Reading right now:

            “Maestra” by L. S. Hilton. In this debut novel which is the first in a trilogy, Judith Rashleigh uses her beauty and brains to find success in the art world until she uncovers a dark secret which temporarily derails her ambitious plans. This dark thriller follows a women who will stop at nothing to be one of the rich and famous she admires. The word of mouth on this book is that it is going to be a movie and the next “Girl on a Train.” 

On hold right now:

            “Stealing the Countess” by David Housewright. This is the 13^th book in the unlicensed PI Rush McKenzie series. McKenzie left the St. Paul police force after becoming a millionaire and keeps busy helping friends and people in need. After a Stradivarius violin is stolen, the violinist asks him to help her get it back since the foundation that owns it won’t negotiate with thieves. It doesn’t take McKenzie long to discover that this case is not what it seems.    

Other mysterious things:

            Debut novelist Lee Clay Johnson’s “Nitro Mountain” is infused with music and darkness which surrounds all of its characters. Don’t expect this dark thriller to be easy to read, but there is humor and hope despite the dark characters and their lives of crime and violence. In a similar vein is Robin Wasserman’s stand-alone novel “Girls on Fire.” This book about girls growing up, female friendship, and small-town paranoia is an unflinching thrill ride. Con Lehane’s “Murder at the 42^nd Street Library” isn’t as dark as these two books, but it still involves secrets which in this case are hidden behind the walls of an historic library in New York City. While the girls in “Girls on Fire” are trying to grow up, Luisa Lu’Brant is trying to follow in her father’s footsteps which involves becoming the first female state attorney of Howard County, Maryland (Laura Lippman’s “Wilde Lake”). Tammy Kaehler’s “Red Flags” is the fourth book in a series where another women is trying to break into a career which has always been male dominated. In this case, Kate Reilly is a racecar driver who along the way gets involved in murder investigations. Another stand along novel from Lucie Whitehouse is “Keep You Close.” This book is being compared to “Girl on a Train” and is about a woman who returns to Oxford to look into her friend’s supposedly accidental death.