly, Jack finds the way to draw his children closer. They all learn to love and give again, and to become a family.

Totally removed from his usual fast-paced thrillers, One Summer shows a different side to David Baldacci.

This is a moving family drama, a lovely, tender book, thoroughly enjoyable, although I must warn you, its a tearjerker.
Happy reading!

THE INNOCENT by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben, here in The Innocent, introduces us to Matt Hunter who is a 20 years old man, everything going for him, his whole life ahead of him.

And then he makes one stupid mistake and kills someone.

Matt does his time in prison.

13 years later, he is married to Olivia, working for a law firm. He has put the past behind him, where it belongs.

Olivia is expecting their first child, and they are overjoyed at the prospect of being parents.

Then he receives a strange photo on his phone, sent to him by Olivia. A photo of a man.

So begins the slow unravelling of everything Matt has built and holds dear.

Matt starts to realise that he knows very little about his beautiful wife.

Everything she told him about herself - was it all a lie? Suddenly the perfect life he envisioned for himself, a convicted murderer, begins to seem hopelessly unrealistic.

The twists and turns just seem to lead to more questions instead of answers.

The Innocent by Harlan Coben, races at breakneck speed to its climax with plenty of surprises along the way.

A really good, gripping thriller.

 

Happy reading!

THE SIXTH MAN by David Baldacci

The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

The Sixth Man by David Baldacci tells the story of how a serial killer, Edgar Roy murdered a bunch of people and buried them on his farm.

Now he sits in a psychiatric ward, awaiting trial. His lawyer, Ted Bergin, calls Sean and Michelle in to investigate the case further. Then Bergin is murdered.

The situation is at a standstill.

In The Sixth Man we meet up once again with ex-Secret Service turned Private Investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. They try to determine Edgar Roy's innocence or guilt.

But is Edgar Roy really a serial killer? Did he really kill all those people and bury them on his farm? There are powerful people behind the scenes who have a very different interest in Edgar Roy, who is a lot more than what he appears to be.

And Edgar Roy is not talking - at all. Sean and Michelle meet resistance at every turn.

Not only that, more innocent people are being murdered, and Sean and Michelle become targets as well. They are crossed and double-crossed, not knowing who to trust. Who is telling the truth, and who is lying?

The Sixth Man is a gripping page turner, in true David Baldacci style, with an ending that will have you holding your breath until the final words.

Happy reading!

IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS by Tess Gerritsen

In, "In Their Footsteps" by Tess Gerritsen, M16 British Intelligence agents, husband and wife team, Bernard and Madeline Tavistock, on assignment in Paris, are unexpectedly, shockingly, murdered.

Twenty years later, their daughter Beryl, decides to do some investigating into their deaths. Scandal and controversy surrounds the story of her parents' murder.

Her father was a double agent, her mother was having an affair. When her father found out, he killed his wife and then himself. Beryl refuses to believe this version of what happened and is determined to uncover the truth.

If the deaths of her parents had been a simple murder and suicide, then 20 years later, no one would care. 
But someone does care, very much. Beryl and her brother Jordan return to Paris to visit the scene of the crime, but they are not alone.

Someone is going to great lengths to ensure that they do not find out what really happened.

A slightly different genre from Tess Gerritsen, In Their Footsteps is nevertheless still a good, fast-paced and enjoyable thriller.

Happy reading!

THE NIGHT FERRY by Michael Robotham

To catch a killer, catch the night ferry ...

Alisha Barba is trying to get back into the business after a long recovery period following several operations and extensive physiotherapy which caused her to lose her job with the Metropolitan Police and shattered her dreams of becoming a detective.

Out of the blue she receives a letter from an old friend, Cate. Alisha senses that Cate is in trouble. When they meet at a school reunion, Alisha sees that Cate is pregnant and desperate. Before they get a chance to speak, Cate is run down by a vehicle. The paramedics fight to save her. A strange deception is discovered. It is the first of several more to follow. Convinced that Cate was run down on purpose, Alisha is driven to investigate. When Cate dies from her injuries, she leaves behind more questions than answers.

Alisha travels to the city of Amsterdam trying to find out what lies behind the deception perpetrated by Cate. She uncovers a conspiracy in her attempts to seek justice for the untimely death of her friend; a conspiracy that puts her own life in danger.

A good, gripping read, The Night Ferry will take you on a journey through the sordid underground world where life is very cheap, or very costly.

Happy reading!

PROMISE ME by Harlan Coben

"The missing girl - there had been unceasing news reports, always flashing to that achingly ordinary school portrait  of the vanished teen ... that missing girl - had just walked past Edna Sylar. "Please" the missing girl said, her voice a whisper. "You can't tell anybody you saw me".

Myron Bolitar works for himself as a representative for portsmen, actors and various kinds of celebrities. Myron is  one of the good guys, always looking for people to save. He overhears two teenage girls talking in his house, and  makes them promise to

call him anywhere, anytime, if they are ever in trouble. when the one girl does call him, late  at night, he drives her to where she wants to go, but with misgivings. She holds him to his promise not to tell her  parents. Then she disappears. In the nfusion that follows, Myron has to unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit,  involving a lot of unlikely suspects.

Did Aimee run away, or was she kidnapped? What is the connection to the first  missing girl?

Promise Me will hook you in and keep you reading compulsively turning pages to the end.

Happy reading!



THE SOUL CATCHER by Alex Kava

A group of young men, trapped in a cabin with the FBI closing in on them, are instructed by their leader to commit suicide rather than being captured. "Kill or be killed". One of them, Eric Pratt, is not ready to die. He spits out the cyanide capsule instead of swallowing. He has chosen to live.

Reverend Joseph Everett is the charismatic leader of a religious sect, a man who has such a strong hold over his followers he has convinced them that committing suicide is preferable to falling into Satan's hands.

Satan, of course, being law enforcement. Reverend Everett, or Father, as he is called by his flock, is the soul catcher. When a young girl attending one of the Reverend's prayer rallies is found murdered, strangled, FBI criminal profiler Maggie O'Dell is assigned to the case. They soon discover that the girl's murder is connected to the mass suicide in the cabin, and both events are connected to Reverend Joseph Everett. The man seems able to draw people in and hold them spellbound. What is this strange attraction he has? Maggie becomes concerned when she discovers that her own mother has fallen under Everett's spell.

An intensely gripping book, with plenty of death and intrigue, The Soul Catcher will keep you reading until the thrilling climax.

Happy reading!