March’s Best Thrillers

The Gangster, by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
The ninth Isaac Bell novel lands us in 1906, where Bell encounters ruthless crime boss Antonio Branco and the legendary proto-mafia organization The Black Hand, which is terrorizing Italians of all walks of life in a New York that lacks the resources to do much about them. Things get even stickier when Bell gets involved with a secret group of millionaires, one of whom fears being punished for crimes involving the financing and building of the Panama Canal—and may be plotting to assassinate the president himself in order to escape his fate. As with previous Bell adventures, the intricate plotting and a historical setting elevate this crackling thriller above the competition.

The Steel Kiss, by Jeffery Deaver
There’s a reason Deaver is one of the hottest writers working, and that Lincoln Rhyme is one of the most popular characters on bookshelves. In this twelfth Rhyme novel, the evidence for both is front and center: an inventive plot involving a serial killer who uses the increasingly mechanized and interconnected modern world against his victims, and a cast of characters who ring true, led by the fascinating Rhyme. Deaver’s knack for weaving believable detail deepens rather than distracts, and Rhyme’s twisty investigation perfectly balances procedure and surprise—and sets us up for a brilliant late-inning twist.

Predator, by Wilbur Smith and Tom Cain
The third Cross Bow novel focuses on Johnny Congo, who fans will recall from the previous book. The wealthy psychopath escapes from prison and bends his entire will (and not-inconsiderable financial resources) toward destroying his arch-enemy Hector Cross, former Special Air Service Major and security expert, now widowed owner of Bannock Oil. In an intriguing twist, Congo is smart enough to go after Cross’ finances by forging an alliance with a rebel leader in Angola, where Bannock Oil operates. Cross doesn’t take the attack lying down, and draws upon his wealth of skill and smarts to fight back against a man determined to utterly destroy him.

The Travelers, by Chris Pavone
Pavone returns with a fast-paced thriller that turns on that most powerful of motivations: a desperation to keep something secret. Will Rhodes is a writer for Travelers Magazine; working through a tense marriage, he heads to Argentina on assignment and has a regrettable tryst with a beautiful, mysterious woman named Elle—and as any thriller fan knows, beautiful, mysterious women are never good news. Blackmailed and desperate to save himself, Will is forced to take on increasingly dangerous operations that he slowly realizes are targeting his co-workers and his boss at the magazine—meaning Elle didn’t choose him at random. When Will’s wife arrives on the scene, it’s quickly clear that she has her own secrets, and anyone who loved Pavone’s The Expats knows that his secrets (and their reveals) are more than half the fun.

The Other Side of Silence, by Philip Kerr
Bernie Gunther, German survivor of two world wars, is one of the most interesting, complex heroes in modern thrillers. Now in his 11th novel, he’s dealing with depression after his leaves him, and simmering guilt from his days as a police officer under the Nazi regime in Germany. Contemplating suicide, Gunther is brought back to life by none other than Somerset Maugham, living in a nearby villa and in need of assistance with a blackmail attempt over his secret homosexuality. As the good German meets a new romantic interest and gets involved in a surprisingly complex caper, the story remains stubbornly unpredictable. Gunther, as always, remains a pure pleasure to spend time with.

Gone Again, by James Grippando
Jack Swyteck takes on his first death-row case, defending Dylan Kyle, a man convicted of the murder of a young girl when he’s stopped for drunk driving, an article of her clothing is found in his truck, and he makes an inebriated statement to police. When the missing girl’s mother calls Swyteck with the news that her daughter has mysteriously contacted her, Swyteck finds no one in authority will investigate, and must race against time to locate the girl and prove his client’s innocence. Tightly-plotted and featuring a protagonist firmly on the right side of things, it throws up surprise after surprise and will keep readers glued to the page.

The Widow, by Fiona Barton
When Jean Barton’s husband Glen is hit by a bus and killed, her reaction is far from the expected. But then, the man was the prime suspect in the kidnapping of a young girl a few years before, and Jean had to change who she was in order to stand by her spouse—even as the investigation turned up Glen’s dark secrets. Told partially in flashback, the story asks the impossible question: what do you do when you believe your husband innocent of the crime he’s accused of, but discover he’s hiding many other things from you? Twisting, overlapping narratives slowly tease out the secrets as tension mounts, and Glen’s accidental death—and his guilt or innocence in the kidnapping—come under question.

Cold Barrel Zero, by Matthew Quirk
Quirk roars back with a killer premise: former marine John Hayes, accused of war crimes he didn’t commit, assembles a team of operatives also mistakenly placed on a government “kill list.” On a mission to prove their innocence, they pull off an unlikely heist, stealing weapons of mass destruction. Hayes’ former colleague Thomas Byrne is arrested and forced to lead a task force to capture Hayes—but Byrne doesn’t know who to trust, or who to believe. Quirk sets all this in motion on page one, and the story gathers speed continuously from there, crawling inside the characters’ increasing paranoia and doubt as they sift through clues and survive hair-raising escapes in this action movie in book form.

Just Fall, by Nina Sadowsky
Ellie has led a charmed life, and believes her happiness is complete when she marries Rob, the love of her life. After the ceremony, though, Rob confesses that he’s been keeping secrets: he’s actually a contract killer. Even as Ellie wrestles with that revelation, Rob is kidnapped, and Ellie is ordered to travel to St. Lucia to commit a murder if she wants to see him alive again. That killer premise kicks off a story that’s both a rollicking thriller and a study of a young woman facing the first real challenge of her young life in a story that goes in unexpected directions while pulling in a cast of interesting side characters who only further complicate matters.

Only Ever You, by Rebecca Drake
When Jill and David Lassiter’s three-year-old daughter Sophia disappears from the park, they are filled with panic and dread—until she reappears 40 minutes later, with a strange mark on her arm. After a medical check-up shows nothing, the Lassiters relax…until Sophia is kidnapped again three months later. This time, the police suspect the Lassitersare the culprits, and show no signs of seriously investigating the matter. Jill, seething with fear, terror, and anger, leaps off the page as she launches her own ferocious investigation, determined to save not only her beloved daughter, but prove she and her are innocent. As the tale twists and turns, it’s anchored all the way by Jill’s strong, clear voice.