Mystery Roundup: Where in the World is Harry Hole?
In this week’s mystery roundup we get reacquainted with the delightful Gabriel Allon, lose track of the irascible Harry Hole, and follow Quinn Colson into a spider’s nest in the Deep South.
The Heist, by Daniel Silva
Fans of Silva will be delighted to discover that he’s done it again—each novel in his stylish Gabriel Allon series is more surefooted and thrilling than the last. In the fourteenth book featuring the inimitable art restorer and spy, a body has surfaced, and a priceless Caravaggio has disappeared. Allon is compelled to leave his pregnant wife to travel to Northern Italy to investigate. Mystery buffs who are interested in travel, art and culture but have yet to pick up a Gabriel Allon novel should definitely investigate this inspired series. (Available in hardcover and NOOK on July 15)
Police, by Jo Nesbø
The tenth book in the darkly brilliant Harry Hole series finds Harry himself mysteriously (and frighteningly) out of commission. For years the police have relied on his intelligence and razor-sharp instincts to track down some of Oslo’s most terrifying criminals, but now, when they need him most, Harry appears to be unable to help anyone, including himself. In Harry’s absence, Nesbø calls upon a cast of memorable secondary characters to move the story along at a breakneck pace. Fans of Harry Hole will be enthralled; and those who have not yet given this twisted series its due may finally be compelled to pick up the chilling first volume, The Bat. (Available in paperback and NOOK on July 15)
The Forsaken, by Ace Atkins
Talented author Atkins is not only responsible for the gripping Quinn Colson series; he’s also taken up the reins of Robert B. Parker’s venerated Spenser series—to great acclaim. Obviously a formidable talent, his chops are evident in the fourth Quinn Colson novel, in which Colson investigates a decades old hate crime in Jericho, Mississippi. As he seeks out those responsible for a man’s violent death over thirty years ago, Colson finds himself implicated in another series of crimes—and as the net tightens around him, thanks to a group of ruthless individuals who don’t appreciate his investigation and have made him their enemy, he finds it increasingly difficult to clear his own name, let alone that of the man he whose innocence he was sent to prove. Atkins writes about the Deep South with gritty realism, and Quinn Colson is a compelling protagonist. (Available in hardcover and NOOK on July 24)
Dear Daughter, by Elizabeth Little
Get ready to burn the midnight oil on this one! Beautiful Janie Jenkins, Little’s tart-tongued, socialite-with-a-prison-record protagonist, is finally out of jail and on the hunt for her mother’s killer. The diabolical twist? She might actually be looking for herself. Janie goes undercover and finds herself in a sleepy town that may be at the center of her mother’s disappearance. But time is running out for her as her story begins to unravel. Will she get to the bottom of things before it’s too late? One thing is for sure: you won’t get to bed before you’ve turned the last page. (Available in hardcover and NOOK on July 31)
What mysteries have you unearthed this week?