Reading right now:

            “The Jezebel Remedy” by Martin Clark. Lisa and Joe Stone are running a small law firm in Virginia when one of their clients dies in what appears to be a freak accident. When they attempt to settle the estate, the Stones find themselves embroiled in dangerous complications. To top it off, the Stones are struggling with trying to keep together a long marriage which seems a little stale. In real life, Martin Clark is a judge and while he hasn’t written a lot of books, those that he has written are an interesting, realistic addition to the legal thriller sub-genre.

On hold right now:

 

            “Long Upon the Land” by Margaret Maron. This is the 20^th book in the Judge Deborah Knott series. After a murdered man is discovered on Knott’s father’s property, she finds herself trying to clear her father from a murder change and her family from ruinous rumors.

                       

Other mysterious things:

            This year will see the release of several new legal thrillers which will include “Allegiance” by Kermit Roosevelt which centers on Supreme Court Clerk Caswell Cash Harrison who during World War II gets caught up in a huge conspiracy centering on the constitutionality of the prison camps created to detain Japanese-Americans. After his co-worker is murdered, Cash is even more determined to find out the truth even if he has to face down J. Edgar Hoover’s office. This unusual book combines legal thriller with historical mystery. Coming out in September is H. Terrell Griffin’s “Chasing Justice” which is a continuation of the Matt Royal series. In this new book, Royal goes back into the courtroom to defend a friend accused of murder. Lisa Scottoline’s third book in the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm series (“Corrupted”) comes out this year. Lee Goodman’s much anticipated second legal thriller “Injustice” comes out in September. In August, Robert K. Tanenbaum’s 27^th book in his Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi series arrives on the scene called “Trap.” “A Fool for a Client” by Parnell Hall is the 20^th book in the Stanley Hastings series. Stephen Frey’s “Jury Town” centers on jury tampering. Probably the most anticipated 2015 legal thriller is John Grisham’s “Rogue Lawyer” which is due out in October. The book’s description sounds a lot like Michael Connelly’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” since the main character is a street lawyer who works out of his van with a heavily armed driver. Let’s not forget, however, that in 1998 Grisham wrote “Street Lawyer” and all that matters is that the book is entertaining which it certainly sounds like it will be well worth reading.

Reading right now:

            “Disclaimer” by Renee Knight. One night documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft curls up in bed to read a good book, but soon realizes the book is about her life and that it will reveal her greatest secret and possibly destroy her life. Knight directs documentaries for BBC and her debut novel is gripping. 

On hold right now:

            “The Truth and Other Lies” by Sascha Arango. Successful author Henry Hayden is living a lie. His wife actually writes his books. He is unfaithful and his girlfriend is pregnant. He is desperate to keep the truth from coming out. But as he tries to keep his life from unraveling, he finds that those around him have their own secrets. This book is supposed to be funny and darkly noir which sounds like an interesting combination. This is a debut novel from a famous German screenwriter.

           

Other mysterious things:

            International mysteries are extremely popular in the US and present interesting and unusual settings. “Open Grave” by Kjell Eriksson is this Swedish crime writer’s sixth book in his Inspector Ann Lindell series. After Professor Bertram von Ohler wins a Nobel Prize for medicine, he is suddenly hit with a series of pranks which police believe are harmless—at first. “Emperors Once More” is Duncan Jepson’s first book in a new series starring Senior Inspector Alex Soong of the Hong Kong police. Soong is taxed with solving the grisly murder of five people killed in the ritualistic manner of murders from the Boxer Rebellion. Taylor Stevens new book “The Mask” takes place in Japan and is the fifth book in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series. Stevens made a splash with the first book in the series called “The Informationist.” 

Reading right now:

          “Ruins of War” by John A. Connell. This new series came out in May and features Mason Collins, a former Chicago homicide detective, who is now a US Army criminal investigator in Munich’s American Zone of Occupation. The second novel in the series has a planned release date of February, 2016 (“Spoils of Victory”). I love the concept and setting. Collins’ character is interesting because of his complex and hard boiled nature.  

On hold right now:

            “A Time of Night and Fog” by Rebecca Cantrell. Cantrell has written four books in her Hannah Vogel series. This month a collection of the four books comes out together in one volume. Hannah Vogel is a crime reporter and sometimes British spy in 1930s Berlin. It is an interesting and terrifying time to attempt to either tell the truth or try to find out the truth in a country being taken over by secrets and an upcoming war.

Other mysterious things:

          There are several great authors who have written or are writing mysteries/thrillers/suspense/spy stories set in and around World War II. Alan Furst, Philip Kerr, Jack Higgins, Daniel Silva, Joel N. Ross, Ken Follett, and Peter Robinson are just a few that most people may have heard of already. Another terrific series is by James R. Benn who has written nine books in the Billy Boyle series and has the tenth coming out in September 2015. Billy Boyle is a Boston cop who becomes Eisenhower’s personal investigator. As of April, there are now ten books in Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series. Gunther is a Berlin detective in Nazi Germany. J. Robert Janes’ 16^th novel in the St. Cyr and Kohler series comes out in July (“Clandestine”). St. Cyr and Kohler are two detectives trying to solve crimes in occupied Paris. Christopher Fowler’s detectives Bryant and May try to keep the peace in Blitz ridden London. Book twelve in Fowler’s series called “The Burning Man” just came out in May. “Traitor’s Gate” from Charlie Newton is an historical thriller set in the Middle East during the time leading up to WWII. “Tin Sky” by Ben Pastor is set in the Ukraine in 1943. “When Paris Went Dark” by Ronald C. Rosbottom takes place in Paris during the German occupation. “The Secret of Raven Point” by Jennifer Vanderbes is about a young nurse who travels to the frontlines in WWII to find her brother. “Vanishing” by Gerard Woodward revolves around a British artist who is either a hero or a spy. Plenty of interesting reads for those who like a little World War II history mixed in with their mysteries.