Nicci French’s The Lying Room, a new Jack Reacher, Elly Griffiths’ Now You See Them and a ghostly offering from Tess Gerritsen, thrillers of the month
The Lying Room
Nicci French S&S £14.99
Stressed Neve is struggling to support her troubled family so almost feels as if she deserves her affair with her mercurial boss. It’s only when he’s murdered that she realises all she stands to lose. Horribly smart and compelling.
The Shape Of Night
Tess Gerritsen Bantam Press £20
When Ava, a cookery writer, rents a house for the summer she finds herself embroiled in both a murder-mystery and an unlikely love triangle with a sadistic ghost and a flesh-and-blood doctor. It’s a supernatural-tinged, distinctly erotic thriller that shouldn’t work but somehow does.
Now You See Them
Elly Griffiths Quercus £14.99
Elly Griffiths’ series set in post-war Brighton are entertaining diversions full of period detail, smart plotting and likeable characters. It’s the early Sixties and Max Mephisto is back to help investigate some kidnappings.
Blue Moon
Lee Child Bantam Press £20
When Jack Reacher finds a loan shark ripping off an old couple, it soon escalates into full-scale war between rival gangs, with our hero in the middle. It’s all a bit predictable, sadly, and there’s a sadistic glee in Reacher’s righteous anger.