Crime Fiction for the Long, Cold Nights

by MK French

The long, cold nights of fall and winter are a great time to read crime fiction. Today, I have two that you will want to put on your reading list and two that you can start reading today.

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A Very Bad Thing by J. T. Ellison

November 2024; Thomas & Mercer; 978-1662520334
audio, ebook, print (495 pages); psychological thriller

Crime novelist Columbia Jones has fans around the world, but one in particular at the end of her latest book tour leads to a collapse. The next day, she’s dead in a pool of blood. This shocks her publicist and daughter Darian, and at first, it seems like the police won't be able to solve the murder. Columbia had a past that Darian was unaware of, however, and too many people had motives to kill her. If the truth comes out, who else will get hurt?

Opening the novel is a prologue, a letter from a mother to a daughter explaining that she had done something very bad and that others will try to paint her in the worst possible light. This sets the tone for the entire novel because we have the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. The first chapter doesn't seem so terrible, though Columbia sees a man that Darian and Riley, the reporter following the book tour, don't recognize. Columbia is clearly rattled and then comes her mysterious death. There is a lot of detail to outline these events, as well as the start of the investigation afterward. Once it begins in earnest, and we see the documents given to Riley, we start getting drawn into the story and hooked. There are more questions than answers in the first half of the book, just the thing to keep us turning pages. In fact, I had to hide the book in a different room to make sure I didn't go back to it when I had things to do.

The facts and oddities dribble out a bit at a time, as they do in good thrillers and mysteries. It's just enough to keep the characters off balance, and to have us wondering who's in on it and why. Is it the boyfriend who is in on it? Who's the stalker that Darian and the publicity team have been trying to track? Why did Columbia wear a wig at all public events? As everyone keeps digging into Columbia's past, someone is upping the ante and continuing to threaten Darian and Riley. We have a lot of details and really get into the minds of the characters, so we feel their horror and terror as the story progresses. It's very well done, with twists in the final quarter and up until the very end with the epilogue. It will definitely keep you up late at night to finish it.

Buy A Very Bad Thing at Amazon

Going Dark by George Mehok

November 2024; Atmosphere Press; 979-8891324336
ebook, print (374 pages); technothriller

Cyber forensics expert Paul Knox is drawn into a high-stakes mission that will affect the future of the United States. At the same time, his estranged daughter Emma becomes a central figure in a game of digital manipulation. Dovetailed with this story is the origin of the Liberty Unit in 1781, with John "Jack" Jouett delivering crucial encoded messages that could shape the American Revolution.

The book opens with Jack, but the tension truly begins with the present-day thread. We see the start of a terrorist attack, and the incredible amount of detail and planning involved in them. Paul is smart as a forensics expert, but his daughter is just as brilliant in math and physics. The two became estranged after his wife's death; he isolated right when Emma needed him due to her own grief. Instead, she essentially lost both parents. He often has disparaging thoughts about politics clouding true attempts at keeping people safe; it's mimicked in the past thread when burgeoning politicians of the Revolution were being bribed by English spies. The Liberty Unit was created "to employ unconventional methods" to safeguard the founding father's, and persisted to the present. Members wore a specific coin, and Paul obtained one from his father, who had inherited it. The current generation of agents is descended from the original Liberty Unit members. With a coordinated system of attacks on airports, power companies, government agencies and intelligence systems, modern terrorism is frightening and difficult to shut down. 

Seeing passages about airport security, digital networking, and databases, and the ease at which they could be destroyed should give a sense of anxiety for the reader. Society has moved to streaming and away from physical copies; this just cements my utter dislike of this trend and that we need to continue to keep physical copies of media and data in safe places. This novel is incredibly detailed and keeps the tension high throughout the entire novel. There's the thread with Jack and his attempt to fulfill his mission, as well as the question of whether or not Paul will safely get to Emma when infrastructures are failing across the eastern seaboard. This definitely showcases the author's background in the field, with a lot of technical information worked into the story. 

Buy Going Dark at Amazon

Jekyll and Hyde Consulting Detectives by Tim Major

September 2024; Titan Books; 978-1803366418
audio, ebook, print (304 pages); murder mystery

Muriel Carew comes across her former fiance Dr. Henry Jekyll at a society party and is intrigued with his new profession of investigating serial murders. If she wants to help his investigation, she will also have to deal with his partner, the mysterious Mr. Hyde. To delve into the secrets of the murders involves a group of people from high society delving into their hidden sides. Muriel must trust Mr. Hyde as the investigation progresses and discover more about herself as well as this man.

Ten years after their engagement fell apart, Muriel is investigating theft and Henry Jekyll is an investigator as well. Their paths cross due to their dealings with the same person, and a body in the barn complicates matters. Though Henry is rude and sometimes dismissive of clients as well as her involvement, Muriel continues to follow through with the investigation. She soon figures out that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, and that she's far more personable than either one. Each gathers clues about the missing people in their own way, and also determines how to move forward together. The two/three of them are determined to solve the crime, though Muriel is the only one who cares about justice and the safety of the victims. Henry wants a good reputation as an investigator and Edward Hyde does what Henry says. It's an interesting dynamic, and I enjoyed seeing them in action to solve the case as well as try to get along. This makes a great start to a potential series about their business as consulting detectives. 

Buy Jekyll and Hyde Consulting Detectives at Amazon 

Safe Enough by Lee Child

September 2024; Mysterious Press; 978-1613165669
audio, ebook, print (256 pages); crime fiction anthology

Lee Child developed the character of Jack Reacher but also wrote short stories about mobsters, FBI agents, assassins, and bodyguards. This volume collects twenty short stories that he's written over the years.

Our opening story is in fact called "The Bodyguard," and it's not what we expect. The tough guy who knows everything about being a proper bodyguard and wants a challenge meets his match when sold out, and the ending is a fun little twist. It sets the tone for the collection: characters often think they're safe, or safe enough, but can't predict everything that's coming. It's what they can't predict that brings the danger closer than they ever thought possible.

Each story is a carefully crafted and bite-sized slice of life for those who are on the fringes of our society or those who dedicate their lives to catching them. It's fun to see how expectations are shuffled around and shifted, and that the characters don't always end up how we think they will.

Buy Safe Enough at Amazon

 

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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