The Reckoning, Carsten Stroud

Stroud's trilogy comes roaring to its conclusion. Nick and Kate Kavanaugh's adopted son Rainey Teague still has 'the devil in him' and Nick and Kate whose marriage barely survived his 'illness' the last time are walking on broken glass around the subject.

Niceville is gearing up for something, the disappeared are coming back, residents are acting strangely, some are wearing headphones twenty four seven. What are they listening to, or blocking out?

Charlie Danziger, the man who took two in the chest protecting Nick's partner, Mavis Crossfire, a year ago is most confused to find himself alive (sort of) and drawn towards a plantation run by Glynis Ruelle on which the Reckoning is to take place.

If none of this review makes sense, get yourself Niceville and Homecoming before reading this one. I have loved this weird, wonderful gothic horror show of a series. If you took a tale of the deep south, horror, supernatural, present day police procedural and indian legends; blitzed them in a blender, seasoned with a dash of humour and set it cooking you might have an inkling of how accomplished a writer Stroud is. Can't wait to see what Stroud comes up with next.

The Searcher, Simon Toyne

Solomon Creed just walked away from a plane crash, he only knows his name because it is sewn into the jacket he’s wearing. His past is clouded and his future could be very uncertain indeed because the town he’s walking towards, Redemption Arizona, holds many secrets. Secrets he must uncover to save a man named James Coronado, a man he has never met.

While Solomon may have some unusual skills, time travel isn’t one of them which is a shame because James Coronado was buried that morning. All Solomon has to help him is a book by the Reverend Jack Cassidy, Redemption’s founder and the help of Coronado’s widow, Holly.

The fire caused by the plane crash isn’t the only thing headed straight for Redemption, the plane was carrying a precious cargo and the man that cargo was destined for? Well to say he’ll be upset at losing it would be an understatement. If the fire doesn’t take out Redemption, he’ll  raze the town to the ground himself.

Toyne, author of the Sanctus series gives us the start of another taut page turner of a trilogy.

Ghostly, Audrey Niffenegger

Ghostly is a collection of ghost stories perfect for Halloween. Haunted houses, haunted cottages, paintings that move, magic and cats to name just a few, as told by masters of the genre including Poe, M.R James, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, P.G. Wodehouse, Saki and Niffenegger herself. Whether you want that sense of creeping unease, full on scares or a laugh or two there’s something for everyone here.

Trigger Mortis (with original material by Ian Fleming) Anthony Horowitz

Trigger Mortis slots in neatly between Fleming’s ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Thunderball.’

James Bond has whisked Pussy Galore back to London with him but their affair is rapidly losing its lustre and a new assignment beckons. Bond must protect England’s most famous racing driver from Russian sabotage. 

During his training and at the famous Nürburgring, Bond encounters driver Logan Fairfax and motoring journalist Jeopardy Lane. SMERSH rears its ugly head causing Bond to focus on their associate Jason Sin, a Korean millionaire who deals death using a pack of cards. Sin has classified photographs of a U.S. Vanguard rocket and Bond suspects a plan to destroy it on the launchpad. He doesn’t know how wrong he is.

Trigger Mortis is vintage Bond, with all the style, girls, car chases and thrills Fleming’s (and Horowitz’s) fans could ask for.

For those of you curious to know the 'original material' comes from a script Fleming wrote for a T.V show that never got past the pilot stage.

Ben Aaronovitch updated

My colleague Wendy was living in London for several months this year and when she came back she brought a list of new authors we should try out. Aaronovitch is at the top of that list for me. His first book Rivers of London (Midnight Riot in the US) was the choice for 'London Reads'.

I never thought I'd say the words perfect blend of grown up Harry Potter and police procedural but that's about the size of it. In Aaronovitch's London, magic is a lost art, there is only one magician left, Thomas Nightingale and he's a Detective Inspector with the Met in charge of a department that investigates crimes that don't have a natural cause. West Indian PC Peter Grant comes to Nightingale's attention when he interviews a most unusual witness to a murder, a ghost. Peter becomes Nightingale's apprentice and a whole new world opens up to him, a world of ghosts, vampires, vestigium, magical spells and rivers like the Thames which have their own guardians and diplomatic problems. With enough plot twists and characters that you can't help liking this is a great series to get into if you're a fan of the Bryant and May series by Christopher Fowler or you grew up with Harry Potter.

The books so far are
Rivers of London (Midnight Riot)
Moon over Soho
Whispers Underground
Broken Homes
Foxglove Summer
Hanging Tree
Lies Sleeping 

Sometimes one slips through the cracks

This is the problem with juggling so much stuff sometimes I drop a ball, In this case a big one.

The Drowning by Camilla Lackberg is out now and here is the blurb.

Fjallbacka resident Christian Thydell is a literary rising star. His novel, The Mermaid is having accolades heaped upon it and Erica Falck shares a publisher with him. Christian has been getting letters, threatening letters. Erica, heavily pregnant with twins, shares her concerns first with her husband, Detective Patrik Hedstrom; then with Gaby von Rosen, her and Christian's publisher. Patrik is juggling a slew of cases, working too hard to really take notice and Gaby feeds the story to the media to boost Christian's book sales.

When Patrik's missing persons case turns to murder and other close friends of Christian's are targeted, Erica is baffled. What is keeping them from talking, what secret are they willing to take to their graves rather than see it revealed. Only Christian knows the identity of the warped mind behind the letters and in order to protect his family he's decided he's going to give her exactly what she wants. And for Erica, tragedy is about to strike closer to home than she ever thought possible.